A Teaching Guide for the. Mysteries SERIES WRITTEN BY DAVID A. ADLER GUIDE BY DONNA L. KNOELL. For Grades 2-4 PENGUIN YOUNG READERS GROUP

Transcription

1 eaching uide for the ysteries.. or rades 2-4

2 he istory of ysteries bout avid. dler ow avid. dler ets rganized for riting ysteries iscussion uestions for the eader lassroom uggestions :! ( ) ( ) orld ind nswer keys onversation with avid. dler omplete isting of the am ansen ysteries ack over 2

3 have been popular book choices for many years. n fact, people have been curious about and interested in mysterious things throughout history! henever a crime or strange happening occurs, people seem immediately to try to figure out what really happened based on available details and clues. nd the same thing happens when people read mysteries. he reader immediately tries to fit together the details that the author provides, and ultimately tries to solve the mystery before the story reveals all the information. istorically, dgar llan oe wrote the first published mystery for adult readers in hat first oe mystery was entitled he urders in the ue orgue. eople loved reading oe s mysteries, and he served as an inspiration to other. mystery writers who followed him. ne of the most famous writers of mystery of all time was ir rthur onan oyle the creator of the well-known herlock olmes character. ysteries especially for children came into being with the introduction of the famous ardy oys in hen in 1930, the ancy rew mystery series debuted. hildren become quite curious and engaged as they read great mysteries, and avid. dler s am ansen series has proved to be a favorite of young readers. t keeps them thinking, as they accumulate information and apply their logical reasoning skills, trying to solve the mystery all the while enjoying and improving their reading skills.. is the author of more than 175 fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, but he has not always been an author. efore he started writing books for young readers, he was a math teacher. e also spent some time working as an editor for a publisher. avid. dler was born in ew ork ity and received his.. from ueens ollege in ew ork ity. e earned his asters degree in usiness dministration from ew ork niversity. e began work on his h.. in marketing, but became inspired to become a writer, and he has been pursuing that dream ever since. r. dler is married and has three sons and one daughter-in-law. hen his first son, ichael, was born, he was granted a child-care leave from his teaching duties, and he stayed home to take care of this new child. r. dler explains that his first am ansen mystery was inspired by baby ichael. r. dler lives in ew ork with his wife and family. is books are not only many but have varied subjects. mong his mysteries are the am ansen ysteries, the oung am ansen eries, and the effrey ones ysteries. earn more about avid. dler by visiting his website: and his website for the am ansen ysteries: 3

4 . ere are the steps avid. dler took before he wrote the first am ansen mystery, am ansen and the ystery of the tolen iamonds: 1.) e decided what kind of story or genre he would write. e says it is always a good idea to write the kind of story you like to read! nd avid. dler likes mysteries. 2.) e created his main character, am ansen. he is based on one of avid s classmates who had an outstanding memory. y basing am on a real person, even before he wrote the mystery he really felt he knew am and that made writing about her easier and more real. 3.) e created am s sidekick, ric helton. or that, r. dler based the character on himself. 4.) e chose the setting for the story a shopping mall. 5.) e made a list of stores in the shopping mall. e says that as soon as he wrote down the words jewelry store, he knew that some jewels would be stolen in his mystery. 6.) e devised a clever plan for the robbery. 7.) e figured out a clue for am to find, and how she would solve the mystery. 8.) e outlined the story chapter by chapter. e wanted each chapter to be exciting and to end with the reader eager to begin the next chapter. 4

5 ( ) 1.) hat is a mystery? ow is it different from or similar to a puzzle? 2.) ave a class discussion on what makes a good mystery. iscuss why the students like to read mysteries, and what they like about the am ansen mysteries. or example, they may like a mystery because: t has a twist at the end, that is different from what they predicted would happen. t is believable and real. t lets them make guesses and predictions, but won t necessarily end up the way they excpect. t is suspenseful. t may include some humor or funny details. 3.) hy do you think am chooses a mystery when her teacher lets her choose a book? 4.) ind examples of factual information that avid. dler has included that informs the reader, even though the story is made up. 5.) hy is it important to get the facts right? ame some situations where correct or exact facts are especially important. (or example, when following a recipe or conducting a science experiment.) 6.) hat happens when people jump to conclusions? 7.) hy do you think am always closes her eyes when she says, lick? 8.) oes a picture always show things accurately or as they are? an a picture or photograph be altered to omit important information, or to make things look different from the way they really are? s this anything like when a person doesn t see things the way they really are? 9.) hen you picked up your first am ansen mystery, and before you read any of it, did you think am was a girl or a boy? hy? 10.) hat makes am ansen a good detective? 5

6 1.) se one or more of these mysteries as a read aloud. fter the reading, have the students draw their own pictures of how they visualize am and ric before showing them the book s illustrations and cover. 2.) repare a set of memory games like the ones at the end of some of the am ansen mysteries. elp your students learn to pay attention to details and become better observers. ave your students close their eyes and answer questions about your classroom (what s displayed on the bulletin boards, what the teacher is wearing, etc.). sing enlarged photocopied illustrations from the am ansen mysteries, show a picture to your students. fter they have had a few minutes to look at it, remove the picture and then ask questions based on it. 3.) o encourage your students to pay attention to details about the characters, ask them to make a list of words that describe am. ave your students also write a list of words that describe am and ric s friendship. 4.) elp your students expand their imaginative thought. reate a mystery situation for children. or example, tell them that the mystery involves food. hey will have to think about the various tastes as they try to uncover the mystery. he first clue you could tell them is that the food is sweet. hat could it be? he second clue: it is served cold. ontinue with clues until the correct answer is given (ice cream in this example). 5.) elp children understand that a picture can mislead a reader or observer, depending on how it is cropped, or how much background and adjoining information is included or excluded. rovide students with several photographs or illustrations, showing different amounts of background. ead them in a discussion about the effect when background or other information is omitted because of cropping 6

7 n an empty classroom (or in your classroom while your students are in another location), set up a crime or mystery scene. ake sure to leave some clues or evidence so students can observe them and use them to help solve the mystery. s students mature and increase their skills, be sure to include some misleading clues, to make the mystery harder to solve and more interesting. avid. dler encourages children to write their own stories, and he emphasizes that each person s story is unique a oneof-a-kind, just like a person s fingerprints. o emphasize the uniqueness and individuality of a student s written story, and to help motivate students to write stories, teachers can provide them with paper that has a superimposed image of a fingerprint and have them write their stories on it. o make fingerprint paper, photocopy a person s thumb, and then enlarge the image until it fills the entire sheet of paper. 7

8 mystery is a story that has five basic but important components or elements. hese five elements are: the character(s), the setting, the plot, the problem, and the solution. t is very important that a good writer of mysteries develop each one of these elements. ow the writer develops these elements: () he author must create a good mental picture of each character. e/she does this by providing good physical descriptions. he main character is the one that determines the way the plot or mystery will develop, and the main character(s) should ultimately get to the bottom of the mystery, to solve it. he other characters are also important, because they can provide clues to solve the mystery, or they may provide clues and information that throw the main character (and the reader) off. ll the characters have to be believable to the reader, and they have to stay true to the author s description as they carry out the action or progress of the mystery. he author must describe the environment or surroundings of the mystery. he words he/she chooses should be so precise that the reader feels as though he/she has a detailed mental picture of the scene. nusual settings can provide special interest for the reader, but a familiar setting can also make the reader more curious and comfortable about the mystery. he best part of the setting for a mystery is that something unusual, odd, or very amazing and different is described, to help hook the reader. 8 he plot is the actual story the mystery. he reader may be reading along, and suddenly something exciting or unexpected happens. he author has to do this early in the mystery to catch the reader s interest and so that he/she can develop the action, suspense, and intrigue. very mystery has a problem to solve. xamples might be to find out who stole something, to find out where the missing item is, or to find out who committed the crime, and why he/she committed it. he clever author will fill his/her mystery with clues, so that the reader can help solve the mystery or puzzle. ometimes authors include clues just to throw off the characters and the reader. he solution needs to be believable. he author must be certain to include all the necessary clues somewhere in the story, so that the mystery can be solved by the main character and by the reader.

9 ave students fill in this sheet for the am ansen mystery they are reading. sk them to read carefully so they can correctly complete the sheet, based on avid. dler s text. itle of ook: haracter(s): etting: lot: roblem: olution: ext, have the students outline their ideas for writing their own mysteries. se the model below to have them fill in important information as they plan their mystery writing. itle: haracter(s): etting: lot: roblem: olution: ave students use this outline as they begin to write their own mysteries. mphasize to them that interesting and descriptive words that assist in creating mental pictures will help them write more engaging mysteries. 9

10 :! hen avid. dler talks with children about writing good mysteries, he emphasizes the importance of the story s first sentence. e points out that the job of the first sentence of your story is to have your reader want to read the second sentence. n other words, the first sentence is supposed to engage readers or get them hooked on reading the whole story. avid. dler also believes the first sentence sets the tone or mood for a story. e says when the first sentence is funny, the reader will expect the story to be funny. f the first sentence is scary, readers will expect the story to be scary. e sure you remember to make your first sentence especially interesting, so that the people who read it will want to read your whole story! ead these first lines from several of the am ansen ysteries. fter each one, write a word or words to describe your mood or impression created by that line. am ansen and the chool lay ystery ric helton said. h, can t do this! one or mood: am ansen and the irthday ystery uack! uack! one or mood: am ansen and the ennis rophy ystery omething smells really bad, am ansen whispered. one or mood: am ansen and the ystery of the abe uth aseball t was a unday afternoon at the end of ay. one or mood: f all you had were the titles and the first sentences, which book would you choose to read? hy? ow write your own first sentence for your original story, and to set the mood for the entire story! am ansen and the ystery at the aunted ouse rash! one or mood: am ansen and the arking reasure ystery he frog, abel rent said, and laughed. one or mood: 10

11 ased on your opening line and your completed original story, decide on a title. hen design a book jacket for your proposed book. 11

12 et s practice some of our reading and thinking skills! sing the am ansen ystery series, we will practice some of the skills that are important for all readers. hen we read factual or nonfiction books and stories, we often need to (1) make predictions, (2) compare and contrast information, and (3) analyze the causes and effects of a situation or a sequence of happenings. e can use these three important reading skills as we read and think about the am ansen ysteries. 1.) aking a prediction means we will think and try to figure out what will happen. elect a am ansen ystery, and read just the title and the first paragraph. efore you read the entire book, think! rite down your prediction of what will happen in the book. 2.) hen you compare two things, you explain how they are alike. hen you contrast them, you explain how they are different. ometimes writers use words that act as clues to tell readers they are comparing or contrasting. hen a writer uses words such as also, like, or as well as, he/she is giving the reader a signal that he/she is making a comparison. hen the writer uses words such as although or however, he/she is showing a contrast between things that are different from each other. ave the class practice comparing and contrasting, using characters of am ansen and ric helton. irst, use descriptive words to show how they are alike (this can include physical characteristics or personal qualities), then show how they are different. ou can do this by using a chart or a enn iagram. 3.) hen we think about cause and effect, we look at what happens and we try to figure out what actions took place that gave us our result. cause is the reason something happens. he effect is the result of that cause. here can be more than one cause for something, and there can also be more than one effect. fter reading a am ansen ystery, see if you can make a list of the causes and the effects in the story. 12

13 eople often make predictions when they read, just as they make predictions about real life. hen we make predictions in a story, we take clues that the author gives us and we guess or make a prediction about what will happen. hen we read a mystery, we read clues that the author provides, and we guess or predict what has happened in order to solve the mystery. ometimes the author gives us misleading clues just to throw us off, making the mystery more fun and interesting. s we read the am ansen mysteries, there are several ways we can make predictions. ry some of these: redictions: 3.) hile reading a am ansen mystery, think about am and her friend ric helton. ased on what you have observed from reading, what types of things are am and ric likely to do? 1.) ased on the title of the book, what do you predict will actually happen in the mystery? am: 2.) ead the first two chapters of the book. hat are some important details? hat can you predict will happen, based on those details? etails: 13 ric:

14 alibi an excuse or piece of information given by an accused person to prove that he/she was somewhere else when a crime was committed breakthrough a necessary piece of information or insight that helps solve a mystery clue an object, observation, or piece of information that helps to solve a mystery or a puzzle concern unease or worry about something crime an act that violates a law curious eager to acquire information deduce to use logical reasoning and thinking to infer information detective a person who gathers informaton and investigates crimes escape to get away evidence a statement, fact, or object used to prove the solution of a mystery. frightened scared hunch a feeling or a guess about something interrogate to ask questions or to seek information from people intrigue to capture someone s curiousity or to scheme and plot 14 motive the reason a person does something or acts in a certain way mystery something that is secret or unknown observant careful to look at things and note details perpetrator someone who is guilty of committing a crime photograhic memory the ability to form an accurate and lasting visual memory or mental picture plot the arrangement of events or incidents in a story puzzle a game that tests someone s reasoning ability setting the time, place, surroundings, and circumstances in which a story takes place sleuth another name for a detective solve to figure something out suspect a person who people think might have committed a crime victim a person who is harmed or suffers a loss witness someone who saw or can give a firsthand account of something that happened

15 : =z =y =x =w =v =u =t =s =r =q =p =o =n =m =l =k =j =i =h =g =f =e =d =c =b =a se the ecret ode to olve the questions. f the letter in the clue is an, write down a z. he clues and questions are all vocabulary words that we use with mysteries. 1. _ is a person who is believed to have committed a crime. () 2. is the arrangement of incidents in a story. () 3. _ is an act that violates the law. () 4. is another name for a detective. () 5. _ is something that is secret or unknown. () 6. _ is someone who saw or can give a firsthand account of something that happened. () 7. allows a person to form an accurate and lasting visual memory or mental picture. ( ) 8. n _ is an excuse or piece of information given by an accused person to prove that he/she was somewhere else when a crime was committed. () 9. is the reason that a person does something or acts in a certain way. () 10. _ is a person who gathers information and investigates crimes. () : 1. suspect, 2. plot, 3. crime, 4. sleuth, 5. mystery, 6. witness, 7. photographic memory, 8. alibi, 9. motive, 10. detective 15

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17 1. omeone who saw or can give a firsthand account of something that happened 8. statement or evidence, or an object that is used to prove the solution of a mystery 12. ooking at things with care and noting details 13. he reason a person does something or acts in a certain way 15. n excuse or piece of information given by an accused person to prove that he/she was somewhere else when a crime was committed 17. memory the ability to form an accurate and lasting memory or mental picture 19. o get away 2. o ask questions 3. necessary piece of information or insight that helps solve a mystery 4. nother name for a detective 5. person who is harmed or suffers a loss 6. he time, place, and environment in which a story takes place 7. nease or worry about something 9. o make someone curious or to use a secret or mysterious scheme 10. he arrangement of events and action in a story 11. person who gathers information and investigates crimes 14. person who people think might have committed a crime 16. n act that violates the law 18. n object or piece of information that helps to solve a mystery : cross 1. witness, 8. evidence, 12. observant, 13. motive. 15. alibi, 17. photographic, 19. escape own 2. interrogate, 3. breakthrough, 4. sleuth, 5. victim, 6. setting, 7. concern, 9. intrigue, 10. plot, 11. detective, 14. suspect, 16. crime, 18. clue 17

18 ind the words from the list in the puzzle. ou may find them forward, backward, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally

19 19 sing the words from the list, try to find the words in the puzzle. ou may find them horizontally or vertically. in 22.

20 rite a sentence or group of words that begins with each letter below. ach one should describe a am ansen mystery that you have read. itle of am ansen ystery: 20

21 rite a sentence or group of words that begins with each letter below. ach one should tell about avid. dler. ind information about r. dler from the biographical information in this guide, from the am ansen book jackets, or from r. dler s website ( 21

22 22 p. 18 p. 19 in

23 . : id you like to read mysteries when you were a child? : have always loved to read mysteries because they entertain me and challenge me to solve the mystery myself. : ell us something about the real person on whom you modeled am, and also tell us if ric was someone you knew. : am ansen is modeled after an elementary school classmate who had a photographic memory. set off writing about him, but made lots of changes by the time was done. y classmate was a boy and am is a girl, and unlike my classmate, am says, lick! and solves mysteries. ric is based on me, and my hope from the very beginning was that as am pulls ric (me) into each mystery, she ll pull along my readers. : s it hard to write the dialogue in your mysteries? : have more trouble writing descriptive paragraphs than writing dialogue. : here do you get the ideas for your mysteries, like the diamond burglary or the missing abe uth baseball? : he stolen diamond idea came from my son ichael, who was an infant at the time wrote it, and while don t want to give the story away, all the preparation needed before could take ichael out led to the idea for that story. he idea for the abe uth baseball mystery is from ichael, too, who is a real sports fan and had me take him to lots of baseball card shows. hen it s time to write a new am go to the library, where will not be disturbed. y thinking and writing all sorts of lists of possible settings and situations, come up with an idea. do have the beginnings of outlines that just didn t work out. ve had days when all have to show for all my work are discarded papers. hat s all part of the writing process. any of the setting for the stories the circus, zoo, and sports card shows come from places ve taken my children, but the mysteries are my inventions.. onnna. noell is an educational consultant who works with schools and school districts worldwide. he is a former classroom teacher and has also taught at the university level. he specializes in creating engaging and effective ways to utilize children s books to improve students reading and to help engage them in the reading process. onna is also a published author. 23

24 ollect all he am ansen ooks for our chool or ibrary! #1. he ystery of the tolen iamonds : : #10. he ystery at the onkey ouse : : #18. he atnapping ystery : : #3. oung am ansen and the ost ooth : : #2. he ystery of the... : : #3. he ystery of the inosaur ones : : #4. he ystery of the elevision og : #5. he ystery of the old oins : #6. he ystery of the abe uth aseball : #7. he ystery of the ircus lown : #8. he ystery of the onster ovie : : #9. he ystery of the arnival rize : #11. he ystery of the tolen orn opper : : #12. he ystery of light 54 : #13. he ystery at the aunted ouse : : #14. he hocolate udge ystery : : #15. he riceratops ops ystery : : #16. he hostly ystery : : #17. he cary nake ystery : : #19. he arking reasure ystery : : #20. he irthday ystery : : #21. he chool lay ystery : : #22. he irst ay of chool ystery : : #23. he ennis rophy ystery : : #24. he nowy ay ystery : : #25. he alentine aby ystery : lso available: he oung am ansen ysteries or ges 6-7, rades 1-2 #4. oung am ansen and the ce kate ystery : #5. oung am ansen and the aseball ystery : : #6. oung am ansen and the izza hop ystery : : #7 oung am ansen and the ibrary ystery : : #8. oung am ansen and the ouble each ystery : : #9. oung am ansen and the oo ote ystery : : #10. oung am ansen and the ew irl ystery : : #11. oung am ansen and the ubstitute ystery : #1. oung am ansen and the inosaur ame : : #2. oung am ansen and the issing ookie : : iking hildren s ooks uffin ooks ivisions of enguin oung eaders roup