Activities
The Westing Game: pair students together as
Why Teach Mystery
Novels?
* IDENTITY AND SELF DISCOVERY
Mystery stories feature protagonists who are
searching for answers to physical questions, but
often end up finding much more. They
experience a journey that leads them to the
revelation of who they are and what they are
capable of.
*MAKING SENSE OF THE PHYSICAL
WORLD
Sleuths utilize their 5 senses to determine how
things relate to one another in the physical
world. Mysteries are all about the use of the
mind to analyze the world around us and
how we, as human beings, relate to it.
*NOTICING EVERYTHING
Readers learn by example to notice the little
things. Every description, action—every word.
This makes them stronger readers and better
problem solvers.
“teams” of two, like the characters in the novel,
and allow them to solve the mystery themselves.
Have the pairs exchange journals as they read
through the book to discuss predictions, clues,
thoughts, connections, and more.
Two Minute Mysteries/Curious Incident: To
aide in instruction of Curious Incident and to
push readers to “notice” as they read through
the novel, do some two-minute mysteries in
class. Read them aloud and get class responses,
and/or let students chose their own mystery
from the volume (over 200 to chose from) to
work out for themselves. Encourage them to not
look at the answer until they have thought
critically about the situation and attempted to
solve it on their own or with the help of their
peers.
Beekeeper and Baskervilles: After
reading each novel (or parts of
each) have students think about the
character of Holmes. How is he
portrayed differently by King in
Beekeper as opposed to his original
author, Doyle, in Baskervilles.
Which author gives him more
detail? Which Holmes do you like
better? Which feels more realistic?
Which would you rather have lunch
with? Why?
What Mystery
Finds
“The greatest mystery is oneself”
-Oscar Wilde
“Some mystery should be left in the
revelation of character...
just as a great deal of mystery
is always left in the revelation of
character in life, even in one’s own
character…”
-Tennessee Williams
The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin
(Grades 7-8)
The plot is simple. Millionaire Sam Westing is
found dead and the sixteen “heirs” that are gathered
to hear his will quickly become the players in the
Westing Game. Who can solve the mystery of Sam
Westing’s death? Whichever of the eight teams of
two can accomplish this will receive his fortune.
Each character is a suspect as well as a detective.
The Westing Game has a lot of characters, but
each is so unique and memorable that they are a large
part of the reason that every page of this book is
enchanting.
This puzzle mystery is classic novel that won the
Newberry Medal in 1978. It is a twisting, fun
mystery that will amaze you with its seeming
simplicity and final complexity out who you really
are.
The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime
By Mark Haddon
(Grades 8-12)
A murder mystery written from the perspective
of a fifteen-year old autistic savant, Christopher
Boone, this novel is charming, heart-warming, and
exciting.
When Chris is taking a walk one night he notices
his neighbor’s poodle, Wellington, lying dead on its
side with a gardening fork sticking out of its chest.
This begins Christopher’s adventure in attempting to
discover the murder of the dog. Although his father
demands that he let it go, Chris cannot let go of the
need to make sense of this horrible and seemingly
random act. His journey results in the discovery of a
lot of things, including the truth about his mother,
what lead to his parent’s separation, and, most
importantly, that his own abilities have no limitation.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
By Laurie King
(Grades 9-12)
This novel is a young-adult masterwork in mystery,
suspense, and coming-of-age. It is written with
sophistication and precision by a seasoned Mystery
author, Laurie King and is the first in her still-growing
“Mary Russell series”.
Within the first two pages, Mary Russell, a
fifteen year-old, book-nosed orphan living in the
English countryside, stumbles upon Sherlock Holmes.
This begins a curious and eventually familial
relationship between the two. Holmes, now well-on in
years and less able to perform the necessary functions
of some detective cases, begins an apprenticeship with
Russell. The story is written to cultivate the character of
Mary Russell, to give her identity and confidence, for
she will carry on the torch afterwards in countless other
cases described in the succeeding books.
Paul Auster’s City Of Glass
By Paul Karasik and David Mazzuccheli
(Grades 11-12)
This graphic novel is a psychological detective
mystery that will challenge readers of any age to
question what they know. The story centers around
Daniel Quinn, an ex-mystery writer who gets a chance
to live out his own detective adventure. He answers a
phone call that wakes him from his sleep. Someone on
the other end wants help finding a man who was
recently released from prison. Through dealing with the
death of his family and the stress of the case he agrees
to take, Quinn discovers he must re-think everything he
knows about reality and illusion. The story itself is at
times simple and logical and at others it is metaphysical
and convoluted. Mature, interested, mystery-loving
students will find this book exciting and different.
Supplemental Material
* The Hound of The Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
This is a classic novel that could be paired
easily with King’s The Beekeeper’s
Apprentice.
*Two Minute Mysteries
by Donald J. Sobol
This collection of two-page flash-mysteries
provide a chance for readers to practice
their sleuthing skills. Quickly they will
learn that every detail—every single
word—can be crucially important. Could
be paired easily with The Curious Incident
Of the dog In Night-time or The Westing
Game.
*Memento
Directed by Christopher Nolan
This film is surprising, twisting, grabbing
mystery about self-identity. The main
character suffers from memory loss and
must reconstruct his past, and the murder
of his wife. In a 12th grade classroom, pair
with City Of Glass for its psychological
elements and twisting plot.
Curriculum connections: Plot: Mystery writers are masters of plot. In most cases, these stories can be dissected into the text-book plot elements. The exposition, the rising
action, the climax (and possibly the climactic twist), and the resolution Foreshadowing: This technique is critical in mystery. Mystery authors love to make you make
predictions and inferences about what is going to happen next. Symbolism: Common items take on a new, heavier meaning when symbolism is understood. Symbols, as well as
motifs, are used with great precision in mystery novels.