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] 6 Introduction The eMysteries Toolbox on Close Reading Mystery Detective Stories offers stand- alone modules on Mystery Detective Stories ( Module 1 ), Teaching Mystery Detective Novels ( Module 2 ), Close Reading ( Module 3 ) and Creative Writing of Mystery Detective Novels ( Module 4 ).These modules can also be read as a sequence of suggestions for teachers on how to work with mystery detective stories through close reading in an entertaining, interactive way for students. The Toolbox provides teachers with ideas, resources, practices, and some examples that they can explore in class with secondary school students. The main focus of the eMysteries Toolbox is on close reading ( explained in Module 3 ) as a more focused mode of reading that builds critical, analytical processes, and promotes slower modes of reading that contradict superficial skimming over texts. Really good reading is close reading, a form of reading that requires intellectual effort from the reader involving the intellectual skills of reasoning, thinking and understanding (Wolf, 2018). The second equally important focus of eMysteries Toolbox is on mystery detective stories ( see Module 1 ) as engaging reading material for secondary school students that can be used to promote focused close reading and collaborative creative writing (see Module 4). Most European secondary curricula do not include detective or mystery stories either as class reading or complementary reading. However, teachers agree that these could be included in the students’ extensive reading lists provided they were contemporary, relevant to the students’ interests, engaging for them, and digitally-mediated. Pedagogic research shows that mystery detective stories can become very engaging reading material for reluctant readers. Some of the fictional examples in the eMysteries Toolbox are drawn from a contemporary multimodal mystery detective novel, The Ice Princess (2003) by young Scandinavian author Camilla Läckberg. The bestselling authors work has been translated into several European languages, published in over 60 countries, and has a social media presence (http://www.camillalackberg.com/) , where she encourages her fans to write crime novels (‘Everyone can write crime novels’ http://www.camillalackberg.com/get-started/) . Many of her books have been transformed into successful films, such as Ice Princess and The Preacher directed by Johan Grimace. The Ice Princess has a graphic novel adaptation by