Everyone loves a good mystery, teasing out the facts, the inconsistencies, trying to figure out who committed the crime. Mysteries are an easy way to engage students and increase motivation for tasks that usually seem a bit boring.
Last week my co-teachers and I wanted to work on compare and contrast skills, both in reading and writing. I created four crime scene reports that had some similarities and differences. Students were given the first 3 and challenged with comparing and contrasting the texts. Immediately, they were hooked into the task, looking for small details that might be clues to who committed the bank robbery. Students created a graphic organizer to show their findings, and then wrote an essay, but without stating their opinion about the guilty party.
Finally, we asked students to think critically about what information was missing, what else they might want to know before determining who was guilty. They generated a list of ideas, and then we provided them with the "missing" crime scene report that contained additional key information.
You can find all 4 crime scene reports here. Can you figure out who did it? Feel free to edit to make these easier or harder for your students.
Last week my co-teachers and I wanted to work on compare and contrast skills, both in reading and writing. I created four crime scene reports that had some similarities and differences. Students were given the first 3 and challenged with comparing and contrasting the texts. Immediately, they were hooked into the task, looking for small details that might be clues to who committed the bank robbery. Students created a graphic organizer to show their findings, and then wrote an essay, but without stating their opinion about the guilty party.
Finally, we asked students to think critically about what information was missing, what else they might want to know before determining who was guilty. They generated a list of ideas, and then we provided them with the "missing" crime scene report that contained additional key information.
You can find all 4 crime scene reports here. Can you figure out who did it? Feel free to edit to make these easier or harder for your students.
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