MYSTERY
GIFTED
UNIT
Multi-faceted
unit allowing creativity in written expression in forms such as video-plays,
fiction, novels, and comic books as students set goals for the study unit.
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Week
1 |
Essential Question: Why and how is a mystery developed? What does it take to be a great detective? Introduction to Mysteries
The Black Box Mystery: students are divided into groups and receive a box
containing an unknown object. Their job is to find out as much as they can
about the object to support an inference of what it might be. Activity:
A mystery person in a mask squirts the teacher with silly string
then leaves immediately. Without
discussing anything, students write detailed descriptions of the person, what
the person was wearing and
what happened,. Activity: What is a Mystery? Thinkquest http://library.thinkquest.org/5109/What_a_Mystery.html The
Detective’s Dictionary- Terms to Know http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/Vocabulary.html http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=38979 History of the Mystery Story http://kids.mysterynet.com/history-kids/ http://www.mysteryguide.com/hist-whodunit.html http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson036.shtml Mystery Quote of the Week: “Mystery is a
resource, like coal or gold, and its preservation is a fine thing.” Tim Cahill, Australian
Athlete Author Study: Eileen Christelow Where’s
the Big Bad Wolf? James Howe Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 1 World Mystery of the Week The Bermuda Triangle – Caribbean Alaska’s Bermuda Triangle http://www.unmuseum.org/triangle.htm http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/alaska-bermuda-triangle.htm Georgia Mystery of the Week *The Werewolves of Talbot County,
Georgia www.trueghosttales.com/werewolves
(For home viewing only) Activity:
Thinkquest, The Bermuda Triangle |
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Week
2 |
Essential Question: What does it take to be a great
detective? How can readers be distracted from finding clues
within a mystery? Ingredients for a Mystery
Characters Eccentric Detective An admiring sidekick (foil who
chronicles the detective’s accomplishments) Well-intentioned, blundering
officials
Suspects, Witnesses A staged ruse to force criminals to
reveal themselves Conclusion with an explanation Setting:
Location Plot A problem that needs to be solved An event that cannot be explained A secret Something that is lost or missing A crime that has been committed Detective Case Report http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=38978 Suspect’s List http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=38981 Recipe for a Mystery Beginning: Characters introduced and
learn the problem Middle:
Characters work to solve mystery by interviewing and gathering clues Clues are often inferenced or given in the story plot End:
Characters solve the mystery The History of Mystery Thinkquest http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/History.html Mystery Quote of the Week: “Without mysteries,
life would be very dull indeed. What
would be left to strive for if everything were known?” Charles de Lint, Celtic
folk musician and storyteller Author Study: Doug Cushman The Mystery of King Karfu
(The Casebook of Seymour Sleuth) Activity: The Mystery Box Teacher brings to class a box that she
says tell the most important things about her. Students must guess through questions
what the items are in the box. Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 2 World Mystery of the Week Lost Atlantis http://www.unmuseum.org/atlantis.htm http://www.mysterypages.com/Atlantis.htm Anastasia: The Mystery of the Lost Romanov http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-13-3.html Georgia Mystery of the Week The Georgia Mount Builders http://ngeorgia.com/history/early.html Activity: Thinkquest, The Legend of Atlantis |
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Week
3 |
Essential Question: How are the ingredients for a mystery used
to lure in the reader? Why is it important to be
a Mystery Critic? Ingredients for a Mystery Clues:
Hints used to solve the mystery Red Herrings: Distractions or false clues http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=38980 How to Write a Mystery Begin with the impact of the crime An enigma or apparent impossibility is
involved in the solution to the crime Detective is never surprised The detective must put himself in the
criminal’s position to use his intuitive powers Detective must have an intense ability
to concentrate The criminal must be indiscernible as
the perpetrator of the crime until the end The element of fair play: the reader must have all of the clues the
detective has. Activity: Anatomy of a History Thinkquest http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/Anatomy.html Activity: Begin to keep a
Detective’s Log: A Graphic Organizer
when watching or reading
a mystery. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/hound/tg_log.pdf Mystery Quote of the Week: “The most beautiful
thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science.” Albert Einstein,
Physicist Author Study: Gabby Gosling The Top Secret Files of Mother Goose Mystery
Simulation Mystery Festival Week 3 World Mystery
of the Week Roswell http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287643,00.html http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4079 Georgia Mystery
of the Week *UFO Wave of 1973 http://www.mysticaluniverse.com/ufos_aliens/ufosightings/georgia/georgia.html Activity: Roswell Thinkquest http://library.thinkquest.org/26521/Ufology/roswell.htm |
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Week
4 |
Essential Question: Where do Mystery Writers Get Their Ideas? Ingredients of the Mystery Story
Recognizing elements of a mystery story Evaluating fact vs. opinion, inferencing and drawing logical conclusions Knowing how to write your own critique
of mystery stories or movies. http://42explore.com/mystery.htm Ingredients for Writing Mystery
Stories
History Frames for a Case http://www.readingquest.org/strat/storymaps.html
http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ccdb/2mmclub/ Mystery Quote of the Week: “Often the hands
will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.” Carl Gustav Jung,
Psychiatrist Author Study: Donald Sobol Encyclopedia
Brown Activity: Bring newspapers to
class. Have students cut out articles
that appear to be good material for mystery stories. Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 4 World Mystery of the Week Bigfoot and the Yeti http://www.virtuescience.com/yeti.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/951851/alleged_bigfoot_body_found_in_georgia.html http://www.unmuseum.org/yeti.htm Georgia Mystery of the Week
*Crop Circles in Atlanta http://www.mysterypages.com/Crop_Circles.htm http://www.mysterypages.com/Crop_Circle_Videos--vv-crop_circles-News.htm Activity: Thinkquest, the
Yeti |
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Week
5 |
Essential Question: With what information and format do mystery
writers write their stories? Writing a Mystery Story From a
Newspaper Article
Mystery Author Tips
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/AuthorTips.html Research Resources For Mystery and
Crime Writers http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/feb99/gak12.htm Mystery Quote
of the Week: “Those who dwell among
the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” Rachel Carson,
Environmentalist Author
Study: Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl Activity: Mystery Simulations Mystery
Festival Week 5 World Mystery of the Week Mysterious
Disappearances Amelia Earhart http://www.spartechsoftware.com/dimensions/vanished/EmeliaEarhart.htm
Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Lives
On http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ The Mystery of Roanoke Island http://www.coastalguide.com/packet/lostcolony-croatan.shtml http://colonial-america.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_lost_colony_of_roanoke Georgia Mystery of the Week
*Hogzilla Activity: Thinkquest, Roanoke |
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Week
6 |
Essential Question: How do agencies such as the CIA and the FBI
solve mysteries? Solving the Mystery http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson036.shtml FBI
for Kids 1-5 http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/kidsk5th.htm FBI for Youth 6-12 http://www.fbi.gov/kids/6th12th/6th12th.htm CIA
for KIds https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/index.html Activity: Detective Activities for Kids http://home.howstuffworks.com/detective-activities-for-kids.htm Activity: Create a DNA Fingerprint http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/analyze.html Mystery Quote of the Week: “Some mystery
should be left in the revelation of character in a play,
just as a great deal of mystery is always left in the revelation of character
in life, even in one’s own character of oneself.” Tennessee Williams,
Playwright Author Study: Virginia Hamilton The House of Dies Drear World Mystery of the Week
Spring Heeled Jack http://www.virtuescience.com/spring-heeled-jack.html The Mary
Celeste, 1861 http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Nova_Scotia/mary_celeste.htm The
Flying Dutchman http://ghosts-hauntings.suite101.com/article.cfm/ghost_ship_the_flying_dutchman http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126236/myths_and_legends.htm Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery
Festival Week 6 Georgia Mystery of the Week
*Snowball: Killer Goat or
Scapegoat? http://www.ajc.com/hotjobs/content/printedition/2009/03/02/whatever0302.html The Mystery of Megaliths Activity: Thinkquest, The
Flying Dutchman http://library.thinkquest.org/C007461/dutchman.htm Activity: The Mystery Jeopardy Game
http://www.cplrmh.com/MysteryJeopardy.ppt#256,2,Slide 2 |
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Week
7 |
Essential Question: Why is it that some mysteries are never
solved? The Mystery of Catalhoyuk PBS Mysteries
Murder Mystery #1
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/game.html Activity: Food Detectives
http://www.fooddetectives.com/welcome.html Mystery Quote of the Week: “Let mystery have
its place in you; do not always be turning up your own soil with the
ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your
heart ready for any seeds the winds
may bring…” Henry Frederic Amiel,, Writer Author Study: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes’s The Hound of the Baskervilles http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/hound/ei_mystery.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/hound/tguide.html Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 7 World Mystery of the Week Easter Island http://www.virtuescience.com/easter-island-heads.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/ Georgia Mystery of the Week
*Altamaha-Ha (also known as ‘Altie’) http://believeittour.com/wordpress/2010/01/20/altie-or-altamaha-ha-of-darien-georgia/ (bring this up at home) Activity: Thinkquest,
Easter Island Statues |
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Week
8 |
Essential Question: Why is it that some mysteries are never
solved? PBS Mysteries:
Murder Mystery #2
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/game.html Activity: Mystery Numbers
http://www.rhlschool.com/math6n2.htm Mystery Quote of the Week: “Mystery creates
wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” Neil Armstrong,
Astronaut Author Study: Edgar Allen Poe Murder in the Rue Morgue http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/poe/poetg.html Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 8 Activity: The Mumler
Mystery http://www.photographymuseum.com/mumler.html World Mystery of the Week
What Killed the Dinosaurs http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/extinctheory.html http://www.unmuseum.org/deaddino.htm The Tunguska Explosion in Siberia,
Russian 1908 http://www.icr.org/research/index/researchp_sa_r05/ http://www.psi.edu/projects/siberia/siberia.html Georgia Mystery of the Week The Georgia Ghosts http://www.georgiaghostsociety.com/ Activity: Thinkquest,
Georgia Ghost at the Springer Opera House |
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Week
9 |
Essential Question: Why is it important to review all of the
facts and to “think outside the box”? The Mystery of Catalhoyuk PBS Mysteries
Murder Mystery #3
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/game.html Activity: Millennium Mystery Madness Thinkquest
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/ A Nick Bounty Mystery
The Case of the Crabs
http://www.otterarchives.com/bountygame.html Activity: You Are The Detective Thinkquest http://library.thinkquest.org/5109/ Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 9 Mystery Quote of the Week: “What has puzzled
us before seems less mysterious, and the crooked paths look straighter
as we approach the
end.” Jean
Paul Richter, Novelist Author Study: Phillip Pullman The Ruby in the Smoke Agatha Christie
“”The Mousetrap”, a play Witness for the Prosecution http://web.pinknet.cz/AgathaChristie/e-menu.html (view at home) World Mystery of the Week
The Iceman and the Bog People http://wilderdom.com/evolution/OtziIcemanAlpsPictures.htm The Tollund
Man Mystery History
Mystery Detectives
The Tollund Man Mystery http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/history/The_Tollund_Man_Mystery.pdf The Iceland Volcano: A Split in the Earth http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/icelands_disruptive_volcano.html http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/geology_volcanic_activity.htm http://www.exploratorium.edu/theworld/iceland/volcanoes.html Georgia Mystery of the Week *The Missing Gold of the Confederacy http://www.georgiamountains.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=27 Activity: Thinkquest, The
Iceman |
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Week
10 |
Essential Question: Why is it important to have good problem
solving skills? Summarization of Unit:
Discussion and review. Presentation of Plays Presentation of Mystery Books written by
students. Activity: Mystery Scavenger Hunt http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/Hunt.html Activity: Mystery Simulation
Mystery Festival Week 10 Mystery Quote of the Week: “The final mystery
is oneself.” Oscar Wilde, Irish Poet
and Novelist Author Study: Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game
John Fitzgerald The
Great Brain
http://litplans.com/authors/John_D_Fitzgerald.html World Mystery of the Week Monsters of the Sea: The Loch Ness Monster
“Champ” of Lake Champlain http://www.virtuescience.com/lochness-monster.html http://www.strimoo.com/video/9758724/Plesiosaur-in-Lake-Champlain-MySpaceVideos.html Swallowed by a
Real-Life Whale: James Bartley, 1891 http://www.ycaol.com/swallowed.htm Georgia Mystery of the Week The Georgia Guidestones http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_ga_guidestones.htm Activity: Thinkquest, the
Loch Ness Monster
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003325F/Loch%20ness.htm Activity: Thinkquest,
Unseen Creatures: Lake and Sea Monsters
http://library.thinkquest.org/27979/html/seamonsters.htm Activity: Thinkquest, James
Bartley, Explaining the Unexplained, Amazing Survivals |
Resources
MYSTERIES GIFTED UNIT
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GPS Standards ELA5R1 The student demonstrates
comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation
of a variety of literary and informational texts. For literary texts, the student identifies the characteristics
of various genres and produces evidence of reading that: a. Identifies and analyzes the elements of setting,
characterization, and conflict in plot. b. Identifies and analyzes the structural elements particular to
dramatic literature (e.g., scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions) in
the plays read, viewed, written, and
performed. c. Identifies and analyzes the similarities and differences
between a narrative text and its
film or play version. d.
Relates a literary work to information about its setting (historically or
culturally). f. Identifies and
analyzes the author’s use of dialogue and description. g. Applies knowledge of the
concept that theme refers to the message about life and the world that
the author wants us to understand whether implied or stated. i. Makes
judgments and inferences about setting, characters, and events and supports them with
elaborating and convincing evidence from the text. j. Identifies
similarities and differences between the characters or events and theme in a
literary work and the actual experiences in an author’s life. For informational texts,
the student reads and comprehends in order to develop understanding and
expertise and produces evidence of reading that: a. Locates facts that
answer the reader’s questions. b. Identifies and uses
knowledge of common textual features (e.g., paragraphs, topic
sentences, concluding sentences, glossary). c. Identifies and uses
knowledge of common graphic features (e.g., charts, maps, diagrams,
captions, and illustrations). d. Identifies and uses
knowledge of common organizational structures; e.g. MYSTERY UNIT Resources A
Roman Murder Mystery. http://www.btinternet.com/~james.fanning/RomanMystery/intro/index.html Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery http://www.teachervision.fen.com/fiction/activity/1730.html Carol
Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site:
Mysteries http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/mysteries.html Chapter
Book Mystery Story List. http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/mysteries/Mysteries.htm Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story? http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/index.html *Miles,
Jim. (2006). Weird Georgia. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN Number 13:978-1-4027-3388-8 Mystery
Festival Teacher’s guide. (1994).
Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of
Science, University of California. ISBN Number 0-924886-10-2 Mystery
Fiction Book List http://www.hrl.lib.state.va.us/handley/Booklists/mystery.htm http://contemporarylit.about.com/arts/mysterybooks/ Mystery
Net. Mystery Mystery Vocab,
elements, solving, etc. http://sesd.sk.ca./teacherresource/themelinks/mystery.htm Mystery
Operations http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/math/patterns/mystery/ Mystery
Pages website. http://www.mysterypages.com Videos of world mysteries. The
Case of the Barking Dogs. http://scifiles.larc.nasa.gov/text/educators/episodes/2000_2001/barking_dogs.html The
Case of the Disappearing Water http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/pdfs/ww_disap.pdf The
Case of the Incredible Shrinking http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/pdfs/ww_disap.pdf The
Case of the Troubling Triplets http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/triplets/index.htm The
Case of the Virtual Pet 2000 http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/virtual/index.htm Writing
a Mystery: http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/mystery.htm |