Teengagement - Sherlock Holmes

Critical Thinking Connections
UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Are people captivated by the mystery genre because the story elements of a fictional mystery entice them,
or do people find mysteries stories engaging because mystery novels offer a “suspenseful” escape from
reality?
COMPLEMENTARY RESOURCES
The following additional informational text(s) may be used to supplement this unit:
• “Thumbnails for Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon,” Movie International Archive
http://archive.org/movies/thumbnails.php?identifier=secret_weapon
• “Connections Between House and Holmes,” House Guide to the TV Show
http://www.housemd-guide.com/holmesian.php
• Dillon, Hal, “Forensic Scientists: A career in the crime lab,” Occupational Outlook Quarterly
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/fall/art01.pdf
• “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_the_Speckled_Band
• Wilson, Robert, “The Mystery of Character,” Writing-World.com
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/character.shtml
• “Mystery Writing with Joan Lowery Nixon,” Writing with Writers
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mystery/read.htm
• Campos-Duffy, Rachel, “The Timeless Influence of Nancy Drew,” ParentDish, June 2009
http://www.parentdish.com/2009/06/02/the-timeless-influence-of-nancy-drew/
• “Mysterious Terms: Mystery Genre Definitions,” Mysterious Terms from the Hidden Staircase
Mystery Books
http://genre.omnimystery.com/mystery-genre.html
• “Plotting and Notebooks,” Agatha Christie, Official Information and Community Website
http://legacy.agathachristie.com/about-christie/how-christie-wrote/plotting-and-notebooks/
The following literature may be used as connections or supplements to this unit:
• Books and/or series by

oo Agatha Christie
oo Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
oo Alfred Hitchcock
oo Carolyn Keene
oo Ellery Queen
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The following videos/images may be used to supplement this unit:

• “Literature: Genres or ‘Types,’” (Image)
http://www.nouspace.net/dene/354/354/images/literary_genres.jpg
• “Comparing Sherlock and House,” YouTube, (3:10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QcAJDdUFzM
• “Hugh Laurie We modeled House character on Sherlock Holmes,” YouTube, (1:37)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx4IngUqpsE
*Note: Hyperlinks take you directly to each resource, where possible, and were correct at the time of publication. If they no
longer work because changes have been made to external websites, you should visit the relevant home page to search for the
document or try to search for the resource by title. Please contact us at info@teengagement.com to report errors or broken
links, and we will correct our content for future use.
STANDARDS FOCUS
The following standards are particularly well suited as a focus for this unit:
Reading
Key Ideas and Details
oo Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from
it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn
from the text.
oo Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the
key supporting details and ideas.
READING STRATEGIES
• Compare/Contrast. In pairs or small groups, students are to determine the best method to use
to compare and contrast Sherlock Holmes with Gregory House. Once they determine the method
they would like to use (Venn diagram, T-Chart, etc.), they are to read the High-Interest Article and
complete the graphic.
• Key Word Notes can be used with the Technical Article. The Key Word Notes strategy allows
students to purposefully read a text chunk and select words that represent the main facts in the
chunk.
oo As students read the article, they are to write 3-5 key words in the margins next to each
paragraph. These words are to will help the reader remember the key information in that
paragraph.
oo When students are finished, they are to attempt to answer the Reading Comprehension
questions for this article, using ONLY their Key Word Notes.
oo After they have attempted to answer the questions, facilitate a discussion on what they
would change about their Key Word selections if they had the opportunity to do this exercise
again. Remind them that they can use this reading strategy in any class and with any piece of
text.
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ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS/ DIFFERENTIATED ACTIVITIES

• Writers often use real people as the basis for characters in their stories. Students can generate
characters in the same way by thinking about favorite (or not so favorite) relative, friends, or even
strangers. Ask them if they could make some of these people into characters in a piece of fiction?
Students can use the following chart to convert interesting people into characters.
What do you admire about

A. Person Personality Description Person’s Actions
this person?
What would others admire

B. Character Character Description Character’s Actions
about this character?

• Students can think about their favorite place on Earth, as well as specific details that make that
place their favorite. From those details, students can write the opening paragraph of a mystery that
takes place in their favorite place.
• Ask students to write a short description of their day, inserting a red herring somewhere in the
narrative.
• Students will work in pairs. Have students interview each other using the following questions.
oo Where was your partner born?
oo What hobbies does your partner have?
oo What career does your partner want to pursue after graduation?
oo What interesting fact does your partner wish to share that others may not know?
• After pairs are finished, explain that this information provides each partner’s “back story.” (Back
story: a narrative providing a history or background context, especially for a character or situation
in a literary work, film, or dramatic series. Dictionary.com) Facilitate a discussion on the purpose
of a back story in a novel or other work. Students are to Quick Write the following: What are
2–3 elements of YOUR back story? What would people need to know about you in order to
understand what motivates your behavior?
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Critical Thinking Connections

UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTION

The following literature may be used as connections or supplements to this unit:

• Books and/or series by

The following videos/images may be used to supplement this unit:

ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS/ DIFFERENTIATED ACTIVITIES

What do you admire about

What would others admire

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