Close Reading Digital Mystery Inference Activity - Who Stole the Bunny Mascot?

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 the mascot costume. 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. This works well as an Easter reading mystery since the mascot is a bunny, but there are no direct references to Easter, so it can be used at any point in the year!

Reading mystery back story: The high school football team made it to the semi-finals, and to celebrate, there's a pep rally in the cafeteria before the big game. When the pep rally begins, the beloved school mascot, Mr. Bold Bunny, is nowhere to be found. Someone stole the mascot costume. Your students need to find 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 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 Bunny Mascot?” 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 Bunny Mascot activity and immediately sparks curiosity about the mystery they are about to solve.

➡️ Original Narrative Backstory: This short narrative sets the scene at the school on the day of the pep rally when the mascot costume goes missing. Students learn about the event, who had access to the costume, and the unusual details surrounding its 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 football team initiation list, a text message, a work order for a water treatment service, an email, a student permission slip, an exam booklet, an overheard monologue, school staff meeting notes, and a school schedule. 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 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 This Digital Close Reading Inference Activity:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The was really fun and challenging for my 8th grade students. A perfect activity for the end of the week!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My students ADORE any of these mystery activities! They really get into being the first one to figure everything out. It's also a great way for them to practice some of the skills less practiced on the daily worksheet-type assessments.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love using these mystery inferencing activities with my 7th-grade ELA classes! We set up each of the pages in different stations around our large group instruction room, and students are always interested in getting to the answer! They are set up in a fun and engaging way!

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

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