Middle School Semester - 3 Classic Mystery Novels
In this 14-week course, students will read four novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Maurice LeBlanc while exploring the mystery genre and working together to solve mysteries, solve riddles, and create an escape room!
Kaitlyn Fischer: Close-Reading Specialist
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What's included
28 live meetings
21 in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students will be asked to complete reading outside of class time. During our classes, students will work through writing activities including argumentative writing, literary analysis, quote analysis, and more! The purpose of this is to challenge students to develop their writing ability and to continue to understand how to develop their writing and arguments on their own through multiple rounds of feedback and editing, both as a group and 1-1 with the teacher. If writing assignments are not finished in class, students will be asked to finish them as part of their homework.Assessment
Students will be given several formal writing assignments throughout the semester. While these are not tests, they can be used as assessment pieces for homeschooling evidence, which many states and countries require. All formal writing in my class will be completed with multiple rounds of written and verbal feedback. Students will have the opportunity to work through their writing skills as a group and 1-1 with me in class!Grading
Grading - Students will have the opportunity to receive a grade in the form of their choosing.I am happy to provide a grade in the form of a percentage, letter, or both. I can also offer a formal letter for submission to state programs. I ask students throughout the semester about their needs for grading and am happy to work with parents to create a plan that meets their needs!Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Intermediate Level
Come join us for four classic mystery novels covering some of the greatest mystery stories from the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and Arsene Lupin.
Throughout the semester, students will explore mind puzzles, riddles, and other challenges to solve the mysteries of The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief! As we read, we will explore the mystery genre; solve riddles, puzzles, and mind games; analyze clues through collaboration in discussions and written analysis; and develop an escape room utilizing the skills and elements that we learned throughout the semester!
Below is a short outline of our semester. I am happy to provide a more detailed outline upon request. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you!
Week 1: Introduction to Semester Course
- Introduction and Welcome
- Introduction to Google Drive
- Introduction to Mystery and Novels
- Riddles, Mind Puzzles, Games, Escape Rooms
- Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Arsene Lupin
Weeks 2 - 4: Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Riddles and Mind Puzzles
- Weekly Mini-Writing Prompts
- Setting
- Character
- Mystery Elements
Weeks 5 - 9: Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- Weekly Mini-Writing Prompts
- Character
- Conflict Development
- Symbolism
- Week 10 - 12: Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief by Maurice LeBlanc
- Short Stories Collection
- Weekly Mini-Writing Prompts
- Symbolism
- Theme
- Steps to Solving the Mystery
Week 13 - 14:
- Design Your Own Escape Room Project
- Developing the Setting
- Creating Clues and Problems to Solve
- Developing a Key to Solve the RoomSyllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created CurriculumStandards
Aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)28 Lessons
over 14 WeeksLesson 1:
Week 1: Introduction to Semester Course
- Introduction to Semester Course
- Introduction and Welcome
- Introduction to Google Drive
- Introduction to Mystery and Novels 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Week 1: Introduction to Semester Course
- Riddles, Mind Puzzles, Games, Escape Rooms
- Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Arsène Lupin 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Riddles and Mind Puzzles
- Weekly Mini-Writing Prompts
- Setting
- Character
- Mystery Elements 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Symbolism, Character, and Mystery Continued
- Writing Prompts Continued 45 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Here are the Common Sense Media guides for our three novels!
The Hound of the Baskervilles:
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles
The Murder of Roger Akroyd:
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/agatha-christie-the-abc-murders
- Please note that this review is for Christie's novel, And Then There Were None. While it is not the same novel, these are similar novels in their content and the comparison is relevant.
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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967reviews
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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 over a year and can provide links to classes where I teach the concepts of this semester-long class 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!
I teach many semester classes for both Middle School and High School.
Classic Literature - A Novel Study for Middle School Students (A course where students choose the novels we read)
- In this course, I have taught all four of our novel options
- https://outschool.com/classes/classic-literature-a-novel-study-xkvxQwCz?usid=l0R3fRwf&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
Writing a Novel (Employs the creative writing skills that we will be using in our course)
- https://outschool.com/classes/writing-a-novel-or-short-story-on-going-workshops-YTo8o2q7?usid=l0R3fRwf&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_linkReviews
Live Group Course
$29
weekly or $400 for 28 classes2x per week, 14 weeks
45 min
Completed by 9 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-13
2-6 learners per class
