– The Once Upon a Crime Reading Mysteries
AND
– The Private Eye CSI Literacy Mysteries
I’m often asked what’s the difference between the two, so I thought this week it would be helpful to write a post to explain the difference and show samples from each type of resource.
The Once Upon a Crime Mysteries are targeted for lower elementary students, whereas the Private Eye CSI Mysteries are targeted for upper elementary students.
The Private Eye CSI Mysteries require making inferences to solve the case files whereas the Once Upon a Crime mysteries do not require inferring.
There are video hooks for the Once Upon a Crime mysteries, however at this stage, there are not any video hooks for the Private Eye CSI Literacy Mysteries.
The Private Eye CSI Mysteries require students to build their own suspect and evidence list, like real detectives (except for Reckless Reindeer)! Whereas a suspect list with key information is already made and provided in the Once Upon a Crime Mysteries.
The Once Upon a Crime Mysteries involved a crack the code style to discover clues (or completion of work to be granted access to the clue if using the B-Edition structure), whereas students must read carefully to look for clues throughout the Private Eye CSI Mysteries.
See sample pages below:
These sample pages are from the resource
âOnce Upon a Crime, STOLEN TIME!
Each clue will require students to critically think and use deductive reasoning to narrow down the list of suspects to solve the case!
The following sample pages are from the resource
Private Eye CSI – The Case of the Wacky Wand
Each reading page involves answering some comprehension questions. The comprehension questions are sometimes designed to guide students into clues, whereas some are designed to throw them off. Students have to think like real detectives to solve the case!
Here’s a sample reading and comprehension page from the Case of the Wacky Wand below:
I sometimes also throw in a bonus clue that students can solve in a crack the code style. This involves vocabulary work. See sample page below from the Case of the Critter Chaos:
These are great for discussions, and students will feel like true detectives solving these cases! However, if these are too challenging for your kids, I recommend going for the Reading Mysteries in the Once Upon a Crime series.
Once Upon a Crime Mysteries are ideal for:
Comprehension
Finding Evidence in the Text
Spelling and vocabulary
Critical Thinking
Deductive Reasoning
Students beginning to work with mysteries
Private Eye CSI Mysteries are ideal for:
Comprehension
Inferring
Analyzing Text for Clues
Critical Thinking
Deductive Reasoning
Discussions in groups or as a class
Writing – students must present a logical argument at the end with enough evidence to convict a suspect for the crime.
Challenging students who understand how mysteries work
