Angelo J. Pompano
Objectives for Lesson One
1. To use the writing response journal to record the students first impressions.
2. To identify the characteristics of a detective story
3. To develop vocabulary.
4. To use context clues.
5. To instill the pursuit of truth and justice as a positive goal
6. To see that crime doesn’t pay.
7. To see that inference alone is unreliable.
8. To establish that intelligence is stronger than violence.
9. To apply literal, interpretative and critical thinking skills to a mystery story.
10. To learn about deductive reasoning.
11. To identify climax
12. To classify characters as main or minor characters
13. To understand irony
14. To recognize conflict
15. To analyze the events in a plot.
Tell the students that the genre of detective fiction can be a great deal of fun because you can play detective and try to solve the mystery yourself. Be sure that they know clearly what a mystery is. One week before the class actually reads Agatha Christie’s “Miss Marple Tells A Story,” assign the students to watch at least one TV mystery. Suggest such programs as “Mystery!”, “Diagnosis Murder”, “Burke’s Law”, or “Murder, She Wrote”.
Pre-Reading Writing Response Journal Assignment
In your journal respond to the following:
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1. Name a movie or TV mystery show that you enjoyed.
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2. As the mystery unfolded, were your able to solve it along with the detective?
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3. Were there any clues which gave you a false lead?
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4. Were there any clues you overlooked?
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5. Were you surprised when the detective solved the mystery? Why?
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6. Write about a real life mystery, no matter how small, which you have solved.
Explain to the students that while it is fun to watch a mystery movie or TV show, reading detective fiction can be even more enjoyable because you can work on the mystery at you own pace. You have the luxury, when reading, to stop at any point and go back to reread for clues you may have missed or not understood. You can also take time to reflect on your own experiences and apply the knowledge you already possess to the clues at hand. Tell the students that that is exactly what Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple does. She relates the clues she uncovers and the reactions of the suspects to how people she has known in her town of Saint Mary Mead have reacted in similar situations in the past.
At this point the teacher should give the students time to read “Miss Marple Tells A Story.”
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1. Have students stop reading at the point where Miss Marple says, “In that case, the whole thing seems to me remarkably simple.” Have them make predictions as to who they think Miss Marple will say committed the murder. Write their predictions on the board. When they finish reading “Miss Marple Tells A Story” have them compare their predictions to what actually happened in the story.
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2. The students should write down unfamiliar words in their journal as they come to them. Have them use context clues to understand unfamiliar words. When they finish reading they can look up the words to see if they were correct in their “detective” work.
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3. Discuss the story with the class. Try to elicit responses that show that Miss Marple’s pursuit of truth and justice is a positive goal. The students should see that in the end crime doesn’t pay and that intelligence is stronger than violence.
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4. Discuss deductive reasoning with the class. Explain that it begins with a general statement such as “All dogs are animals.” You then apply this general statement to a specific and draw a conclusion. For example, “All golden retrievers are dogs; therefore you may infer that all golden retrievers are animals.” At this point the teacher should discuss with the class the possibility that inference alone can be unreliable and it should be used in conjunction with scientific method. Have the students try to determine whether Miss Marple used deduction alone or if she incorporated scientific method.
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5. “Miss Marple Tells A Story” can be recorded on audio tape by the better students. Slower students can listen while reading along before attempting to read the story on their own.
Name________________________ Div.______ Date____________
Miss Marple Tells A Story
Vocabulary—Part I Complete each sentence with the correct vocabulary word.
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Victorian
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solicitor
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consultation
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acumen
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chambermaid
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verdict
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inquest
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pince-nez
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vieux jeu
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coroner
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drawing room
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stiletto
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1. Mr. Petherick is Miss Marple’s ___________, or lawyer.
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2. Mr. Petherick said kind things about Miss Marple’s ______________ because she had a quick and sharp mind.
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3. Miss Marple received her visitors in the _______________.
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4. Miss Marple described her old fashioned ideas as being hopelessly ___________________.
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5. At the ______________ the coroner investigated the murder to determine the cause of death.
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6. The French phrase _______________ means “old game” and is used by Miss Marple to describe Mr. Leighton.
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7. Miss Carruthers wore a _______________ which are glasses that are held on the bridge of the nose by a clip.
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8. Mr. Petherick met with Miss Marple for a _________________ in which they discussed the crime.
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9. The official in charge of investigating the cause of a death not clearly due to natural causes is called a ___________.
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10. The jury brought in a ________________ of murder because it decided that someone had killed Mrs. Rhodes.
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11. A small dagger with a slender blade is called a _____________.
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12. A _____________________ takes care of bedrooms in a hotel.
