VALENTINE'S DAY CLOSE READING INFERENCE MYSTERY: WHO HAS THE LOVE LETTER?

This Valentine's Day close reading inference mystery is a fun way to engage your students and challenge them to read more closely, look for text evidence, and infer information. The resource includes everything you need to facilitate the activity in your classroom.

 This works well as a Valentine's Day activity, but there are no specific holiday references, so it can be used within any classroom at at anytime of the year.

Amanda absolutely loves Jack, but she is far too shy to tell him how she feels. In an effort to rid herself of the heartache, she writes him a love letter. She has no intention to let anyone (let alone her crush) see what's written in the letter, but when she sits down to do her homework at night, she realizes the love letter she wrote that day is missing from her pencil case!

It's up to your students to use their close reading and inference skills to figure out who has it!

Included in your purchase: 

• A teacher presentation that guides the mystery with the backstory, evidence, the answer, and detailed explanations for why each suspect is innocent and why the person is guilty of taking the letter.
• A classroom poster that reads “Who has the love letter?” that you can put up on the door to hook students into the activity.
• An original narrative backstory that sets up and initiates the mystery.
• A variety of clues that require students to close read and use their inference skills. There is a class attendance list, a seating chart, a note passed between friends, an email, the love letter, a text message, a postcard, an online gaming chat room, and a detention sign in sheet.
• A graphic organizer where students can keep track of their findings that support or refute different suspects in the mystery.
• A detailed teacher answer key in print format and within the presentation slideshow.
   

How it works:

• Start by putting up the poster on your door to build anticipation when students enter the room. When students enter, put them in small groups, so they can work together to try to solve the mystery.
• Then, use the presentation slides to guide you through each element of the lesson. The slides will help you introduce the story and evidence to each of the groups.
• Hand out all the evidence to students and allow them time to make their predictions and inferences and solve the mystery.
• Once each group has made their final prediction, use the presentation slides to reveal the culprit and go through each of the suspects to show the evidence of their innocence or guilt.
  
  

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