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Read Chapters 14-17; Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 14-17

Explain to your class that a special item is missing from the classroom (a class pet or other notable object of your choice). Then, write this question on the board, “Who is the thief?” Hand out the Class Clues, making sure to give one clue to each student. Give each student a minute to make a guess based on their clue. Then, let students pair up and share clues and make a guess about who the thief is. Continue to group students until groups of 8 are sharing all of the available clues. Finally, give students 2-5 minutes to work together to solve the mystery. Ask for a class answer to “Who is the thief?” (The teacher is the thief.) Reveal to students if the class answer is correct or incorrect.

will explain that clues are details or pieces of information that lead a reader or investigator to solve a mystery. Just like we solved the mystery of the missing classroom object by bringing together all of the pieces of information that were available to draw a conclusion, readers use the clues given by the author, to figure out who committed a crime or how a story is going to end.  How does a reader recognize a clue in a story? Clues are often suspicious or out of place details. They can be words that characters think or say, actions characters take, or objects in the story. Clues answer the 5W and H questions about the mystery: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? I will explain that it is up to the reader of a mystery to draw a conclusion about which details in a story are useful clues.

I will review Chapters 10-12, looking for clues. I will look for details that are suspicious or out of place. As I come across clues, I will write each clue on my Clue Tracker. Then, I will use the clue to answer the 5W and H questions about the mystery of who killed LeBrandi. These clues will come in handy as I try to predict the outcome of the mystery. Note: See the Clue Tracker for sample responses.

I’ll start reading aloud Chapter 10, stopping when I find a detail that is suspicious or out of place. (Have students follow along in their copies of the book, while you read aloud.) For example, in Chapter 10, this detail stands out to me: Max tells the police officer that it was his idea along with Inga’s to have LeBrandi’s bed stripped of the sheets. I’ll record this clue on my Clue Tracker and then answer the 5W and H questions about the clue. By answering the 5W and H questions about the clue, I can determine if it is useful in figuring out who killed LeBrandi. Who? Max and Inga.What? Tell the police it was their idea to have the sheets taken off LeBrandi’s bed.Where? By the reception room. When? Just as Sammy is about to leave for Cosmo’s Curios.Why? Max says that he thought it would be less traumatic on Dominique if the sheets were removed as she usually sleeps in the bed. How? Hali took the sheets off the bed. This clue is useful because it helps me understand that Max or Hali may have been involved in the murder of LeBrandi. They may have wanted to cover up some evidence in the sheets that LeBrandi was found on. Since this clue is useful, I’ll place a checkmark by it on my Clue Tracker.

Next, I’ll read aloud Chapter 11, pausing when I find a detail that is suspicious or out of place. (Have students follow along in their copies of the book, while you read aloud.) For example, in Chapter 11, this detail is suspicious: Sammy tells Hali that Max thinks Opal stole the Honeymoon Jewels. Sammy thinks that LeBrandi found out that Opal was going to pawn the jewels and blackmailed LeBrandi for a piece of jewelry. I’ll record the clue on my Clue Tracker and then answer the 5W and H questions about the clue to determine if it is useful. Who? Opal and LeBrandi. What? LeBrandi found out that Opal stole the jewels and blackmailed Opal for a piece. Where? At Max’s house. When? Unknown. Why? LeBrandi may have wanted to make money from the jewels. How? Unknown. This clue is useful because it shows that Opal may have killed LeBrandi for the remaining piece of jewelry. Opal may have killed LeBrandi because she was afraid that LeBrandi would tell Max that Opal stole the jewels. Since this clue is useful, I’ll place a checkmark by it on my Clue Tracker.

Now, I’ll read aloud Chapter 12, pausing when I find a detail that is suspicious or out of place. (Have students follow along in their copies of the book, while you read aloud.) For example, in Chapter 12, this detail is suspicious: Hali, Sammy, and Marissa see the remaining Honeymoon Jewels in Cosmo’s Curios and get them back. I’ll record the clue on my Clue Tracker and then answer the 5W and H questions about the clue to determine if it is useful. Who? Hali, Sammy, and Marissa. What? The girls find the Honeymoon Jewels at the shop and get them back from the owner. The girls show the owner a picture of Opal and he identifies her as the person who sold him the jewels. Where? At Cosmo’s Curios.When? Unknown. Why? Opal may have wanted to make money by selling the jewels, so she sold them at the pawn shop. She also did not want LeBrandi telling Max that she had the jewels. How? Opal brought them to the shop and sold them. This clue is useful because it proves that Opal stole and sold the jewels. She may have killed LeBrandi because she did not want LeBrandi telling Max that she stole the jewels. Since this clue is useful, I’ll place a checkmark by it on my Clue Tracker. Note: You will need to save the Clue Tracker that you created on chart paper for use with Lessons 4 and 5.
 

Ask: "How did l find useful clues in the story?" Students should respond that you looked for odd or suspicious details that could be useful in solving the mystery. You asked and answered the 5W and H questions about the detail to draw a conclusion about its usefulness as a clue.

will find clues for Chapters 13-14 and write them on the Clue Tracker. We will then determine if each clue is a useful clue by answering as many 5W and H questions as we can. If a clue is useful, we will place a check mark by it on our Clue Tracker that was started during the Direct Teaching.

For example, as we read Chapter 13, a suspicious detail is when Hali, Sammy, and Marissa go to visit Opal, she tells them that she fought with Brandi about the brooch, but did not hate her enough to kill her. We will write this clue on our Clue Tracker. We now need to determine if this clue is useful in solving the mystery of who killed LeBrandi. To do this, we can answer the 5W and H questions about the clue: Who? Opal and LeBrandi. What? LeBrandi and Opal fought about the brooch. Where? Unknown. When? Unknown. Why? Opal was mad that LeBrandi blackmailed her about the brooch. Opal says that she did not like her but not enough to kill her. How? Unknown. This clue is useful because it helps us understand that Opal did not kill LeBrandi. Since this clue is useful, we will place a checkmark by it on our Clue Tracker.

Also, in Chapter 14, a detail that stands out is when Sammy tells Hali she has to get to Max’s house as a matter of life and death, Hali takes her time driving and then goes to a gas station to put oil in her car. We will write this clue on our Clue Tracker. We will then answer the 5W and H questions about the clue to figure out if this clue is useful or not. Who: Hali. What: Stopping for oil in her car. Where: At the gas station on their way home. When: When Sammy told her getting to Max’s was a matter of life and death. Why: Hali may have some connection to LeBrandi’s murder or may even want to kill Dominique. How? Unknown. This clue is useful, because it helps us understand that Hali may have committed the crime. Since this clue is useful, we will place a checkmark by it on our Clue Tracker.

will work with a group or a partner to find useful clues for each chapter for Chapters 15-17. Your group will write your clues on your Clue Tracker Worksheet in your Student Packet, discuss each clue, and answer the 5W and H questions to determine if each clue is useful. (See page 21 in the Student Packet.)