Description
Transform your lesson on making inferences into a thrilling adventure with this solving a mystery game! Students will explore “The Case of the Lost Manuscript,” using provided resources to make inferences and solve the mystery. Suitable for online learning with digital worksheets for Google Classroom®.
Included with this Making Inferences Mystery Game:
- Investigation Briefing Overview Slideshow – Microsoft PowerPoint®, Google Slides® & PDF
- Investigation Briefing Overview Handout – Digital & Print
- Investigation Clue Cards – Digital & Print
- Evidence Documents – Digital & Print
- Suspect Profiles – Digital & Print
- Plot Development Worksheet – Digital & Print
- Final Presentation Template – Digital & Print
- Editable 4-Level Rubric – Editable & Ready-to-Print
- Teacher Instructions for using this resource
How to use this Making Inferences Mystery Game:
This activity teaches students critical thinking, inferencing, and problem-solving skills as they analyze clues, evaluate evidence, and draw conclusions to solve the mystery at hand. By engaging in this immersive experience, students will learn how to interpret subtle details, recognize patterns, and think logically to arrive at well-supported conclusions. Throughout the game, students will develop and defend their theories, honing their ability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. They will explore the resources provided in order to develop a presentation outlining which suspect they believe to be guilty of stealing the missing manuscript. Whether used as a standalone mystery activity or as part of a larger unit on inferencing, this Making Inferences Mystery Game provides a dynamic and engaging way to strengthen students’ analytical skills.
You can begin this lesson with the Investigation Briefing Overview Slideshow. This slideshow lesson introduces “The Case of the Lost Manuscript”, setting the stage for a suspenseful, logic-driven investigation. Students will step into the role of detectives, uncovering the truth behind the disappearance of a valuable literary treasure. The slideshow provides an intriguing introduction to the mystery, detailing the crime scene, potential suspects, and initial set of clues. By introducing this Making Inferences Mystery Game in an engaging, visually compelling way, students will immediately become invested in the investigation process. This introductory component ensures that students grasp the essential background information while also encouraging them to start making early predictions about who might be responsible for the theft.
To brief your students on the case, you can also provide them with the Investigation Briefing Handout. This detailed case file will give your students a thorough overview of the background information, key suspects, and initial clues. Designed to support close reading and analytical thinking, this handout serves as a structured guide, helping students navigate the mystery logically. With this resource, students will be able to record notes, track their inferences, and develop key questions to help guide their investigation. Since inferencing requires students to read between the lines, this handout encourages them to look for hidden meanings and subtle hints as they work through the case. By engaging in this Making Inferences Mystery Game, students will strengthen their reading comprehension and deductive reasoning skills in a way that feels like an interactive challenge rather than a traditional assignment.
Challenge your students to analyze the evidence found at the crime scene, including torn papers, footprints, and mysterious objects, to uncover hidden clues. The Investigation Clue Cards and Suspect Profiles provided will prompt your students to make inferences based on subtle hints and incomplete information. As students examine the clues, they will need to identify possible connections, compare alibis, and weigh the reliability of different pieces of evidence. This aspect of the Making Inferences Mystery Game requires students to think critically and creatively, considering multiple possibilities before forming their conclusions. To encourage collaborative problem-solving, students can work in teams or pairs, discussing their theories and challenging each other’s reasoning. This peer interaction reinforces oral communication skills while also demonstrating how different perspectives can lead to new insights and discoveries.
This resource also includes Evidence Documents to enhance the investigation with realistic records, including witness statements, handwritten notes, and forensic reports. These additional materials help students analyze primary sources, recognize bias, and evaluate the credibility of different accounts. By integrating these documents into the Making Inferences Mystery Game, students will develop information literacy skills that are crucial for both academic success and real-world decision-making. The inclusion of multiple perspectives deepens the complexity of the case, forcing students to synthesize evidence from different sources before reaching a final verdict. Teachers can encourage students to annotate the documents, highlighting key phrases and making marginal notes to keep track of important details and contradictions.
Guide your students in organizing their thoughts, tracking progress, and developing theories as they dig deeper into the investigation with the Plot Development Worksheet provided. This worksheet functions as a case file organizer, ensuring that students methodically gather, sort, and analyze their findings before jumping to conclusions. Since the Making Inferences Mystery Game requires students to engage in higher-order thinking, this worksheet scaffolds their learning by structuring their approach to problem-solving. Whether students prefer mind-mapping their theories, making lists of key evidence, or using graphic organizers, this worksheet allows them to process information in a way that makes sense to them. By the end of the investigation, students will have a comprehensive collection of insights and logical connections, which will help them construct a well-reasoned final argument.
Once students have explored the suspects, clue cards, and evidence documents provided, they are ready to begin formulating their presentations. They can use the Final Presentation Template to structure their findings and outline who they believe to be guilty. This framework ensures that students clearly communicate their analysis and evidence-based conclusions in an organized and persuasive manner. Since the Making Inferences Mystery Game requires students to defend their reasoning, this final presentation challenges them to articulate their thoughts clearly and support their claims with solid evidence. Teachers may choose to hold a “courtroom-style” debate, where students present their case and answer questions from their peers. Alternatively, students could create digital or visual presentations, incorporating text and images to demonstrate their deductive process. Regardless of the format, this final step encourages confidence in public speaking, persuasive writing, and critical analysis.
To consolidate the activity, you can lead a reflection session where students share their thoughts and insights on the investigation process. This step encourages metacognition, prompting students to consider how their thinking evolved, what challenges they faced, and what strategies were most effective. Ask students to reflect on how they used inferencing skills to connect ideas, interpret evidence, and form conclusions. Discussion questions might include:
- What clues were the most helpful in solving the mystery?
- How did your initial assumptions change as you analyzed more evidence?
- What strategies did you use to eliminate suspects?
- How does this activity relate to real-world investigations or research?
For assessment purposes, an editable 4-level rubric has also been provided. You can adjust the success criteria to meet the needs of your unique curriculum and individual student goals. This rubric assesses critical thinking, textual analysis, logical reasoning, and communication skills, ensuring that students are evaluated on both their process and their final conclusions. Since the Making Inferences Mystery Game involves multiple modes of learning, this rubric is adaptable to both written and oral presentations, allowing for differentiation based on student strengths.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable. This is a common practice within the TPT marketplace in order to protect the clipartists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
See what other teachers are saying about this Making Inferences Mystery Game:
“Very easy to use. My students found it engaging and were talking about it days after we completed it. It provided a lot of good reference points for future topics and discussions.”
– Michael C.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®.
