The Horrifying and Haunting World of the Mystery Genre
A WebQuest for 8th Grade (Mystery/Horror Genre)

Designed by

Deborah D. Sturgis

dsturgis@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Teacher Page
Introduction
Immerse yourself in the world of mystery! Mystery stories reflect humanity's fascination with the law and the individuals who break these laws. You will learn about forensic evidence developed to help solve crimes, and you will practice solving cases yourself. In addition you will discover things that "go bump in the night." These ghostly stories, part of the horror genre, have developed from myths and folktales reported for years. You will read ghost stories and read about real or imagined sightings of ghostly visions. Imagine that you, a writer, along with your researcher and your editor are researching information to be used in a mystery/horror story for publication.
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Task

The writer, the researcher and the editor will work together on research for your mystery/horror story. You will:

  1. report on one ghostly sighting or ghostly story
  2. learn about three areas of forensic science
  3. read a student created mystery/horror story
  4. visit a mystery site, play the mystery game and solve a "case"
  5. collaborate on writing a mystery/horror story
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The Process

To accomplish your research, you must follow the steps below for each task. Do not deviate from the assignment.

I. Ghostly Sightings and Tales

II. Mystery Stories

  • visit the following website: Mysteries for Kids Be a detective and try and solve a case.
  • go to the student stories section and read at least one short story written by a student and summarize the story (be sure to mention foreshadowing used, forensic evidence used and the identity of the "detective")

III. Mystery History

  • visit the following website: History of the Mystery
  • Check out the timeline and all the great mystery writers.

IV. Forensic Evidence: True Witness

V. Compose a Mystery/Horror story ( using the evaluative rubric provided)

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Evaluation

Beginning

1

Developing

2

Accomplished

3

Exemplary

4

Score

Includes a descriptive setting that sets the mood for a mystery/ horror story.
Does contain a setting.
Does contain a setting with some descriptive language.
Does contain a descriptive setting that relates to the mood at the opening of the story.
Does contain a very effective descriptive setting that works to create a mood which enhances the plot and the story.

Story must make use of some foreshadowing and clues (red herring) in order to increase suspense.

 
Contains at least one example of foreshadowing and two clues used to solve the case.
Contains two examples of foreshadowing and three clues that are used to solve the case.
Contains several examples of foreshadowing that successfully create suspense and employs multiple clues that lead to solution of the case.
Contains several examples of foreshadowing successfully used to create suspense including the use of a "red herring" as one of the multiple clues used to solve the case.

Story must have a main character acting as a detective.

 

 
Description of main character or detective and why they are involved in this case.
Description of main character or detective, why they are invovled in the case and two qualities that make them a good detective.
Description of the main character or detective, why they are on the case and two personality traits and two qualities that make them a good detective.
Description of the main character or detective, why they are on the case and what unique personality traits, qualities and knowledge make them able to solve this case.

Use of forensic evidence as clues to solve the case.

 
Forensic evidence (one example) mentioned as part of the case.
Forensic evidence (two examples) mentioned as part of the case.
Forensic evidence used ( three examples) as clues which clearly lead to the solution of the case.
Forensic evidence used (three examples) that are logically related to the plot and lead to the solution of the case.

Use or some elements from horror stories such as stories about possible ghosts or other paranormal occurences.

Use of some element of your ghostly sighting or story in your setting or plot.
Use of some element of your ghostly sighting or story to create a mood for your mystery.
Use of some element of your ghostly sighting or story to create a mood and to tie into a clue from the case.
Use of some element of your ghostly sighting or story to create a mood and to tie into a clue which leads to the solution of the case.

Each worksheet will be graded ( fail, pass, outstanding) and your story will be judged based on the rubric above. Each member of the group will receive the same grade. If you feel one member is "hitchhiking", that person may be asked to work alone.
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Conclusion
At the end of this webquest you will have visited several websites you may well choose to revisit. You will know more about the elements of the mystery and horror genres. Hopefully you will have enjoyed reading other writers' attempts at writing mystery and/or horror stories. As a well informed writer, you will also be more knowledgable about forensic science techniques used to solve real life crimes. Finally you have had a chance to write your own story and be published in the "hauntedhouse" website.
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Credits

Sandy Budreau, our Technology Integration Specialist, deserves great thanks for writing a grant so we could learn how to create Webquests for our students. Needless to say, we were amazed at what is already available on the Internet and are anxious to add our projects. Sandy also deserves thanks for her role as mentor; she was always available, was in unfailingly good humor and exhibited boundless patience with her less abled colleagues. I also want to give credit to the Massachusetts Department of Education as they awarded the Lighthouse Grant to Longmeadow which made all of our Webquests possible.

Last updated on January 27, 2003. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page
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