eMysteries Toolkit

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number: 2019-1-DE03-KA201-060127] 17 Mystery resolution By the end of the detective story, the readers are both surprised and think they could have foreseen the end. This means that a good detective story has a logical and plausible end. This is the result of the whole plot of the story. 1.1. Reading Mystery Detective Stories with Students Studies show that reading is not very popular among students in secondary school. Boys read less than girls (about two out of three of the poor readers are boys). PISA results rate 25.5 % of 15-year-olds at reading competence level I (14.5 %) or below (11 %). That means that a quarter of 15-year-old boys are among the poor readers, and one in ten even comes close to functional illiteracy. Among 15-year-old girls, this percentage is significantly lower. One of the reasons for this is that a percentage of the students who go on to secondary school are not reading literate. Due to the fact that reading skills are severely limited, young readers will lose their motivation to deal with literary texts. They are trapped in a vicious circle because the lack of motivation and the lack of competence are mutually amplified in the course of a school career. In order to counteract these tendencies, it seems particularly important to understand the purpose of reading in upper secondary school education and how it may best be achieved. The purpose of reading mystery and detective stories Detective and crime stories not only link up with the reading interests of both sexes, they are also suitable for promoting reading skills after primary school to create a basis for more "demanding" genres. In the detective story the plot revolves around mysterious episodes and crimes. What happens can often be explained by logic. Readers can be amused, they find themselves in a different milieu, with a certain potential for thrill and excitement which increases their reading motivation.