With the holidays just around the corner, keeping kids engaged in learning activities can be tricky. But what if there was a fun way to help children learn key reading skills while also getting into the holiday spirit? Enter "Rescue Rudolph,"—a digital reading game that covers reading comprehension, cause and effect, parts of speech, and synonyms. 

Adding some fun background music while completing a math or reading mystery can create a positive working atmosphere in the classroom. Your student detectives will feel more immersed in the mystery task and, hopefully, be more motivated to persevere through the more challenging questions and puzzles. Like a workout, the type of music you choose to go with the rhythm of the activity is important. So, in this blog post, I've rounded up some music track suggestions, from YouTube, for you to readily find and play when doing a mystery activity at home or in the classroom. 

All of the graduation items have been stolen from the school hall! Almost, nothing has been left . . . almost. 

​Use this mystery prompt to see what ideas your students come up with about 'what could have happened?

Prep: Print and laminate the image below into a card to use for an early finisher or writing center activity.
OR
​Display on the board for a whole class writing activity. 

There are plenty of ways you may wish to use this prompt. If you would like some ideas, please keep reading below the image prompt.