Close Reading Mystery Inference Text Evidence Activity - Who Robbed the Bank?
Close Reading Mystery Inference Text Evidence Activity - Who Robbed the Bank?: Engage your students with a captivating close reading inference activity that challenges them to explore and find text evidence, make inferences, and read more closely. This resource provides all the necessary materials to facilitate this fun and creative reading activity in your classroom. Students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively, enhancing their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills as they unravel the mystery together.
The City East Bank is home to a state-of-the-art bank vault, to which few of the employees have access. The bank’s CEO is visiting one of his branches today to do some accounting. However, when he arrives, he discovers the vault is empty. Your students need to figure out who robbed the bank vault.
This is included in our best-selling full-year program:
Included In This Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity:
➡️ Inference Mystery Presentation Slides: This 15-slide PowerPoint presentation serves as the guide for the activity, leading students through the mystery with a captivating backstory, detailed evidence, and thorough explanations for each suspect's innocence or guilt. The slides are crafted to engage students and encourage critical thinking as they analyze the clues and find text evidence.
➡️ Classroom Poster: Display this visually appealing poster designed to grab students' attention as they enter the classroom, setting the stage and drawing students into the mystery ahead.
➡️ Original Narrative Backstory: Use this short story to introduce the mystery. Within the story are hidden clues and subtle hints, and the narrative will engage students' curiosity and initiate the mystery.
➡️ A Variety of Clues and Evidence: Students will receive a variety of texts in different forms that include clues and evidence. Students must read the text closely and use their inference skills to analyze each of the clues. There is a social media post, a formal written warning, an email, a social media message, a witness testimony, a job posting, a text message, a receipt, and a medical bill.
➡️ Text Evidence Graphic Organizer: Students will use the provided graphic organizer to organize their findings and evaluate the guilt or innocence of each suspect. This tool encourages students to support their conclusions with text evidence from the investigation.
➡️ Teacher Answer Key: Use the detailed answer key, both in print format and integrated into the presentation slides, to efficiently review students' work and share the reasons for each suspect's innocence or guilt.
How The Close Reading Inference Mystery Activity Works:
- Start by displaying the poster on your door to build anticipation when students enter the room. Assign students into small groups, so they can work together to try to solve the mystery.
- Use the presentation slides to guide you through each element of the inference activity. The slides will help you introduce the story and evidence.
- Distribute all the evidence to students, allowing them time to read, make inferences, and find text evidence to solve the mystery.
- Once each group has made their final prediction, use the presentation slides to reveal the culprit and review each of the suspects to show the evidence of their innocence or guilt.
What Teachers Are Saying About This Close Reading Mystery Inference Activity:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I used this with a higher 6th grade ELA class. They really enjoyed it but it really challenged them. I will be purchasing more to use next year. I like the deeper thinking skills it helped them to develop.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My kiddos absolutely LOVE these mysteries and trying to solve them! It also allows them to practice their inferencing skills which is a win for me!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The kids had such a good time with this. They didn't even realize they were practicing their inferencing skills!
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