Mystery

Mystery books are a form of narration in which one or more elements remain unknown or unexplained until the end of the story. They present a riddle or puzzle to be solved. Mysteries contain a character who acts as the detective, and contain clues to help the reader solve the puzzle. Mysteries that are written for older children have a suspenseful mood and contain foreshadowing. The modern mystery contains an account of a character's struggle with various physical and psychological obstacles in an effort to achieve his goal, good characterization, and sound motivation. The plot of the mystery begins with an action that draws the reader into the story. As the protagonist, the detective works to solve the mystery and often finds themself in danger. Each suspect and his or her motives are examined.

To fill my classroom library, I plan on looking for well-written mystery novels. I want books that really grab my students' attention and make them want to keep reading to find out the ending. Some authors are well-known for their strong voice when writing a good mystery that gives a lot of suspense and foreshadowing. I think mystery novels are a good way to teach students about the 6+ Traits because they show how word choice can make a difference in the amount of suspense that is built within the reader. They also show how good organization of the information is important for reader understanding. Lastly, the ideas in a mystery are essential because the details, or clues, that are added is what makes the story a mystery! There are so many activities that students could do when learning to both read and write in the mystery genre.


Awards:
Crime Fiction Awards 
Mystery Book Awards 
The Edgar Awards 

Author or Text Resources:
Best Mysteries for Young Readers
Children's Mystery Books 

General Resources:
A Guide to Mystery Genres 
Mystery Genres 

Quality Teaching Ideas:
Exploring the Mystery Genre 
Fun with Mysteries 

Some of my favorite book choices:

Miss Nelson is Missing!
By: Harry Allard and James Marshall

Miss Nelson is the nicest teacher in the school, but her class doesn't show her any respect. They are always misbehaving. She knows something has to be done, so she disappears for awhile and Miss Viola Swamp takes her place. The students think Miss Swamp is the meanest teacher ever, and all they want is for Miss Nelson to come back. They even hire a detective to try and find her. When Miss Nelson finally returns, the students are much more behaved and appreciative. The story leaves a lot of clues throughout about where Miss Nelson has gone. I think this would be a good book to help with classroom management. I also think it would be fun to use as a free-write with a substitute. The students could write their own story about where they think that their teacher is. It's a good book to help teach making predictions and looking for clues within the text and illustrations. 


Allard, Harry, & Marshall, James. (1977). Miss nelson is missing. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Grade level span: K-1 , Lexile Level: 340L, Grade Level: 2.7
Grade level span for class read aloud: K-3
Major themes addressed: classroom behavior, missing person
Qualities of the writing: withstood the test of time (written in 1977)
Connections to local, national, or global issues: missing persons, unsolved mysteries, detective work, classroom behavior
Facets that might require support: Some of the clues about where Miss Nelson went are in the illustrations
Support that might be needed: Make sure students can see the pictures if doing a read aloud


In the Snow: Who's Been Here?
By: Lindsay Barrett George

As the children in the story hike through the snow, they see signs of animal life everywhere. Students can help them find the clues (a pellet of feathers and bones, a fish head by the brook, a patch of bark rubbed off of the trunk of a birch tree) to guess what animal had recently been there. This book would work well to tie into a science unit while studying animals and animal tracks. The class could also take a field trip to look for clues in nature on their own and report their discoveries.

 
George, Lindsay Barrett. (1999). In the snow: Who's been here. New York, New York: Greenwillow Books.
Grade level span: K-1, Lexile Level: 430L, Grade Level: 1.5
Grade level span for class read aloud: K-2
Major themes addressed: animals, pay attention to surroundings, nature
Qualities of the writing: The illustrations help students make inferences and predictions
Connections to local, national, or global issues: take care of wildlife and help preserve nature
Facets that might require support: Students will need some prior knowledge to help figure out what the mystery animal is
Support that might be needed: Talk about all of the animals in the book prior to reading this in class.

Illustrated Stories and Picture Books

Picture books are a format, not a genre. The books can fit into almost any genre. Well illustrated books focus more on the pictures than the actual words. Picture books provide a visual experience and tell a story through pictures. There may or may not be text, but the content of the book can be fully explained with pictures. The pictures are essential to complete understanding and enjoyment of the text. They do not even need to tell a story, they might illustrate letters of the alphabet or numbers.

When choosing picture books for the classroom, it's important to find books with beautiful illustrations and also good examples of books that can tell a story through the illustrations. Students can be taught that illustrations help add details and give information that wasn't in the text. They still enjoy these as read-alouds and they will help engage young learners.


Awards:
Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2015
Children's Book Council

Author or Text Resources:
Kids' Books 
Famous Authors 
20 Most Beautiful Children's Books 

General Resources:
Children's Storybooks Online 
Understanding Children's Books

Quality Teaching Ideas:
Children's Picture Book Project 
Teaching with Books 

Some of my favorite book choices:

Stuck
By: Oliver Jeffers


When Floyd's kite gets stuck in a tree, he's determined to get it out. Everything he throws into the tree to get the kite out ends up getting stuck as well. An absurdly funny story, it's childlike in concept and beautifully illustrated. It has a very strong message. This book can help teach students how to make predictions about what might happen next.

Jeffers, Oliver. (2011). Stuck. New York, New York: Philomel. 
Grade level span:  2-3, Lexile Level: 740L, Grade Level: 3.4
Grade level span for class read aloud: 1-4
Major themes addressed: never give up, making another mistake won't fix the first one
Qualities of the writing: beautiful illustrations, hidden meanings
Connections to local, national, or global issues: government making a mistake to try to fix a previous one
Facets that might require support: Students might not get the hidden meanings on their own
Support that might be needed: Discussion about the text and what it is trying to teach


The Bridge Is Up!
By: Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz



When the bridge is up, none of the vehicles can get across and they all have to wait. A long line waits to cross the bridge, causing a traffic jam. When the bridge finally comes down, nobody has to wait. The Bridge Is Up has colorful illustrations that help kids understand the story. The illustrations can be used to help teach details and progression. The text also builds with each page.

Hajdusiewicz, Babs Bell. (2004). The bridge is up. New York, New York: Harper Collins.
Grade level span:  n.a., Lexile Level: n.a., Grade Level: n.a.
Grade level span for class read aloud: K-1
Major themes addressed: patience, how important things are that we use everyday and don't give much thought to
Qualities of the writing: repetitive text helps understanding
Connections to local, national, or global issues: importance of items in society that we take daily advantage of
Facets that might require support: Students might need help understanding deeper concepts and seeing any lessons in the text on their own
Support that might be needed: classroom discussion about patience and not taking things for granted

Adventure

Adventure stories are generally dominated by fast-paced action; they involve danger, risk, and excitement. The events that take place are more remarkable and extraordinary than they would be in everyday life. this genre is often most defined by a protagonist that takes on a heroic quest where they must prove their own worthiness or a dire consequence will occur. There is always an unlikeable antagonist, or villain, that is trying to stop the protagonist from completing their adventure task. In the best stories, the adventures have a transformational impact on the hero of the story, who is usually likeable and most commonly male. Even though the hero always wins, sometimes the villain can also change for the better. The setting is usually changeable in adventure books as the reader follows the protagonist through their journey; but it is typically one of the most important elements of the story since it underlies the sense of danger and the obstacles that must be overcome. There is always a resolution at the end of the quest. The adventure genre commonly overlaps with other genres as well.


When searching for books, I will look for stories that can teach lessons which connect to the standards. They should also be on topics that I know the students in my classroom are interested in. Adventure books are a good way to start talking about other content areas such as history. They help students travel places within the books and "see" places they might not otherwise ever see. Students will get to feel like they are part of the excitement and adventure and can learn important historical information.


Awards:
Beverly Hills Book Awards 
Newbery Medal and Honor Books 

Author or Text Resources:
Adventure Books for Kids 
Choose Your Own Adventure Books 

General Resources:
Cross-Genre Adventure Writing 
Adventure Fiction 

Quality Teaching Ideas:
Magic Tree House Teacher's Club 
Guide to Using Dav Pilkey's Books in the Classroom 

Some of my favorite book choices:

Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark
By: Mary Pope Osborne

The Magic Tree House series has lots of different books on many different topics and they are high reader interest books. They are very helpful when teaching about history and culture, and they have excellent storytelling aspects. There is a website that includes many teaching resources, activities for students, and connections to the standards. The books are translated in several languages which can be great if you have a student in the classroom whose second language is English. 

Osborne, Mary Pope. (1992). Magic tree house: dinosaurs before dark. New York, New York: Random House.

Grade level span: K-1, Lexile Level: 240L, Grade Level: 2.6
Grade level span for class read aloud: 1-3
Major themes addressed: each book addresses a different theme; mainly historical contexts
Qualities of the writing: engaging for students, addictive series
Connections to local, national, or global issues: appreciating our past and different cultures
Facets that might require support: some of the books' content may require prior knowledge
Support that might be needed: if using as a class read aloud, give students some background information


Choose Your Own Adventure: Princess Island
By: Shannon Gilligan

Princess Dirt has the manners of a gentlelady but the kneecaps of a troll. Her mother sends her off to princess camp for some outdoor adventure and a bit of polishing up on her royal skills, but her heart is in the wilds of nature. YOU can decide to behave like a royal or embrace the dirt within you. These books allow children to have some control over the way the story ends and get to help write the story. They help show students how they can work on endings in their own stories to make them better, and can also teach organization. Students can re-read them for a different ending. These books might be fun to do as a class read-aloud and can allow students to take turns choosing which direction to go. 


Gilligan, Shannon. (2015). Choose your own adventure: Princess island. Waitsfield, Vermont: Chooseco LLC.
Grade level span:  n.a., Lexile Level: n.a., Grade Level: n.a.
Grade level span for class read aloud: K-2
Major themes addressed: embrace true self, royalty, expectations
Qualities of the writing: unique format
Connections to local, national, or global issues: expectations of your behavior within your community
Facets that might require support: Organization can be confusing
Support that might be needed: use as a class read aloud or model for the students how to use

Realistic Fiction/Sports Stories

Realistic Fiction books tell untrue stories that could really happen, and they take place in a believable setting. They occur in the present or in the recent past. They depict our world and society, and help us feel like we are getting to know real people. The characters in the stories deal with events and issues that resemble real life. Since students can often relate to the characters within these stories, they are able to easily make connections to the text and have an easier time comprehending the story. Sports stories are one of the most common genres to get reluctant readers reading. These books are not necessarily written to teach a moral message, but more so that students can react to the characters. Realistic Fiction is of high interest to students because they can usually find something in these books to relate to in their personal lives. It helps kids to know that there are other kids that exist that are just like them.

When looking for books to add to my classroom library, I consider stories that my students will be able to relate to or that are about topics that are of interest to them. I also look for popular author's names that I know the students like. These books can serve as excellent mentor texts in the classroom for teaching characterization, setting, plot, theme, style, tone, and point of view. Most importantly, though, they give students books that they can relate to.


Awards:
Newbery Award Winners 
Award-Winning Children's Realistic Fiction Books 

Author or Text Resources:
Popular Children's Realistic Fiction Books 
Scholastic Teacher Resources 

General Resources:
Story Elements and Quality Characteristics 
Contemporary Realistic Fiction 

Quality Teaching Ideas:
Lessons and Activities for Realistic Fiction 
Realistic Fiction: Bringing Words to Life

Some of my favorite book choices:

Family Farm
By: Thomas Locker

Family Farm is the story of a rural family working hard to save their farm. This is easy for a lot of students to relate to because we live in a farming community. The children worry so much about what is going on at home that they have a hard time concentrating in school. The kids in the story are from a small community and they may have to close their school and join with another. All of us in the Midwest can relate with this since all of the surrounding small communities have had to join together. The family in the story tries a new business venture, which teaches the lesson to never fear the unknown but instead to keep trying.
Locker, Thomas. (1988). Family farm. New York, New York: Dial Books.  
Grade level span:  n.a., Lexile Level: n.a., Grade Level: 4.0
Grade level span for class read aloud: 1-4
Major themes addressed: problem solving, family, money, community
Qualities of the writing: realistic illustrations, slightly complex text for a picture book
Connections to local, national, or global issues: farming communities, school consolidation
Facets that might require support: If not from the Midwest, some of the themes in this book might be harder to relate to
Support that might be needed: give background information on why farming can be difficult at times, and also about why school consolidations occur


The Storm
By: Marc Harshman

The story starts with Jonathan, who is a boy confined to a wheelchair that feels singled out. He doesn't see that other people also have difficult life issues . Jonathan gets left home alone on the farm when a big storm rolls in and he has to find inner strength to be able to save the horses. He hoped that people would now see more to him than his wheelchair. This book has many different layers and can be used to teach about supporting details. It can also give students with disabilities a book that they can relate to and help them see their disabilities in a more positive way.


Harshman, Marc. (1995). The storm. New York, New York: Dutton Books.
Grade level span:  4-5, Lexile Level: 860L, Grade Level: 4.8
Grade level span for class read aloud: 2-5
Major themes addressed: disabilities, inner strength
Qualities of the writing: unique storyline
Connections to local, national, or global issues: weather patterns
Facets that might require support: there might be too much text to keep some students entertained
Support that might be needed: read in chunks and discuss in sections