| April 2008
Murder in the Classroom
By Sara Mykietyn
Sara Mykietyn, a 2007 graduate of The George Washington University, is currently residing in Neufchateau, France and working as an English teaching assistant. When she is not in the classroom, Sara can be found behind her camera, enjoying cups of tea, and getting to know the locals.
The website One Stop English (http://www.onestopenglish.com/) contains a Lesson Share Archive that is very useful for busy teachers. Sara Mykietyn found this lesson and re-formatted and adapted it slightly for her EFL class. It could be used in any foreign language class. If you translate it into your target language, why not share it with your fellow Culture Club colleagues?
Preparation: Depending on the class size, decide how many groups you will have. The first seven characters (see teacher’s answer sheet) are the main characters that you need to play the game. The others are extras that do not contain any substantial information. Groups as close to seven as possible work best within a 50 minute time period. The game may be played with six, eliminating Patricia Woods. Make the necessary copies of the character sheets. Cut each sheet, separating the background information from the character’s identity. Make one copy of the worksheet for each student.
Game Day: Before the students enter the classroom, write the word "Murder" on the board. Ask them to define the word for you. Tell them that there has been a murder in the high school and you need their help to solve it. Plus, one of them is the murderer! First, give each student the top half of the sheet, with the background information. Read it aloud and ensure comprehension. Then, divide the class into their groups. Give them individually their character and explain this is who you are. If you have time, nametags are a nice idea but definitely did not seem to be essential. Finally, while they read their character descriptions, give them the worksheet to record all the information from their interviews. Answer any vocabulary questions.
To explain the game, read the five questions on the bottom of the character sheet together. They must ask these five questions to every other member of their group. As well, they will be answering the same questions. Based upon the answers, they must then determine what that character’s motive and alibi is. This information is recorded on the worksheet. By talking to the other characters, their goal is to find out who the killer is and why.
Download entire lesson plan to print
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