Lesson 4: Lesson Plan
Reading the Mystery with a Purpose

Book:  Rage in Harlem or other mystery/detective fiction by Chester Himes.

Grade Level:  11/12

Essential Question:  What are the elements of a mystery from the writer’s point of view?

Connection to Standards:  Reading:  Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text (11/12 3.2 – 9/10 3.3, 3.4 & 3.9)

Technology:  The computer is used as a recording, word-processing tool to document responses to the literature.   

Lesson Plan Content: 

0) Recall the web quests you have done and/or give background on Chester Himes and Harlem in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s.  Briefly review lesson 3 – How to Write a Mystery Story.

1) Read Rage in Harlem or other Chester Himes’ mystery set in Harlem.

2) In reciprocal teaching groups discover how Himes develops the following elements of the mystery novel.

3)  Have the students complete a dialectal journal after the reciprocal teaching groups meet to document the finding they and their group derive.

Assessment:

The objective here is to examine how a professional mystery writer crafts his/her story in hopes that the examination will assist the student craft his/her own story written in lesson 5.

Quiz:  Formulate a multiple choice quiz after giving the students time to read the book on their own.  The quiz should be designed to test the reading, not necessarily the understanding of the mystery elements and should be presented as an inducement to get the students started reading.

Observation:  Observe the discussions in the reciprocal teaching groups and collect the student notes taken during the discussion.  Directions:  Place the students in a group of five composed of a student leader/facilitator and a summarizer, questioner, clarifier and a predictor each of which leads the discussion of the story from his/her special focus.  (See:  Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, Jane E. Pollock’s Class Room Instruction that Works, Association for Supervision and Curriclum Development, Alexandria, Va, 2001).

Dialectal Journal:  Each student, after group work, completes a dialectal journal.

	Weak	Strong	Excellent
Characters	Characters are stock, weak or unbelievable.	Characters are engaging particularly the detective.	At least two characters are unforgettable, engaging or fun.
Plot	The plot, though present, is unrealistic or hard to follow.  Or it does not “work.”	The plot has twists but remains possible, believable and compelling.	The plot is ingenious, employing ruses and surprises.
Ingenuity	The story is mundane or lacks compelling detail of action, situation or character.	The writer shows ingenuity in crafting the plot, characters and situation.  Surprises are included.	The writer has thought about the problems of creation and clearly shows some mastery.
Situation	The crime is either too brutal, too usual or the situation is unrealistic.	The situation is not only possible but likely though surprising.	The situation is plausible, engaging, well researched and authentic.