Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (A Mystery Novel Study)
In this six-week course, students will read Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs while working together through the clues to solve the mystery while discussing the novel through reading comprehension and analysis.
Kaitlyn Fischer: Close-Reading Specialist
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What's included
6 live meetings
4 in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students will be asked to read outside of class so that they are prepared to discuss the novel in class and to participate in group activities to solve the mystery of the novel!Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
"Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other suspects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried ‘wee wee wee’ all the way home. It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can’t get that nursery rhyme out of his mind" - Citation Provided Below!
Follow Hercule Poirot as he solves the mystery of Five Little Pigs! Written by Agatha Christie, the Queen of Mystery, the novel is a grand example of Christie's influence on the literary world, particularly in the mystery genre. Author of 66 novels, 25 plays, and over 150 short stories, she is a world-famous best-selling author who has only been out-sold by William Shakespeare and the Bible worldwide. Throughout this class, students will be challenged to solve the mystery as we read the novel and participate in Socratic Seminar discussion and collaborative activities by discussing the novel, examining the clues, and eventually, solving the mystery together! Below is the schedule for the novel study, but please note that the topics might shift from one week to another as our conversations and activities are based on student-interests and needs! If you have questions, please feel free to reach out.
Week 1: Introduction to the Novel
- Introduction to The Five Little Pigs
- Introduction to Agatha Christie
- One of the Best Selling Authors of All-Time
- Introduction to Mystery
- Character Introductions
Week 2: Introduction to the Mystery
- Character Introduction and Collaboration Sorting
- Hercule Poirot, World-Famous Detective
- Elements of the Mystery
- Evidence, Suspects, and Motives
Week 3: Elements and Clues in the Mystery
- Evidence, Suspects, and Motives
- Character Sorting
- Examining the Details of the Novel and Plot
- Character Development (and Mystery Development)
Week 4: Elements and Clues in the Mystery
- The Five Little Pigs
- Use of a Nursery Rhyme to Write a Mystery
- Not the First or the Last Time Christie Does!
- Collaborative Planning (Sorting Through the Clues)
Week 5: Elements and Clues in the Mystery
- The Five Little Pigs
- Use of a Nursery Rhyme to Write a Mystery
- Not the First or the Last Time Christie Does!
- Collaborative Planning (Sorting Through the Clues)
- Optional: Writing Prompt
Week 6: The Solution
- Examining and Discussing the Solution to the Mystery
- Christie's Writing Style
- Developing a True Mystery
- A Classic "Who Dunnit?" Novel
- Christie's Legacy
- The Development of Hercule Poirot
- Optional: Writing Prompt
Citation:
Christie, Agatha. "Five Little Pigs." The Home of Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie Limited, 2022,
www.agathachristie.com/stories/five-little-pigs.Other Details
Parental Guidance
While there is not a Common Sense Media parental review for Five Little Pigs, here is a Common Sense Media parental review for And Then There Were None! This is another famous novel by Christie and has similar topics, levels of violence, and mystery to it. We will be discussing these things in class but we will be approaching it from a novel and historical perspective. We will discuss the time and the appropriateness or inappropriateness of these topics as they come up. If you have quiestions or concens about these topics, please reach out to me. I am happy to work together to come up with a plan to address these issues together so that your student is having the best experience possible in class. Let me know if you have any questions about the novels listed here!
- And Then There Were None: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/and-then-there-were-none
Supply List
Students will need to purchase the novels and have access to the literature pieces with copyrights. Some of the work we will be working with will be creative commons work or will be out of copyright. These we can access without an issue. All work we complete (the curriculum itself) is developed by me so there is no need to purchase a copyrighted curriculum!
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined January, 2020
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Colorado Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
I have been teaching professionally for over 5 years in both Missouri and in Colorado. I have been on Outschool for three years and can provide links to classes where I teach the concepts of this class and this specific author so you can look through them and look at the reviews to see how other parents and students have reacted to my courses. I am happy to answer any questions that you have!
- Semester Course Covering Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None: https://outschool.com/classes/high-school-english-life-of-pi-and-and-then-there-were-none-full-semester-E4qhysWt?usid=l0R3fRwf&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
- Classic Literature - A Novel Study (A course where students choose the novels we read): https://outschool.com/classes/classic-literature-novel-study-V9NC71b3?usid=l0R3fRwf&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
- In this course, I have taught And Then There Were None, Death on the Nile, and Murder on the Orient Express, all by Christie
- Middle School Version of the Above Course: https://outschool.com/classes/classic-literature-a-novel-study-xkvxQwCz?usid=l0R3fRwf&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_linkReviews
Live Group Class
$110
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
40 min
Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-14
1-6 learners per class
