Hyde Park Mystery

This week is my second annual mystery week, in which I have arranged the classroom as a sort of choose-your-own-adventure murder mystery. Each pair of students make a Holmes-and-Watsonesque duo called Mycroft Pound and Dr. Browning.




While it's true there's no way to make them converse in English in this activity, they must at least read for understanding and process some reasonably complex information. They begin by reading a few paragraphs on a worksheet, and I ask each team a few questions before they can enter the classroom and begin sleuthing. They record the number of each station they visit on their worksheet--which makes it easy for me to know if they followed a correct sequence.

It is possible to get off track about three different ways, but hopefully the vast majority will solve the crime. If you lose the scent completely, you are directed to card #18, where you start again.

This is the same activity I wrote about here, although I obviously had to create a new mystery since the second graders did it last year. There was a little vocabulary I needed to cover, so I took a few minutes of the previous class to prep them--words like blackmail and blotter paper and charwoman.

It's kind of a pain to set up, it took about three hours of my Friday afternoon, and lots of advance planning. But I like the challenge, and the students seem to like the challenge it presents to them--even the ones who don't totally solve the mystery think it's funny, which is Konglish for fun.

Murder in Whitechapel

This is what my students see when they come into the English Only Zone this week. Their job, to find the culprit! The year, 1891. The location, London. Outside The Rose and Crown Pub, Whitechapel.

Inside the classroom are various locations in London, and students move from station to station playing a "choose your own adventure" murder mystery. The Whitechapel Killer is on the loose, loosely based on Jack the Ripper--and our murderer turns out to be named Jack. Just not that one! Leaves it open for a sequel next year ...


In order to begin, students must pair up and receive the handout, which describes the initial situation. You are Mycroft Pound, famous detective, and your associate is Dr. Browning. A knock at your door introduces an Inspector from Scotland Yard who asks for your assistance. Students must answer two or three simple questions from me about the opening paragraph in order to enter the classroom and begin sleuthing.






Based on their choices after reading a card, students may get closer to finding the killer, or they may go off on red herrings. When hot on his trail, they may choose the wrong course of action and lose the scent. Failed attempts get directed to station #22, where they begin again, so there is a chance for everyone to succeed.

Never having done this before, I am pleased to see the level of success--most teams take twenty-five or thirty minutes to find the criminal, then they get to go across the hall and watch a Jeremy Brett Holmes video, as mentioned below. A few groups take all period (well, once they get inside) and a few don't actually succeed in solving the crime. Still, even from that group, I have heard how funny it is--which is Konglish for fun!

Jeremy Brett--Gotta Miss Him

In preparing for my Murder Mystery in London lesson this week, I got worried about what to do with students who finish solving the crime in, say, fifteen minutes, leaving them a half hour to create mischief. So I started looking around for appropriate videos to keep them quiet, at least, until the end of class.

Of course, the obvious choice is some Sherlock Holmes, upon whom the story for the class is more or less based. No fewer than two dozen actors have played the iconic character on film, so which one to choose?

Well, for me, there is no question on this matter--the Granada Televsion series which starred Jeremy Brett is incomparable. Brett's quirky, multi-faceted, chisel-nosed Holmes seems drawn directly from the text, as are the Granada scripts. Production values were emphasized and it appeared the entire canon would finally receive top-notch filmic treatment. Baker Street Irregulars and Victoriana buffs the world over were psyched!



Alas, Mr. Brett (who played Freddie Eynsford-Hill in the film version of 'My Fair Lady' though his singing voice was dubbed--along with Miss Hepburn's) had a heart attack in 1995, leaving about 15 or so of the original stories yet to be made.

While looking around, I noted there is a new Holmes movie coming out, scheduled for release at Christmas. I'm surprised it's taken this long, since the thing hit public domain several years ago.