Introduce Young Learners to the Literary Genre of Mystery - Poster, Worksheet and Suggeestions

Finding clues makes reading mystery stories unique and fun.

It is always a joy to see the faces of young readers when they discover a new type of story.  Mysteries are very captivating for readers of any age.  Mysteries can help readers develop critical thinking skills as well as exposes them to the beginnings of more intricate plots and characters.  The resources we share today help children to learn mysteries with a reference poster and a simple worksheet that can be used with any mystery book.

The poster is simply worded with themed colour graphics.  Simply print out and affix to a bulletin board, door or wall.  You may also choose to use a three hole punch and put it in a folder or duo-tang for reference.  Although there is so much to teach with this genre, we chose to focus on the aspect of clue finding through careful reading and drawing conclusions.

Click HERE to download this Mystery Genre Poster.

Click HERE to see a collection of our other posters.

The Finding the Clues worksheet is designed to help children look for the real "mystery" or dilemma of the plot as well as clues in the book they are reading.  Children are also encouraged to figure out the importance or significance of the clues the find. 

The perfect book to use with this worksheet is Peabody's First Case by Ruth Thomson.  The clues are easy to pick out and readers can also have a bit of fun spotting the clues in a hide and seek type illustrations.  Children up to grades 5-6 can appreciate this book, although grade 1-2 learners could also find it a hoot with a bit of support from mom or dad, if needed.

Click HERE to download this Mystery worksheet.

Looking for suggestions for mystery stories? 

Here are some of our family favourites which we have used over the years.

[K-2]  Inspector Hopper series by Doug Cushman; A grasshopper and his bug sidekick find and solve mysteries in a garden habitat.  These are part of the I Can Read book series.

[1-3]  Nate the Great series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat; A young boy solves adventures in his neighbourhood in true super sleuth style.

[3-6]  The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner; Four children who once lived in a train boxcar, have adventures together making simple discoveries.

[3-6]  The Bobbsey Twins series by Laura Lee Hope (Classic Edition);  Four children, Bert and Nan, Freddie and Flossie, have great adventures in a variety of locations solving mysteries and having fun.  This is a great classic series from the 1960s. 

We hope that these books and resources will help bring a love of reading to your learner.

Blessings,

That Resource Team