Missing Mitten Mystery

     This adorable freebie created to pair with The Missing Mitten Mystery written by Steven Kellogg will keep primary students engaged while practicing essential writing skills! Young children love working on writing while trying to solve the mystery!

Update! Guess what? The post below was written BEFORE I created this FREEBIE that includes mittens and writing templates that you can find by clicking on the photo above to download in my TPT store! Please read through my older blog post to see how I introduce the mystery to my students!

 

The kids and I were excited to jump back in the swing of things after our Christmas break. I always like to display any books about snow in the month of January. We live in Tennessee and so an inch or two of snow can get us very excited. 🙂

This morning I read the students “The Missing Mitten Mystery”. This book was written and illustrated by Steven Kellogg and is perfect for incorporating into your Writer’s Workshop time.

I always begin the story by discussing the term “mystery” with students. I gave them a brief time to talk with their shoulder partners and make predictions about the story.

You will also want to point out that Steven Kellogg is both the author and illustrator. I’ve always thought his illustrations are especially beautiful and detailed.

Read the story but make sure you stop after Miss Seltzer calls Annie to come inside.

I tell students that I want them to write about what they think happened to Annie’s mitten. Do they think Annie was on to something when she suggested a bird took the mitten? Do they have another idea?

I gave each student a small red mitten I had pre-cut out of construction paper. (This REALLY adds to the excitement!) I guided them through creating a story starter. Ours was “I think Annie’s mitten is _________.”

For kindergarten students I was really pleased with what they came up with!

Most of my students predicted that the mitten was either on the snowman’s hand or that the eagle had taken it. I had a few think the mouse had it or that she had left it outside while playing.

It is always fun to come back together and let the kids share their work. I then read the rest of the book where they discover that the mitten was left inside the snowman creating the perfect heart shape.

I hope your students enjoy this as much as mine always do!