I’m Puzzled! Discovering Story Elements through Mysteries Educational Resources K12 Learning, Comprehension, Reading Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

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Audio:

Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and Dean Koontz

What do these people have in common?

They are all mystery writers, but they are not all the same. Every author creates the story differently, but they all use mystery elements, or literary devices, to tell their story.

Study story elements through a mystery with lots of fun and interactive activities!

Choose a mystery novel to read as you work through these activities. Some suggested titles are in the right-hand sidebar under Suggested Reading.

As you work through story elements, consider these questions:

What are the story elements or literary devices in a mystery?
What do you think is the most important literary device of a mystery?
How is the mystery structured?
How does the author build suspense and excitement?
What clues does the author use in the book? Do clues lead you away from solving the mystery or help you solve the mystery?
How do all the literary devices or story elements work together to form the story?

There are many story elements or literary devices in a mystery. Some are listed below.

	⇒	Characters are the players in the story.
	⇒	The protagonist, or main character, in a mystery is tasked with solving the problem.
	⇒	The setting is often very important to the plot line.
	⇒	In a mystery, the plot can take many twists and turns, with clues leading you in different directions.
	⇒	Some writers even structure the plot by jumping back and forth in time.

It all adds to the suspense and excitement of the mystery.

As you read about the story elements of a mystery in the resources listed below, take notes in the Mystery Story Elements graphic organizer that you can download from Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.

Include each mystery story element for this lesson: