Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Mysteries for Kids
Finding mysteries to use for instruction always seems to be a struggle. However, the following site may be of some help. Kids.mysterynet.com is a great site. ( I always seem to come back to this site when I'm working on a mystery unit. Lorie Donovan actually found it a few years ago when we were looking for some different mysteries to use with students.) The site has a Solve-It section which has short mystery stories and a Quick Solve section that has mysteries that are only about a paragraph long. After reading the mystery the reader is asked who they think did it. Students can make a selection and see if they are right. The correct answer is given with the clues used to figure it out. This can be a great way to teach the elements of a mystery without having to get into lengthy text. There is also a section entitled Mysteries by Kids. These are stories written by students for students. The stories published were the winners of the MysteryNet's Writing Contest. MysteryNet posted story starters and kids finished the mystery stories. (Students can enter the contest. Requirements are given on the site.) The site also has scary stories in the Chiller section and a Magic Trick section that teaches children how to do simple tricks. All stories and trick directions can be printed. Snoop around the site. See if you might find a mystery for the detectives in your room.
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38 comments:
This looks like a great site to explore. Thanks for sharing it.
May use this with my grandchildren!
This was one of the best articles because it applied to work that we do in the high school. Mysteries such as Agatha Christies AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, is a part of the curriculum. The students then get to write their own.
Kathy N
Mysteries are a great way to catch a kid's attention. I did a project in the past with The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. The book has drawings and a caption to go with each one. There is a great catchy explanation about the creater disappearing and the drawings being left behind with no full story to go with them. Then the students pick a picture and create a mysterious story using the picture and caption as inspiration. I teach 7th/8th grade and the kids really love doing it even though I know that some of them have already done it with some of the elementary school teachers. I work on the elements of a short story with them in order to help them create structure. We also work on the writing process. It is fun to read the finished pieces and see what everyone created.
What a great sight!! I loved reading some of the mystery stories developed by the students themselves. The magic tricks are awesome and I can't wait to try them out on some of the neighbor kids!!!
This was an amazing site...what a wonderful tool to teach children of all ages. Mysteries make us all think a little harder and takes us out of our comfort zone in a good way.
After reading all the comments to the original post, I wanted to go back and explore the site again for myself. It's amazing how one's enthusiam can be so contagious. Kids really do love mysteries and they can be so hard to find.
Great site. I really liked the stories by students for student section. Great way encourage your kids to write with the intent of an audience.
I really like this website for the high school students!! It can keep them engaged in learning without even knowing they are learning!!
Wow! What a great site. I think this site would be really useful in my classroom. I have students that are reading at a very low level. The different mysteries seem to be written at a good level for them, and high interest. What kid doesn't love a good mystery? I really like how it checks for comprehension. I can't wait to use it!
This is s nice site. I especially like the kids mysteries. They'd be nice to share and in some cases critique to help kids identify strengths and weaknesses.
I think the short mysteries could be ideal for problem solving. In my resource room, I have kids do different types of problem solving. It's great to have another tool to add to that. Thanks for sharing!
This site could be another wonderful means for students' writings to get published. I was thinking that Mysteries could be a medium to develop the reading strategy "inference." Infereing seems to be difficult for L2 students. What do you guys think?
This looks like a great site for me to use with students with reading difficulties. The short passages are of high interest and the length would not overwhelm them. Great to use in conjunction with a mystery unit.
It's so nice to check out a website that has so many wonderful elements!! The stories are interesting and written in easy-to-understand language---key to drawing in reluctant readers. I have bookmarked it for my own kids and students.
This blog contains information about a great internet resource for using mysteries in the classroom. I think this site could be utilized in a variety ways. Not only could you use the site to teach story elements, it could also be used to enhance the students' deductive reasoning and inferential skills. So many students work on a concrete level. This site would encourage the students to develop better critical thinking skills. The site provides engaging stories that are fun to read and would keep students interested.
This site brought me back to my childhood! I used to read the Nancy Drew Mystery series and try to figure out who had commited the crime. I went on this site and solved a mystery. It was great!
This is a great website! I think it could be used for many things. I already put it on my favorites. For my level it really could be used listening skills or a way to challenge students! Kids love trying to solve mysteries.
As a science teacher, I would love to work with the ELA teacher on my team and do a cross-disciplinary activity with this site. The ELA components that are addressed on this site are pretty obvious. As for the science components, I would like to use the mysteries to reinforce the concepts of observations and inferences, which are very important science skills that are, of course, also needed to solve mysteries! Thanks for sharing this site!
This sounds very interesting and useful for students in speech-language therapy to assist with inferential thinking and problem solving strategies. I will be investigating more and possibly using it in therapy. I am always looking for new and interesting material. Thanks!
The Mysteries for Kids site was fun. I can envision some Middle Schoolers reading the mysteries there and trying to solve them. They might even want to try the magic tricks. The site would be an excellent way for students to engage in reading online. As Christy H said, some studnets may have already seen/ read some of the mysteries there, but that limitation could be the carrot to spur them to writing their own, "This site really needs more mysteries. Why don't you write one so there is soemthing new?"
Lori, tahtnks for the "heads up."
Sally c (scaps)
This was a fun site...and I was not sharp enough to get the answer first time out of the box....Kids would love to learn about mysteries this way!
What a great site! I have always been a mystery buff. That was my favorite as a child. This is a very great site for teachers to use in the classroom. I liked the fact that you can browse the list for a good read. I think that all children can benefit from this site. It is SAFE TOO!
This is a neat web site to explore. I can just see kids getting all excited because they know who did it. You can see the wheels turning. Kids come up with the darndest things. They are learning without even knowing it.
What an interesting site that I think could be used for a variety of grade levels. Mysteries are so much fun, and yet can be used to develop a wide variety of skills. I need to spend more time with this site.
I have learned from personal experience that the teacher must make explicit connections between the material (both science content and the historical aspect) and real life experiences for knowledge to be valuable and meaningful for the students. Teachers must create a social context for the students to understand and apply their knowledge. I think that Mysteries are a great way for students to learn and discover. This style of story makes the reader/listener think about what is presented to them and hypothesize about the next step or the eventual end result…This is very similar way that we approach science. We do not know about the dinosaurs because a T-Rex ran across the road on your way to work…it is because scientist discovered the way of life before we were living in this spot. Much of what we learn about the Earth and the Universe is a mystery until the truth is discovered through scientific investigations.
A site such as this offers so many options. One of my first thoughts was that it provides opportunities for problem-solving (something we know we want students to be able to do). It also prompted me to think about problem based learning (something I am usually more familiar with at the secondary level) and how to scaffold a problem based learning activity for younger students. Liked the site and will be sharing it with others.
Love this site! Teachers are always asking me for mystery book ideas. I will definitely include this in my list of recommendations.
Deb
Love this! I'm always being asked for mysteries by kids and teachers. This is another resource I can use to steer people toward a good read!
Deb
Exploring mysteries and writing their own is a great idea for kids.
This website looks pretty cool. I tried out one of the mysteries and think my 3rd grade daughter would really get into it. What a good way to help kids explore mysteries.
Fun website. There are devotees of the genre that pop in to our library frequently. I'm going to have fun steering them to this site. Thanks!
What a great way to get students interested in not only writing and the skills incorporated with writing,but allow these students to use their imagination and have fun doing it. Reading the mysteries can keep their interest. Responding to the mysteries get the kids to think beyond what they are expected to. Creating their own mysteries I believe helps a child not only expand on their creativity but alows them to have fun doing so. I really enjoyed looking at this website.
I think this might be a neat site to use with my 9th graders when they read "And Then There Were None". It could be a great prep activity to get them thinking about mysteries. :)
This is really neat! My kids love Cam Jansen stories because they like to solve mysteries. I can see myself using this website as an activity of choice during Computer Center for ELA. I think some of my students, even reluctant writers, would be interested in trying to write their own mysteries, as well. Thanks for sharing!
This looks like a great site for a library to also use.
I will use this with my kids and try to find a way to model this with my students.
I think that this site would be fantastic for both middle and high school students.
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