their own personal sheet as they share the words and discuss why they should be included in the chart. Share: Students share feedback from their group choices to the class as a whole, with the reasons for the choices that they have made. This activity will help students learn vocabulary through repetition and discussion. Encourage students to check their spelling of the words during the Pair section of the activity. That way they will have accurate information to share during the Square and class Share. Optional: Allowing students to use descriptions composed of everyday language is important in effective vocabulary comprehension and retention. One way to do this is through a vocabulary self-awareness (). Throughout this mystery unit, have students maintain a vocabulary self-awareness chart. Provide students with a list of vocabulary terms that relate to mystery. Have students complete a self-assessment of their knowledge of these vocabulary terms using a chart. Ask students to rate their understanding of a term using a "+" for understanding, a "?" or a check mark (√) indicates uncertainty or limited knowledge, or a "-" indicating a lack of knowledge. The goal is to replace all the question marks and minus signs with a plus sign. To use the chart appropriately, students should return to it often to monitor their evolving understanding of key vocabulary. Ideally, all checks and minuses should become plusses over time. Have students revisit this chart throughout the unit of study, creating multiple opportunities for students to monitor their learning of the vocabulary. As students refer to this chart to add information, they gain knowledge of these vocabulary terms. Students will use a variety of resources to words correctly. Mystery \vocabulary could include alibi, clue, crime, deduction, detective, flashback, forensics, foreshadowing, hunch, investigation, motive, mystery, plot, red herring, setting, sleuth, suspect, suspense, victim, and witness. Sample Mystery Vocabulary Self-Awareness Chart: Word + √ – Example Definition alibi + Her doctor is her alibi: she was in surgery at the time of the murder. an excuse that a suspect uses to show that he or she was somewhere else than at the of the crime clue crime deduction detective flashback forensics - foreshadowing Students may access these Mystery Web sites for additional vocabulary practice:
Books Beers, Kylene, When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. Cassidy, Janet. Teaching Genre – Mysteries. New York: Scholastic, 2001. Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles. York, ME: Stenhouse, 2002. Fisher, Douglas and Nancy Frey, Improving Adolescent Literacy, 2nd edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. Fry, Edward B. The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993. Hoomes, Eleanor W. Create-A-Sleuth. Hawthorne, NJ: Educational Impressions, Inc., 1993. Larsen, Jennifer A., and Marilyn A. Nippold. "Morphological Analysis in School-Age Children: Dynamic Assessment of a Word Learning Strategy." Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools 38.3 (2007): 201-212. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 29 July 2011. McCarthy, Tara. Teaching Grades 4-8. New York: Scholastic, 1996. Sobol, Donald J. Two Minute Mysteries. New York: Scholastic, 1967. Steffens, Judith B. Mystery and Suspense. Santa Barbara, CA: The Learning Works, Inc., 1983. Terban, Marvin. Dictionary of Idioms. New York: Scholastic, 1996. Weber, Ken. Five Minute Mysteries. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press Book Publishers, 1996. Websites Suggested Mystery Novels for Literature Circles Aidler, Cam Jansen series Almond, Skellig Avi. The Man Who Was Poe; Something Upstairs; Windcatcher; Wolf Rider Christie, Agatha. Then There Was None; Poirot series Cooney, Caroline. The Face on the Milk Carton; Fatality; Whatever Happened to Dixon, Franklin. The Hardy Boys series Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series