Mystery at the Knitting Club

Cooperation

Use the skills sheet “What Happens Next? to draw and write what happens next in the story.

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: What is a mystery?

• Reading and discussing “Mystery at the Knitting Club” along with the other mystery-themed texts in the magazine (the nonfiction article “The Mystery of the Lake Monster,” the paired text “The Mystery of the Missing Bugs,” and the poem “Loch Ness Mystery”) should give kids wonderful insight into what a mystery is and different kinds of mysteries.
  
• Through the above genres, students will discuss: What is a mystery? How are all mysteries alike? How can they be different? Do I like reading this kind of story? Why or why not?
  
• This story also stands on its own. It’s not only super fun, but it also gives kids great experience reading and thinking about graphic novels as a literary form.
  

Choose a Video (We have two!) (10 minutes)

You have two choices for a video with this story.

1. “What Is a Mystery?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

• Before your students watch, ask them to think about: “What is a mystery?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

2. “What’s in a Comic?”

• Our second video teaches kids about the features of a comic.
• Before watching, tell kids to look out for four features they might find in a comic.
• After watching, ask for kids’ help to fill out a list of comic features on chart paper. The features mentioned in the video are: panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and onomatopoeia.
• Tell kids to look for those features in the mini graphic novel. They can fill in our “Comic Features Hunt” skills sheet after reading.

Preview Vocabulary (3-15 minutes)

• Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This story’s featured words are knitting, mystery, solve, clue, “on the case,” “crack the mystery,” “bad eggs,” & shreds. Some of these words also appear in other articles in the magazine, giving kids practice with the words in various contexts.

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

• Open your magazines to Mystery at the Knitting Club.” Ask kids: What kind of story is this? (a comic, or mini graphic novel)
• Next, read the Think and Read prompt on page 14: “As you read, think about what the mystery in the story is, and how the characters solve it. ” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.
  

• Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a class.
• As they read, ask kids to jot down each clue to the mystery as it comes up. Can they guess the solution to the mystery before the characters do?

Extend the Story With an Activity (20 minutes)

• Kids can “finish” the story with the “What Happens Next?” activity (available in your Resources tab). They’ll fill in the voice bubbles for the characters and create their own comic panel.
• This activity sneaks in the skill of making inferences.

Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)

• Pass out the quiz (available in your Resources tab) to assess comprehension of the article. We also offer a lower-level quiz.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (10-15 minutes)

• Use the Word Work activity (available in your Resources tab) to deepen students’ understanding of the vocabulary words.

ELA Focus: Idioms (10-15 minutes)

• Use the “Match the Idioms” activity (available in your Resources tab) to give students practice with the fun idioms that are in the story.

Read Other Books in the Series (time varies)

• “Mystery at the Knitting Club” is a stand-alone story and is easy to understand with no prior knowledge. But it is also part of the Scholastic Branches Kung Pow Chicken series by Cyndi Marko.
• Check out books in this series. These early chapter books are written just for secondgraders. And a new installment in the series just came out this fall!

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time amount varies)

Paired Texts 1 and 2 “The Mystery of the Lake Monster” and “The Mystery of the Missing Bugs.”

• These stories ask similar questions to those of mini graphic novel. What is a mystery? How do people (or chickens!) solve them?
• Kids can compare the mysteries in the three stories using our “Do a Mystery Chart” online printable. How are the mysteries alike and different?