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Contributor: Victoria Surface. Lesson ID: 10062
Do you enjoy a good mystery? What makes a mystery story good besides all the creepy stuff? Good story elements make all stories good, so learn and practice how to identify story elements in mysteries!
Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and Dean Koontz
They are all mystery writers, but they are not all the same. Every author creates the story differently, but they all use mystery elements, or literary devices, to tell their story.
Study story elements through a mystery with lots of fun and interactive activities!
Choose a mystery novel to read as you work through these activities. Some suggested titles are in the right-hand sidebar under Suggested Reading.
As you work through story elements, consider these questions:
There are many story elements or literary devices in a mystery. Some are listed below.
| ⇒ | Characters are the players in the story. | |
| ⇒ | The protagonist, or main character, in a mystery is tasked with solving the problem. | |
| ⇒ | The setting is often very important to the plot line. | |
| ⇒ | In a mystery, the plot can take many twists and turns, with clues leading you in different directions. | |
| ⇒ | Some writers even structure the plot by jumping back and forth in time. |
It all adds to the suspense and excitement of the mystery.
As you read about the story elements of a mystery in the resources listed below, take notes in the Mystery Story Elements graphic organizer that you can download from Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.
Include each mystery story element for this lesson:
Also include the following for each story element:
Visit these sites to read about the story elements of a mystery:
After you have absorbed the above information, continue on to the Got It? section to work on some projects to show that you got it!
Supplies
Resources Referenced in the Lesson
Suggested Reading
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