Close Reading Digital Mystery Inference Activity - Who Stole the Garden Gnome?

Engage your students with a high-interest close reading and inference mystery that challenges them to analyze text evidence, think critically, and pay attention to important details. In this classroom investigation, students must carefully read a variety of texts, compare accounts, and identify inconsistencies in order to determine who stole Gerome. This close reading activity moves beyond surface-level comprehension and pushes students to make inferences and justify their conclusions using specific evidence. Designed for collaboration and discussion, this high-interest activity improves inference skills, critical thinking, close reading, and problem-solving, and encourages students to support every claim with text evidence.

Reading mystery back story: Mrs. Henry lives alone with her dog in a small South Florida home. Her most prized possession is her garden gnome which she has named Gerome. After returning from groceries one night, Mrs. Henry notices that the garden gnome is missing from her yard. Someone stole Gerome, and your students need to figure out who did it.

This is a Google-compatible activity, and students complete all the work on the computer. This works well with distance learning, 1:1 classrooms, remote teaching, Google Classroom, or for online education.

This is included in our best-selling full-year reading program: 
→ Reading Mysteries Digital Program

Included In This Digital Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity:

➡️ Inference Mystery Google Slides: This 15-slide Google Slides presentation guides the entire inference mystery activity from beginning to end. It introduces the backstory, presents the evidence, and walks students through the final reveal. The slides help structure the inference mystery and provide clear explanations outlining why each suspect is innocent or guilty. The built-in answers make whole-class review simple and easy.

➡️ “Who Stole the Garden Gnome?” Digital Poster: Use this eye-catching digital poster on your projector to hook students the moment they walk in. It sets the tone for the Who Stole the Garden Gnome activity and immediately sparks curiosity about the mystery they are about to solve.

➡️ Original Narrative Backstory: This short narrative sets the scene the night Mrs. Henry discovers her garden gnome missing. Students learn about her routine, who was nearby, and the unusual details surrounding the disappearance. The story establishes the timeline, introduces potential suspects, and provides essential background information students will reference throughout the investigation. Hidden clues and subtle hints are embedded within the narrative, requiring careful close reading and attention to detail.

➡️ A Variety of Digital Clues and Evidence: Students examine a variety of evidence presented in realistic formats, requiring them to read carefully, compare details across sources, and piece together information to build a strong, evidence-based conclusion. The evidence includes a bylaw infraction notice, a social media profile, a package delivery information page, an airplane ticket, a customer feedback form, a chiropractor medical report, an email, a veterinarian medical report, a community social media group, and a newspaper article. Each piece contains relevant details that may support or refute a suspect’s involvement. Students must use close reading and draw logical inferences based on what the texts reveal.

➡️ Text Evidence Digital Graphic Organizer: This graphic organizer helps students track clues, record important details, and organize their reasoning during the inference mystery activity. Students list information they learn about the suspects, cite specific evidence, and explain how each clue supports or contradicts their theory. The organizer ensures conclusions are grounded in close reading and text evidence.

➡️ Teacher Answer Key: A detailed answer key is included in the slideshow. This allows for a dramatic whole-class reveal at the end of the investigation.

How The Digital Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity Works:

• As students enter, place them into small groups so they can collaborate and begin working together to solve the mystery.

• Use the Google slides to guide you through the close reading activity. The slides help you set up the backstory before they begin analyzing the evidence.

• Distribute the digital evidence to each group, giving students time to read carefully, analyze the details, make inferences, and locate specific text evidence that supports or refutes each suspect. Encourage discussion within groups as they compare ideas and build their case.

• Once each group has made a final prediction, use the presentation slides to reveal the culprit. Review each suspect one by one, walking through the evidence that proves their innocence or guilt so students can clearly see how strong text evidence leads to a logical conclusion.
  
  

What Teachers Are Saying About The Digital Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great resource to add with others when I was out of school for a day for my students to review the lessons we had just completed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is the second "Who Stole..." activity that I have used with my students. My students are extremely engaged and interested to see how the activity unfolds. Look forward to using more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My students absolutely love these mystery resources. They totally get into solving them first and gloating to their friends that they're the "better detective."

If you like this, you’ll love this resource: 
→ Inference Activities Bundle

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