Reading for Intermediate and Advanced Learners, Spring, 2011

Who knew I would enjoy reading a lesson plan so much? The lesson is very enjoyable and would be great to teach. I am actually going to work it in to my lessons. The focus of the lesson is to introduce students to the genre of mystery reading. Many people enjoy mysteries on t.v., so why not in reading? The lesson introduces kids to two on-line resources that are called Millennium Mystery Madness and Mystery Cube. Each of these resources helps students go online plan, create, write and publish their own mystery stories. Publishing their own stories would give students a sense of worth and accomplishment to see their own story posted on-line. The teacher also could supplement in Two-Minute Mysteries and Five-Minute Mysteries to help students familiarize themselves with mystery stories and the plot elements that are included in a story. The library is also a great resource because students can check out different mysteries to read to understand that each mystery story has its own twists and turns. Students also work with a Directed Learning-Thinking Activity during the writing process.
I felt the lesson was very strong as is. A weakness that I see is background knowledge. I would add several mini-lessons in about Edgar Allen Poe. He is considered the father of mysterious stories. I would also introduce kids to some of his writing such as The Tale Tale Heart, The Raven, and others. I feel that giving the students a strong foundation will help make their personal stories even better.