Text Type: Fiction / Mystery
Page Count: 14
Word Count: 1,605 

Text Summary
Twins Nico and Isabel Lopez were looking forward to meeting their new ten-year-old neighbor, but he never comes out during the daytime. The windows of his house are covered with both drapes and blinds, and once Nico and Isabel even spotted him climbing a tree by moonlight! Everyone in the neighborhood speculates on what kind of monster he might be, and it's up to Nico and Isabel to discover the truth. 

About the Lesson 

Objectives

• Understand the features of mystery stories
• Use and spell irregular verbs
• Identify words that provide visual descriptions 

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Make text-to-text connections 

Materials

• Book - Mystery in the Moonlight (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry-erase board
• Mystery Stories, Verb Tenses, Visual Descriptions worksheets
• Word journal (optional)

    Indicates an opportunity to use the book interactively (all activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are not consumable) 

Vocabulary

• casual, coincidences, escapades, fraternal twins, identical twins, intent (adj.), plots, recruit, threshold, tolerate, Xeroderma Pigmentosum 

Build Background

• Have students recall any mystery stories they have read or seen on TV or in movies. Ask volunteers to retell what happened.
• Have students suggest features that are similar from story to story. For example: tension building, a problem to be solved, clues, and “red herrings.” Explain that the term “red herring“ means a false lead or trick clue that distracts from the real solution. 

Preview the Book

Introduce the Strategy: Make text-to-text connections

• Give students their copies of the book and have them look at the front and back covers and read the title. Ask students if the cover information gives them any ideas about the story.
• Have students make connections to other mysteries they know. Think aloud: When I look at this cover, I try to think of what happened in other mysteries I have read, how the text was organized, how the clues were presented, and how the author tried to trick me and lead me away from the real solution. I can use what I know from these other stories to help me understand this mystery as I read.
• Click here for more reading and word-attack strategies. 

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the words casual, coincidences, escapades, fraternal, intent, plots, recruit, threshold, and tolerate on the board. Tell students these are words they will find in the story. Read through the words with students and ask for ideas on how these words might be relevant to the story.

    Have students mark any interesting or difficult words in the book. 

Introduce the Comprehension    Skill: Understand the features of a mystery story

• Model understanding the features of a mystery story: Remind students that mystery stories are like other stories: they have characters, setting, and a plot. In a mystery, one character is usually the "detective," or the person who sets out to solve the mystery. The problem is the mystery to be solved. Mysteries have other special features such as clues, red herrings, and examples of foreshadowing.
• Give students the Mystery Stories worksheet. Explain that they will complete this when they have finished reading.
• Check for understanding: Have students read page 3 with you. Have them tell you what they know so far about the characters and the setting. Have them record this information on the worksheet. Ask whether the problem, or the mystery, has been identified yet. 

Set the Purpose

• Tell students you want them to read the story to find out what the mystery is and how it is solved.

    Have students mark any clues they find with a colored pen.

Guide the Reading

• Ask students to read to the end of page 5. If they finish before the others, they should go back and reread the pages. When students have all read to page 5, have them refer to the worksheet. Ask whether they have identified the mystery in the story. (Who is the strange boy who lives next door, and why doesn’t he appear in the daytime?) Point out the sentences on the top of page 4 where the author mentions scary stories. Ask whether students think the author introduced the idea of scary stories for a reason. Have students decide whether the blinds and drapes are a clue. Have them read the last line on page 5. Explain that this is an example of foreshadowing. Have students predict why the family might be odd.
• Ask students whether this mystery story reminds them of any other mysteries they have read, and explain how it is similar.
• As students continue reading, monitor and intervene to help students work out words they are having difficulty with.

    Tell students to write a question mark in their books beside any word or phrase they do not understand. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on Reading Strategies

• Ask students what strategies they used to work out unfamiliar words. Have them tell you any places in the text that they have marked with a question mark, and model strategies they might use to work out the words.
• Ask students whether making connections to other mystery stories they’ve read helped them better appreciate the author’s techniques. 

Apply the Comprehension    Skill: Understand the features of a mystery story

• Discussion: Ask students what the solution to the mystery was. Ask whether they were able to figure it out and if so, how. Have them look at their worksheets and add any other clues to the list.
• Discuss what the author wanted them to think about Andrew Bradford (that he was a vampire). Point out that having a twist in the story, like a surprise ending, makes it interesting.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the worksheet. Guide as necessary.
• Extend the discussion: Have students share their worksheets and their ideas on clues, red herrings, and foreshadowing. Then have students analyze how the author builds tension in the book. For example: when Isabel whispers in Nico’s ear on page 7; Grady’s reaction to the ball going into the Bradfords' yard on page 9; the descriptions of the bats and the twins' reaction to them on page 10. 

Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage: Irregular verbs

    Have students reread the last paragraph on page 5 and circle all the verbs they can find.

• When students have finished, have them tell you whether the action takes place in the past, present, or future.
• Have them reread the first sentence out loud, substituting the present tense of the verb to seem. Then have them reread the sentence out loud substituting the future tense for the verb to seem. Point out that the verb to seem is a regular verb whose past tense is formed by adding -ed.
• Have students find the verb redid in the last line. Explain that this is an irregular verb and that the past tense of to do is formed by changing the spelling of the word. Have students reread the phrase substituting the present tense and then the future tense of the verb.
• Give students the Irregular Verbs worksheet and have them write the different tenses for the regular and irregular verbs.

Vocabulary: Visual descriptions

• Remind students that visual descriptions describe how things look. Stories often have many descriptions of sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings, but visual descriptions are often the most common. Have students find words in the book that describe either Nico's or Isabel's looks. They will find words like darkly handsome, flashing green eyes, freckles, unruly hair, etc.
• Have students visualize the characters and tell whether the characters look like anyone they know.
• Give students the Visual Description worksheet, and have them choose either Nico or Isabel. Have them complete the web by writing as many words or phrases as they can to visually describe the character. They may add other visual impressions from their imagination that were not necessarily provided by the book, such as height or face shape.
• If there is time, have students practice drawing their characters, including the features they described. 

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Have partners take turns reading alternate pages. 

Home Connection

• Have students take their books home to share with family members. 

Writing

• Some students may be able to write a mystery story. Have them use a copy of the blank Mystery Story worksheet to plan their story. They should brainstorm ideas under the headings on the worksheet. For example: the names of their detectives, what the mystery will be, what clues they will provide, how they will solve the mystery.
• Once students have thoroughly planned their stories, have them write the first draft, using the worksheet as a reference. Have them edit their drafts and rewrite the story to share with others.

Monitor students as they interact during group activities, and review their completed worksheets to determine if they can:

• understand the features of a mystery story and identify them in this story.
• write the correct forms of irregular and regular verb tenses.
• find adjectives that visually describe characters and things and build on the character description by adding appropriate words of their own on a character web.