Children love reading mysteries. When mysteries are read, kids give reading comprehension skills a real work out!
Grades(s) 3, 4, 5, 6
Subjects(s) Language Arts, Reading
Objective
Students will use reading comprehension skills to solve a mystery.
Materials
Age and level appropriate reading materials--either novels or historical happenings.
Lesson
Why reading mysteries helps develop kids’ reading comprehension skills:
1. They constantly summarize to understand what has happened because everything is some determinant in the story outcome.
2. They must also keep in mind the sequence of
events.
3. A cause and effect cycle is demonstrated in the
story.
4. A steady analysis of characters takes place in
order to understand the course of action.
5. Prediction occurs constantly in any story, but
it weighs at least three (possibly more so) times more in mystery reading.
When these skills are used simultaneously in reading mysteries, kids’ comprehension skills are sharpened. Those proficient in using these skills won’t be saying “The butler did it.” They will have other predictions—mostly accurate ones!
Assessment
Students must score 90% on reading comprehension test.