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. 

I'm really enjoying venturing into making mystery logic puzzles and am excited to share with you my latest creation this week. For this new puzzle, I've increased the difficulty by making it a 4 X 4 puzzle grid. The clues require careful reading too (and probably re-reading) to solve. 
These are handy to use when you have some time to spare but don't want to waste. I think these are a fun way to exercise the brain.

Prep

• Print and go!
  
• Save paper by laminating and using washable markers to reuse
  
• Use on a tablet with an electronic 'pen'
  
• Or just display on your Interactive White Board to try and solve as a class​

Download your free copy of this puzzle HERE! 

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!