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.

Lesson Suggestions:

• Present the image above to your class. Either show on the Interactive Whiteboard, or print and hang somewhere. If using as an early finisher activity, print and laminate these images as cards. 
• Either brainstorm as a class or instruct students to think about what could have happened in the image scene. Setting a timer for 'thinking time' is recommended. 
• Invite students to share their ideas with the rest of the class. Remind students that there are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers. This prompt is to invite creative thinking.
• Set a writing task to follow the discussion. Instruct students to pretend they are detectives and must write what they think happened. 
• A simple print and go template for this writing task can be downloaded below. Otherwise you could just use plain lined paper or workbooks to carry out the writing activity. ​​

Remind everyone that there's no right and wrong, otherwise there would be no room for creative thinking in this task.

• To develop this as a writing activity, you could extend it by having your students work towards writing a full story around this crime scene. 

Now, I think it is only fair for students to find out what actually happened. 
The below video is my original story that goes with this prompt. This is in no way a 'correct' answer, just an example of a possible story that works with this prompt.
​You may wish to skip this option.

• After viewing the video, discuss if anyone had any similar ideas in their stories. Do a compare and contrast session with the story above and what students wrote.
• Further extend this mystery activity by instructing students to rewrite their mystery story using the ideas from the video. 

You may have noticed the 'Math Mystery' tag in the video, and that is because this case can be further resolved and integrated with a math activity if you wish. 

Solve the case! Where are the gremlins hiding with all of the graduation items?
If you are interested in extending this mystery activity by integrating it with your math lesson and giving your students lots of math practice and review, click on your grade level below to find the file case  on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Each of the five math pages will require students to complete math i to unlock clues. Be sure to check out the product description to see the specific math skills covered in that grade version. 

Not sure what a math mystery is? Do you want to know more about how to use them? Check out the video below. ​​

You may also like to read this blog post
'Five Easy Ways to Use Math Mysteries in your Classroom.'

Still not sure if a math mystery is something you want? Try a full FREE math mystery available to download from my TPT Shop. The link will redirect you to where you can download the multi-grade bundle.  It is free to register if you don't have a login with TPT.
CLICK HERE to find in my TPT store. ​Find more Mystery Prompts HERE Subscribe to my newsletter to find out when new mystery prompts are added to this section of my website. The newsletter will also announce any special giveaways, flash freebies, sales, free stuff, plus other marketing communications such as new blog posts and resources. You can unsubscribe at any time. 

If you use Math Mysteries, however hate the amount of paper that is required with all of the photocopying, you may like to try this reusable idea to save paper in the long run.

A bit more prep is required at the start, but then a simple wipe and store away is required for the next time you want to use the case. 

Items needed:
- Copies of the mystery pages (story, suspect list, clue pages, and the optional declaration page). Decide how many copies of a single case you would need at a time. 
- Laminating pouches + a Laminator
- Manila 'Case File' Folders. One folder for each mystery set. 

Steps:

• Laminate all of the printed pages.
• Then store each laminated 'mystery set' into a folder file. 
• I like to print the cover page in color to stick onto the front of the folder . This step is optional. To save ink and paper, you could just label the case title on the tab.

Now your case files are ready for use!

Complete the mystery using a washable marker as in the image examples below:

Once the mystery is solved, grab a damp cloth or a bit of water on some paper towel/tissues to wipe all of the pages clean.

Let the pages dry and put back into the folder. The mystery is ready to be used again. 

While the initial prep for this requires a little bit more effort, the extra step is worth it if you are trying to save on ink and paper in the long run. 

In the sample images, I used the Math Mystery 'Case of the Super Bad Superhero.' Download this fun Math Mystery resource for FREE HERE! 

Available in my TPT store, this math mystery is available for Grades 1-6 (or choose a level that suits the needs of the user best!) Skills and math difficulty is outlined in the product description of each grade level. Click on the cover image to find out more.
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Erin D. May, 11 2017 "My students love these and stay engaged with the math concepts they are learning!"

Teri H. September, 12 2016 "Kid tested and kid approved!"

Rachel M. May, 21 2017 "The kids LOVED these! Made for the perfect activity during the last week of school. They were engaged and excited to figure out the next clue. Thank you!"

Jacquelyn B. May, 5 2017 "This particular mystery was a perfect year-end review assessment - the students enjoyed it despite it being a graded assignment! Math Mysteries have become a number one favorite of my 3rd graders!"

1. Exercise
It's no secret that exercise helps get the mind focused and releases those beautiful feel good hormones we all desperately need when life feels a little tough. Because of this, getting some exercise as a class around test time will certainly help keep those stress levels down. Do a class workout (I usually pick two students to be the personal trainers for the session), play a sport, do some yoga, or follow a dance video on YouTube to get moving and relaxation levels improving!

2. Meditate & breathe
Carry out some meditation exercises with your students before the test. There are plenty of meditation audio videos available on YouTube. Plus, you can use meditation to help teach students breathing techniques to help calm nerves.

3. Teach positive self-talk
You could do this in conjunction with meditation by inviting students to close their eyes and imagine feeling calm and confident when taking the test. Here's a quick example - 'Some questions may seem like large monsters to begin with, but with a few deep breaths you read the question again and find it starts to shrink . . . you read it again to find it is starting to make sense . . . you read yet another time to find that it's just a cute bunny, you may need to take a look one more time and then finally you'll know what to do.'

4. Play games and do fun activities for review
Making test review time fun will help keep the stress levels down. You could easily do this by incorporating games into your review lessons or you may like to try a math mystery, project or quest to keep them working hard whilst also keeping it exciting and fun.
CLICK HERE to find a large range of Math Mysteries, Projects and Quests.

5. Have healthy easy snacks available for your students
Explain to your students what the snacks are for and set some guidelines to keep it all in check. Point out that you have chosen these snacks to help keep minds fresh and energized to deal with testing. It is for help and not a party.
Some good food examples include: air-popped popcorn, apple slices, plain crackers, orange wedges and bread sticks. (Keep it high carbohydrate but low salt and fat. I recommend nothing too exciting so that it doesn't distract the students and will be seen as a source of nourishment rather than fun.)

6. Make sure students are comfortable
Check to see if all students have adequate seating and desk space to take their desk. Ensure lighting is appropriate in all areas of the room. Keep windows open, make sure the lights work well in the classroom.
Freezing or sweating during the test is a massive distraction and will reduce concentration. So, make sure the temperature is just right for everyone.

7. Encourage & Reassure
Before a test, I like to:
- Remind my students that I believe in them,
- Tell them that the best they can do is to try their best,
- Assure them that while these tests are important, they are not life threatening or the end of it all.

I also like to tell students not to discuss the test afterwards. Students talking about questions and sharing answers has a tendency to cause more unnecessary doubt and stress than ever! If possible, follow up a test with a fun activity or game to help students move forward from the test.

I hope these tips help ease the stress faced during testing time. I wish you all the best of luck and calmness!

1. What were some of your proudest professional moments this year?
2. What areas do you feel like you have grown and improved as a teacher?
3. What would you have liked to see yourself do more of this year?
4. What teaching/learning challenges did you face during this year?
5. How did you overcome those challenges?
6. What were your biggest behavior challenges this year?
7. What strategies did you try to correct negative behaviors? What worked and what didn’t?
8. What would you do the same/ differently next year to manage behaviour?
9. Who was your most challenging student and why?
10. What caused you the most stress/frustration this year?
11. How did you handle the stressful and frustrating times?
12. What do you think you could do next year to minimize stress?
13. What would you do the same next year? 
14. Do you feel like you gave all of your students the best opportunity to grow and learn this year?
15. Which students do you think grew the most in your class? How?
16. What mistakes did you make this year? How can you avoid making them again next year?
17. What were the strengths of the strategies you used this year?
18. What strategies or approaches were not so successful? What were the outcomes and why do you think they didn't work?
19. How do you think students have benefited from being in your classroom this year?
20. What was a negative situation that you faced this year and handled in a positive way?
21. What are some new steps or strategies that you would like to try next year?
22. What opportunities did you give for your students to display what they know/learnt?
23. What were some of your students’ favorite activities this year? Which motivated and engaged them the most?
24. In what ways did you make your lessons suitable for 21st Century Learners?
25. What were some important tips or ideas that you learnt from collaborating with other teachers?
26. If you had to rate the difficulty for getting through this year personally, 1 being easy and 10 being ‘barely survived’, what rating would you give? Why?
27. What would you differently next year compared to this year?
28. How do you feel about your experience in the classroom this year? Did you enjoy it or did you find that you were always looking forward to the home bell?  
29. If you had to ask your students to give you feedback on your teaching, what responses do you think you would get? (You could even ask students to write feedback for you).
30. What are your goals as a teacher for next year?

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