Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What does the term “genre” mean? How many mystery genre characteristics can you name?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may think of the terms “genre” and “characteristics” in many different ways; allowing them to interpret the words themselves, without offering limiting definitions, will enrich discussion. After they have had a chance to theorize about genre and discuss whatever mystery characteristics they find important, you might use the resources below to introduce them to a more literary approach to discussing mystery.

• This overview from Scholastic features aspects of the genre and its characteristics. (Please note that only the first 1-2 pages are relevant to mystery. The wording of this resource is teacher-facing, but students can easily read and understand the material.)
• This analysis from Writer’s Digest focuses on genre expectations.

2. What distinguishes well-written mysteries from less effective mysteries? Which of the criteria you have listed might be personal preference, and which would most readers agree on?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may have some excellent ideas about the hallmarks of effective mystery writing, but they will grow the most as readers by carefully considering the follow-up question in this prompt.