How to Get Away with Murder Part 2: Using Murder Mystery to Analyze Plot Structure & Characters

Earlier this week, we discussed how to use short mysteries to introduce students to making inferences and citing textual evidence. The next step is to move students towards analyzing more complex and longer literature using the short story "Lamb to Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. In these two lessons, we'll focus on plot structure and indirect characterization.

Again, I really encourage you to lean into the authenticity of the lesson because that's what engages students and makes the care about the assignment. Remind them they are detectives and use authentic language to discuss the "case." It sounds cheesy, but let's face it: kids are nerds, and they'll totally get into it.

DAY THREE: PLOT STRUCTURE

I initially taught this mini-unit as a supplemental, short, summer program, so our focus was on foundational skills; I started, as I always do, with plot structure.

I like to use Pixar short films to teach literary skills when I can, so for this lesson I used "For the Birds." The entire video is less than three minutes, and it's perfect to show kids every step of the plot pyramid. If you want something more "complex" but similar in nature, the Pixar film "Presto" is also great for plot, and it's funnier. Depending on how much time I have or if the kids need more practice, I use both videos; I'll model the plot pyramid with "For the Birds," and then we'll practice as a class on "Presto." If you students just need a review though, I'd stick to one video.

Next, step it up by bringing in "Lamb to Slaughter." To add to the mystery and keep the reading time in this activity short and focused, I jigsaw the story and cut out the part where (SPOILERS!) Mrs. Maloney murders her husband with a frozen leg of lamb. Breaking up the story mimics how detectives have to gather information from multiple sources, often with partners, and it forces them to think about how certain things move the plot forward.

Depending on the group size, I split the story into two - four parts; however, I think splitting it into four parts was ideal. Each student only reads their approximately page-long section independently. Then, they discuss what they read with their group and try to determine which order their sections go in. Encourage them to use the plot pyramid words in their discussion. Does this sound more expositional? Is it just developing the characters? Was anything resolved in this section? Could it be the ending?

Then I unleash them on a plot pyramid drag-and-drop activity. I pulled the key events in the story, and as a group, they have to decide the order they go in on the plot pyramid. Side note: I'm obsessed with drag-and-drop activities since remote learning started. It gives the kids a break from typing, scaffolds activities, and it's good practice for NJSLA or PARCC-style questions.

I close out the lesson with a short, written response exit ticket asking them if they found anything suspicious in their reading and to make a prediction about the solution to the case.

DAY FOUR: INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

Next, I pull indirect characterization into this unit to help students analyze the characters, particularly Mrs. Maloney. If you don't know she's the murderer, there are a ton of character clues to help solve the case. That girl is so suspicious. Your kids can't read the scene where she talks to herself in the mirror without realizing something is up.

I like videos, so I do my direct instruction and modeling using clips from Mean Girls and BBC's Sherlock. First, we review the indirect characterization S.T.E.A.L strategy (speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks). Then I model with the clip from Sherlock. It's the same clip from last week — the only difference is I labeled the S.T.E.A.L. strategy Sherlock uses to find out information about Watson. Again depending on grade-level, time, and student ability, you can show more or less of the video. If you've taught S.T.E.A.L. before, you can cut right to the Sherlock clip as a review.

After the mini-lesson, I let them practice on a quote from "Lamb to Slaughter" — when Mr. Maloney gets home from work and starts pounding whiskey. I ask them to highlight clues about what Mr. Maloney is feeling using S.T.E.A.L. and to try and give a single adjective to describe his mood.

Then you have some options. If you want to keep the lesson short and sweet, only have students reread their initially assigned jigsawed section. If you want them to have a wider perspective of the case or you're working with more advanced students, have them read the story in its entirety (with the still murder omitted). Either way, they need to revisit the text because they've undoubtedly forgotten most of what they read the day before.

As they read, give them three investigation questions to focus on. I wrote questions that were specific to the section of the text and focused on characters or suspicious behavior. Give each question a different highlighter color, so they can highlight as they read and refer to their highlighting later to help them answer their questions. They only have to answer the questions for their section of the reading, even if they read the entire story. This gives them a more targeted focus, and it forces them to collaborate with their group again. Yay group work!

After they finish reading, highlighting, and answering their questions, it's back to group discussion. They share what they found for their investigation questions (which creates structured discussion for my socially anxious crew) and attempt to solve the case. As a group, they must identify the murderer, the murder weapon, and the motive.

At the end of the lesson, they have another written response exit ticket. They have to explain how they solved the case and provide evidence to support it. I tell them to think about it as though they are about to arrest a suspect, and they need to ask a judge for an arrest warrant. How would you convince them that you know this person is guilty? They need to quote the text at least once in their explanation.

Check Out Part Three on Monday!

That's it for murder mystery and literature! Check out next week's posts about how to use mystery and informational text. We'll investigate the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe and the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, and I'll talk about using those cases to develop writing skills.

If you are interested in using this lesson, it's now available on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.