Close Reading Mystery Text Evidence Inference Activity - Who Stole the Keys?

Close Reading Mystery Text Evidence Inference Activity - Who Stole the Keys?: Engage your students with a captivating close reading inference activity that challenges them to explore and find text evidence, make inferences, and read more closely. This resource provides all the necessary materials to facilitate this fun and creative reading activity in your classroom. Students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively, enhancing their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills as they unravel the mystery together.

Mr. Smith, a high school principal, is so protective over his school that he doesn’t allow anyone else to have a key to the building. One day, it goes missing, and Mr. Smith begins to panic. Someone stole the school key, and your students need to determine who did it.

This is included in our best-selling full-year program: 
>>> Reading Mysteries Program

Included In This Close Reading and Text Evidence Inference Mystery Activity:

➡️ Inference Mystery Presentation Slides: This 15-slide PowerPoint presentation serves as the guide for the activity, leading students through the mystery with a captivating backstory, detailed evidence, and thorough explanations for each suspect's innocence or guilt. The slides are crafted to engage students and encourage critical thinking as they analyze the clues and find text evidence.

➡️ Classroom Poster: Display this visually appealing poster designed to grab students' attention as they enter the classroom, setting the stage and drawing students into the mystery ahead.

➡️ Original Narrative Backstory: Use this short story to introduce the mystery. Within the story are hidden clues and subtle hints, and the narrative will engage students' curiosity and initiate the mystery.

➡️ A Variety of Clues and Evidence: Students will receive a variety of texts in different forms that include clues and evidence. Students must read the text closely and use their inference skills to analyze each of the clues.

➡️ Text Evidence Graphic Organizer: Students will use the provided graphic organizer to organize their findings and evaluate the guilt or innocence of each suspect. This tool encourages students to support their conclusions with text evidence from the investigation. There is a student suspension notice, a formal complaint, a transcript of school announcements, text messages, an email, an intramural sports schedule, and a juvenile detention admittance form.

➡️ Teacher Answer Key: Use the detailed answer key, both in print format and integrated into the presentation slides, to efficiently review students' work and share the reasons for each suspect's innocence or guilt.

How The Close Reading and Text Evidence Inference Mystery Activity Works:

• Start by putting up the poster on your door to build anticipation when students enter the room. When students enter, put them in small groups, so they can work together to try to solve the mystery.
• Use the presentation slides to guide you through each element of the lesson. The slides will help you introduce the story and evidence to each of the groups.
• Hand out all the evidence to students and allow them time to make their predictions and inferences and solve the mystery.
• Once each group has made their final prediction, use the presentation slides to reveal the culprit and go through each of the suspects to show the evidence of their innocence or guilt.
  

If you like this, you’ll love this resource: 
>>> Inference Activities Bundle

© Presto Plans

➡️ Want 10 free ELA resources sent to your inbox? Click here!