When I co-taught a third grade mystery unit for readers workshop, I began one of my lessons by setting up a small crime scene. I put some dead leaves, crumbs, and paw prints on the ground. Ultimately, my stuffed ground hog was the culprit, having "snuck" into the classroom uninvitedly. The lesson objective was for students to identify, speak, and write mystery vocabulary using their own good-fit mystery books. These vocabulary words included clue, suspect, and culprit. The anticipatory set got the students highly engaged in the mini lesson, led to the discovery of the vocabulary words’ meanings, and offered opportunities to practice using the words in context. If I taught this lesson again, I would be sure to include a share time at the end of the independent portion of the lesson.
