Free Printable Murder Mystery Games, for Mystery Genre Lesson Plans

Teaching a unit on mystery in ELA? Then I've got a treat for you. Just in time for Halloween, free printable murder mystery games. English language arts teachers and homeschoolers, feast your eyes on this plethora of free murder mystery games and murder mystery play writing prompts.  Print murder mystery party games and use as a companion American or English literature lesson plans. These activities would nicely supplement lesson plans on Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Cornell Woolrich or other classic crime fiction. There's on that dates back to Elizabethan England to Shakespeare's time. Perfect for Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop or whole-class activities. From a vintage literati-mysterati, happy sleuthing!  "The Raven" (2012-John Cusack) is rated R, but could be a good connection movie in appropriate high school settings. Read on Read on

Free Printable Poetry Frames and Poem Templates

April is National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo (an online poetry slam project). Poetry is one of the most satisfying creative writing forms. But writing poems can be daunting for beginners. That's why teaching poetry writing, is such a joy. I love helping students get past fears and unlock that inner poet. Poetry templates can help break the creative ice. Here are free printable poem patterns, poetry frames and writing prompts. Poem patterns are adjustable by age to provide more or less structure. For young emergent writers, a frame poem may resemble a fill-in-the-blank activity. For seasoned readers-writers, the template is just an idea springboard from which to launch poems. Reluctant or special needs students gain writing confidence.

ETTC has 30+ free printable poetry frames and poem templates on all different subjects and themes. Many relate to nature (a common theme in poetry), all about me and emotion and feeling poems. Many of these free printable poem template cover grammar, word usage and other English language arts concepts.

TSL Books has loads of free printable writing prompts, including frame poem templates, poetry prompts and story starters. There are poem templates available for preschool to upper elementary school. Check Students Handouts for more challenging printable poetry writing prompts. Use for personal narrative writing prompts, too.

St. Jean's an assortment of free printable poem templates, poetry frames and graphic organizers: couplets, triplets, quatrain, tanka, sonnet, limerick, cinquain, haiku, persona and many other poetry templates to print.

TNEllen has eight free printable poem templates with different variations on the basic "I am' and "All about me" poem theme. Examples are provided. Creative writing teachers can simply block out the example words and print the poetry frame. Students may refer to the example or fill in their own words like a Mad-Lib fill-in-the-blank activity.

Cape.k12 has about 20 free printable poetry frames grouped by grade level. Each link focuses on different types of poetry writing frames and templates. Free printable haiku, cinquain, acrostic, 5 Ws, alliteration and diamante poetry template plus several other poem activities are available.

For more free printable lesson plans visit my linked blogs.

Free Printable Writing Prompts, Poem Templates, Poetry Frames

April is National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo (an online poetry slam project). Poetry is one of the most satisfying creative writing forms. But writing poems can be daunting for beginners. That's why teaching poetry writing, is such a joy. I love helping students get past fears and unlock that inner poet. Poetry templates can help break the creative ice. Here are free printable poem patterns, poetry frames and writing prompts. Poem patterns are adjustable by age to provide more or less structure. For young emergent writers, a frame poem may resemble a fill-in-the-blank activity. For seasoned readers-writers, the template is just an idea springboard from which to launch poems. Reluctant or special needs students gain writing confidence.

ETTC has 30+ free printable poetry frames and poem templates on all different subjects and themes. Many relate to nature (a common theme in poetry), all about me and emotion and feeling poems. Many of these free printable poem template cover grammar, word usage and other English language arts concepts.

TSL Books has loads of free printable writing prompts, including frame poem templates, poetry prompts and story starters. There are poem templates available for preschool to upper elementary school. Check Students Handouts for more challenging printable poetry writing prompts. Use for personal narrative writing prompts, too.

St. Jean's an assortment of free printable poem templates, poetry frames and graphic organizers: couplets, triplets, quatrain, tanka, sonnet, limerick, cinquain, haiku, persona and many other poetry templates to print.

TNEllen has eight free printable poem templates with different variations on the basic "I am' and "All about me" poem theme. Examples are provided. Creative writing teachers can simply block out the example words and print the poetry frame. Students may refer to the example or fill in their own words like a Mad-Lib fill-in-the-blank activity.

Cape.k12 has about 20 free printable poetry frames grouped by grade level. Each link focuses on different types of poetry writing frames and templates. Free printable haiku, cinquain, acrostic, 5 Ws, alliteration and diamante poetry template plus several other poem activities are available.

For more free printable lesson plans visit my linked blogs.

Free Printable Mystery Writing Prompts, Story Starter Ideas

Are you writing cracker-bland stories that readers only nibble? What defines a story that readers gulp down whole, beg for more before the first even digests? Characters, plot, climax and something else. Learn to write gulp-down-whole stories. A detective story is a branch of mystery fiction with more definitive parameters. Here's how to write stellar detective fiction.

-Begin with the basics. All stories need an introduction, characters, plot, climax, denouement and conclusion. Mystery stories are all about detail and sequence. The mystery may be solved or the reader may be left hanging. Detective stories have all this, but require a detective character.
-Write what you know. If you grew up in Michigan in the 1960's or Mozambique in the 1940's, write to that specific knowledge. If you were in a particular culture or religion, use that too.


-Choose a time period and locale: You can set your story in any time period or place, as long as you know enough about it to make your writing credible.
-Choose a primary setting. Where did the whodunit take place? An abandoned mental hospital, a disused school, onboard a ship, in an old lady's ancestral home: tie it to your locale and envision the details. Be precise, especially as the setting affects the mystery.
-Create a detective: Depending on your setting, match an appropriate person. Your detective can be of any age, strata of society, occupation or nationality.
-Determine how your detective will interact with official authorities. Is he a policeman? Does she solve mysteries as a hobby, but assist with investigations? Maybe he hasn't always been on the side of justice. Father Brown's friend Flambeau was once the greatest jewel thief in Europe. Perhaps your detective operates separately from public investigators or is too young to work professionally. Your detective may have a different occupation altogether: librarian, pharmacist, garbage man (I'll bet a trash collector sees lots of dirty secrets).
-Frame the crime: It may involve a celebrated murder, art theft or a simple local incident that affects only certain people. Maybe it's just an odd occurrence that unravels a larger problem. Outline and sequence the problem. Create a timetable for personal reference and draw a map if necessary. These become the plot.
-People the story. Who are the dramatis personae? Fill in characters, witnesses, suspects, accessories and assistants. Perhaps it's a airplane crew, or members of a club or a family in which the crime occurs.
-Scatter some clues. Toss in details that a witness may notice but not understand. General clues are fine, but try to spice them up (tire marks from certain vehicle, unique food). At the same time, don't make them so complicated that only an expert would understand them.
-Identify the MMO: Every crime is based motive, method and opportunity. The motive is the reason a character might have for committing a crime (money, jealousy). The method is how the crime committed (in the old garage with a tire iron). The opportunity means who was available to have committed the crime.
-Identify the alibis (or lack thereof) for characters: According to the timetable, decide who was where and when at the time the problem occurred or crime was committed.
-Write a climax: Generally, something happens which brings all the events together. It's usually an event of some drama with some element of surprise. You might include some danger or disaster. It is this event that ultimately explains the mystery.
-Write your denouement: This is the resolution of the mystery. This is when secrets come out and loose ends are wrapped up. Some details will reveal themselves and your detective can articulate the rest: the what, who, when, where, how and why.
-Summarize with a short conclusion. Here is the final outcome where we part company with the detective. You might even give a few hints about her next adventures,
Be sure to read a few detective stories for inspiration.