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IN THE CLASSROOM:
Watching the child detectives
  
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Third-graders learn some tricks of the sleuthing trade using a book that involves a treasure hunt.
By Ani Amirkhanian
After reading the book, “Mayflower Treasure Hunt,” R.D. White third-grader Camila Castaneda donned a fedora — like detectives used to do — and set out to solve the mystery of the stolen necklace.
The 8-year-old had some help. She and her teammates in Patty Anderson’s third-grade class worked on their detective case file, which contained a work sheet that helped them solve the mystery. They looked for suspects, clues and other details they read from the book to piece together the mystery.
“It’s like a treasure hunt,” said Sabrina Cuba, 9. “If I don’t know where to look for clues, I read the story more.”
Students participated in the mystery-solving activity that helped them with their reading comprehension and problem-solving skills.
“It’s highly engaging,” Anderson said. “It’s a genre they can get into.”
After reading a mystery novel, students wrote plot summaries and played the role of detective to piece the missing links that solved the mystery from the novel.
Eight-year-old Kuba Nogalski and his classmate Menua Khachatouryan, 8, sat on cushions in the classroom with their detective hats on and completed their “top-secret” case file.
“When you read the book, you have to write down clues,” Menua said.
Students discovered that the time it takes to solve a mystery can vary.
“You can solve it in an hour or three or four days,” Kuba said.
But piecing together the clues for a mystery from a book was just half of the project that students worked on.
Students also came up with their own mystery.
But before starting on their adventure, they wrote their own scripts and assigned parts to each participant who would be involved in solving the mystery of three missing students who are kidnapped by the principal.
“There are so many different places to look for clues, like in the library,” said Natalie Markaryan, 8.
Natalie, who is one of the head detectives, will assign the detectives their duties. The detectives will each play a part in solving the mystery of the missing students.
“The novels have helped them prepare their own mysteries,” Anderson said. “They came up with the idea of writing the mystery for the missing students.”
The detective mystery project is also helping students learn to work in teams, despite some challenges.
“Creative differences is one of the challenges, but it’s the good problem-solving skills they get out of it,” Anderson said.
The 8-year-old had some help. She and her teammates in Patty Anderson’s third-grade class worked on their detective case file, which contained a work sheet that helped them solve the mystery. They looked for suspects, clues and other details they read from the book to piece together the mystery.
“It’s like a treasure hunt,” said Sabrina Cuba, 9. “If I don’t know where to look for clues, I read the story more.”
Students participated in the mystery-solving activity that helped them with their reading comprehension and problem-solving skills.
“It’s highly engaging,” Anderson said. “It’s a genre they can get into.”
After reading a mystery novel, students wrote plot summaries and played the role of detective to piece the missing links that solved the mystery from the novel.
Eight-year-old Kuba Nogalski and his classmate Menua Khachatouryan, 8, sat on cushions in the classroom with their detective hats on and completed their “top-secret” case file.
“When you read the book, you have to write down clues,” Menua said.
Students discovered that the time it takes to solve a mystery can vary.
“You can solve it in an hour or three or four days,” Kuba said.
But piecing together the clues for a mystery from a book was just half of the project that students worked on.
Students also came up with their own mystery.
But before starting on their adventure, they wrote their own scripts and assigned parts to each participant who would be involved in solving the mystery of three missing students who are kidnapped by the principal.
“There are so many different places to look for clues, like in the library,” said Natalie Markaryan, 8.
Natalie, who is one of the head detectives, will assign the detectives their duties. The detectives will each play a part in solving the mystery of the missing students.
“The novels have helped them prepare their own mysteries,” Anderson said. “They came up with the idea of writing the mystery for the missing students.”
The detective mystery project is also helping students learn to work in teams, despite some challenges.
“Creative differences is one of the challenges, but it’s the good problem-solving skills they get out of it,” Anderson said.
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