Reading is a key skill in our academic and professional lives, and can be a fascinating experience that allows us to escape reality and travel to distant places and live exhilarating adventures. This month we want to encourage our students to practise this skill, so our activities explore some mystery and crime stories to engage our learners. The activities for B2 First and C1 Advanced students integrate reading, speaking and writing, inviting learners to solve a mystery. Our B1 Preliminary students can set their imagination free and create their own mystery stories. Our A2 Flyers and A2 Key learners can discover some exciting books to read while they practise their English. Happy teaching!

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February 2021
Reading is a key skill in our academic and professional lives, and can be a fascinating
experience that allows us to escape reality and travel to distant places and live exhilarating
adventures. This month we want to encourage our students to practise this skill, so our
activities explore some mystery and crime stories to engage our learners. The activities for B2
First and C1 Advanced students integrate reading, speaking and writing, inviting learners to
solve a mystery. Our B1 Preliminary students can set their imagination free and create their
own mystery stories. Our A2 Flyers and A2 Key learners can discover some exciting books to
read while they practise their English. Happy teaching!
1. Guess who..................................................................................................................... 2
2. Who is the killer?............................................................................................................ 7
3. Solve the mystery..........................................................................................................10
4. References....................................................................................................................13

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1. Guess who
Level: B2 First / C1 Advanced
Skills: speaking, reading, writing
Interaction: whole class, group and
individual activity
Content: crime and mystery vocabulary,
expressions to agree and disagree,
persuasive language, storytelling
Time: 65 minutes
Warm up (15’) – whole class activity
• What is your favourite type of book / film?
• Are you a fan of mystery and crime stories? Why (not)?
• Tell us about a story that shocked you.
• Tell us about a story that you found disappointing.
• Tell us about a story that exceeded your expectations.
Reading (10’) – whole class activity
Read the first two paragraph of the story. What do you think that will happen next?
Eight people, all strangers to each other, are invited to Indian Island, off the English
coast. Vera Claythorne, a former governess, thinks she has been hired as a secretary;
Philip Lombard, an adventurer, and William Blore, an ex-detective, think they have
been hired to look out for trouble over the weekend; Dr. Armstrong thinks he has been
hired to look after the wife of the island’s owner. Emily Brent, General Macarthur, Tony
Marston, and Judge Wargrave think they are going to visit old friends.
When they arrive on the island, the guests are greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, the
butler and housekeeper, who report that the host, someone they call Mr. Owen, will
not arrive until the next day. That evening, as all the guests gather in the drawing room
after an excellent dinner, they hear a recorded voice accusing each of them of a
specific murder committed in the past and never uncovered. They compare notes and
realize that none of them, including the servants, knows “Mr. Owen,” which suggests
that they were brought here according to someone’s strange plan.
Reading and speaking (15’) – whole class activity / in groups of 10
Each student should be assigned a character, they should read their card and talk to the rest
of the group to try to figure out who the killer is and to convince the rest that they are not the
killers.

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Tony Marston
• How did he die? He choked on poisoned whisky.
• When did he die? The night everyone arrived on the island.
• Is he the killer? No
Mrs. Rogers
• How did she die? She died in her sleep after being given a sedative
by Dr. Armstrong to help her sleep.
• When did she die? The night everyone arrived on the island.
• Is she the killer? No
General Macarthur
• How did he die? From a blow to the head. The last time he was seen
was on his way to the beach. Dr. Armstrong found him.
• When did he die? The morning after everyone arrived on the island
i.e. Day 1
• Is he the killer? No
Mr. Rogers
• How did he die? While chopping wood in preparation for breakfast.
• When did he die? On Day 2.
• Is he the killer? No
Emily Brent
• How did she die? Her neck was injected with poison after breakfast.
• When did she die? On Day 2.
• Is she the killer? No
Judge Wargrave
• How did he die? He was found draped in a curtain resembling
courtroom robes and bearing a red mark on his forehead. Dr.
Armstrong examined the body and reported that Wargrave had been
shot in the head.
• When did he die? On Day 2.
• Is he the killer? Yes!

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Add some clues to make the activity more dynamic.
Clues:
1: On Day 1, the guests discover that the boat that regularly delivers supplies to the island is
not coming.
2. On Day 1, Blore, Lombard, and Armstrong decide that the deaths must have been murders
and determine to scour the island in search of the mysterious Mr. Owen. They find no one.
Meanwhile, the oldest guest, General Macarthur, feels sure he is going to die and goes to the
beach.
3. On Day 1, After General Macarthur’s death, everyone meets to discuss the situation and
Judge Wargrave reminds them that the existing evidence suggests any of them could be the
killer.
4. On Day 2, after breakfast, Emily Brent feels slightly giddy, and she remains alone at the
table for a while.
William Blore
• How did he die? He died when a statue was pushed out of a second-
story window and fell on him. Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard
saw everything.
• When did he die? On Day 2.
• Is he the killer? No
Vera Claythorne
• How did she die? She hanged herself using a hangman’s noose
someone had prepared for her.
• When did she die? On Day 2.
• Is she the killer? She only killed Philip Lombard.
Dr. Armstrong
• How did he die? He drowned in the sea. He was found by Vera
Claythorne and Philip Lombard.
• When did he die? On Day 2.
• Is he the killer? No
Philip Lombard
• How did he die? He was shot by Vera Claythorne, who thought he
was the killer.
• When did he die? On Day 2.
• Is he the killer? No

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5. On Day 2, after Emily’s death, Judge Wargrave initiates an organised search of everyone’s
belongings, and anything that could be used as a weapon is locked away.
6. On Day 2, Vera goes to take a bath, but she is startled by a piece of seaweed hanging from
the ceiling and cries out. Blore, Lombard, and Armstrong run to help her. When they return
downstairs they find Judge Wargrave dead.
7. On the night of Day 2, Blore hears footsteps in the hall; upon checking, he finds that
Armstrong is not in his room. Blore and Lombard search for Armstrong, but they cannot find
him anywhere in the house or on the island.
8. On the night of Day 2, Vera, Lombard, and Blore go outside, resolving to stay in the safety
of the open land. Blore decides to go back into the house to get food.
9. On the night of Day 2, Vera and Lombard retreat to the shore.
Adapted from SparkNotes (2021) and Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None.
Reading into writing (5’ + 20’) – whole class activity and individual activity
Have your students solved the mystery? Theycan read the last paragraph of the summary or
read the book.
The mystery baffles the police until a manuscript in a bottle is found. The late Judge Wargrave
wrote the manuscript explaining that he planned the murders because he wanted to punish
those whose crimes are not punishable under law. Wargrave frankly admits to his own lust for
blood and pleasure in seeing the guilty punished. When a doctor told Wargrave he was dying,
he discusses how he chose his victims and how he did away with Marston, Mr. and Mrs.
Rogers, Macarthur, and Emily Brent. Wargrave then describes how he tricked Dr. Armstrong
into helping him fake his own death, promising to meet the doctor by the cliffs to discuss a
plan. When Armstrong arrived, Wargravepushedhim over the edgeinto the sea, then returned
to the house and pretended to be dead. His ruse enabled him to dispose of the rest of the
guestswithout drawing their suspicion. Once Vera hanged herself on a noose that he prepared
for her, Wargrave planned to shoot himself in such a way that his bodywould fall onto the bed
as if it had been laid there. Thus, he hoped, the police would find ten dead bodieson an empty
island.
• Are you surprised?
• What do you think of the story?
Students should choose a character and write his / her story in 140-190 words* or 220-260
words**.
* B2 First students
** C1 Advanced students

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Your school is taking part in a project to foster reading skills in a foreign language among
young adults. The book selected is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Students
participating in the project will have to write a prequel of the book starring one of the
characters. They should imagine what their life was like before they went to the island and
what the crime they committed was. The most creative story will receive a laptop.
Write your stories in 140 – 190 words* or 220-260 words**.
Deadline: 28th
February

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2. Who is the killer?
Level: B1 Preliminary / B2 First
Skills: listening, speaking and writing
Content: crime and mystery vocabulary, storytelling,
description
Interaction: whole class and group activity
Time: 60 minutes
Warm up (10’) – whole class activity
• What is your favourite type of book / film?
• Are you a fan of mystery and crime stories? Why (not)?
Speaking (10’) – whole class activity
You are going to watch a short detective riddle (watch riddle 1). Who do you think the killer
is? Why?

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Writing (25’) – groups of 4
In groups, write your crime story based on this riddle or create your own one. Suggested
steps:
1. Brainstorm as a group
2. Two students should write the story.
3. Two students should review the story using the Success Criteria below.
B1 Preliminary Writing Success Criteria Yes No Comments
Content Yes No Comments
Have you written about all the content points?
Have you added some information about each of
them?
Communicative Achievement Yes No Comments
Story
Read your story again, is it clear? Do you need to
read some parts again because you don’t
understand them?
Organisation Yes No Comments
Have you used paragraphs for the different ideas?
Have you used connectors such as and, but, so,
because?
Language Yes No Comments
Have you used synonyms?
Have you used a few different grammatical
structures?
The Ministry of Culture is running a competition for bilingual schools. Secondary students
can submit their mystery / crime stories. The school in each region whose students write
the most imaginative story will receive 30 tablets.
Write your stories in about 100 words.
Deadline: 28th
February

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Follow up! (15’) – groups of 4
In the same groups, record a video describing your school, explaining why you like learning
English, and how you think it will help you in your studies and the future. This will be the
introduction to your school for the writing contest.

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3. Solve the mystery
Level: A2 Flyers / A2 Key
Skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening
Content: stories
Interaction: individual, whole class activity and in
pairs
Time: 40 minutes
Warm up (10’) – whole class activity
 Do you like reading?
 How often do you read books in your free time?
 What is your favourite book?
 What kind of book is it? Is it action and adventure? Detective and mystery? Fantasy?
 Why do you like it?
 Who is your favourite character?
 Why do you like him / her?
 Describe him or her.
Reading (10’) – in pairs
Read the short summaries and the titles. Can you find the right title for each summary?
1. The Haunted Library Series
2. The Deductive Detective
3. Secret Agent Mummy: The Cleopatra Case
4. The Thieves of the Port
5. Diamonds and Daggers
A: A cake thief is on the loose! Using deductive reasoning and subtraction, Detective Duck
follows the clues to discover the identity of the cake thief.
B: When some wind separates a ghost boy named Kaz from his family, he goes to live in a
library and meets Claire, a girl who can see him (and other ghosts too). They have some
differences but they become friends and join forces to find Kaz’s family.
C: The Marsh Road investigators, a group of good friends, are excited to hear that a famous
Hollywood star is coming to do a show at the local theatre. Everything goes wrong when an

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expensive diamond necklace is stolen and the father of one of the friends is the top suspect.
Fast, fun, and exciting.
D: For anyone who likes comedy, this is a must. The book takes the reader back with Sam
to Ancient Egypt where he becomes involved in a crazy mystery with a mummy detective —
and Cleopatra.
E: This is Book One of the Roman Mysteries series. The year is 79 AD and the setting is
close to Rome. Flavia sets out to discover who has stolen her father’s ring and meets three
young people who become her friends and join in with her detective work. Good characters
and a strong sense of time and place.
Adapted from: Penguin Random House (2021) and Oxford University Press (2021)
• Would you like to read any of these books? Which one? Why?
Vocabulary (10’) – whole class activity
Are there any words you don’t understand? Look at the rest of the sentence, does that help
you guess what they mean? Check with your classmates, see if anyone can explain it.
As a class, check the words and their meaning and try to write a sentence with them. Share
your sentences with the rest of the class using Padlet.
Writing (10’) – individual activity
Use Padlet to create a card with information about a book you really like and you would like
to recommend. Include the following information on the card:
Title: ______________________________________
Author: ____________________________________
Book type: _________________________________
Summary (up to 25 words)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

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KEY
A: The Deductive Detective
B: The Haunted Library Series
C: Diamonds and Daggers
D: Secret Agent Mummy: The Cleopatra Case
E: The Thieves of the Port

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4. References
Chuck, W. (2019). Gray Magnifying Glass and Eyeglasses on Top of Open Book. [image/
jpeg]. Available at https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-magnifying-glass-and-
eyeglasses-on-top-of-open-book-3109168/ [26th January 2021].
Oxford University Press (2021). Mystery stories. [online]. Oxford Owl. Available at:
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/brilliant-books/mystery-stories
[22nd January 2021].
Penguin Random House (2021). Little Detectives: Mystery Books for 6- to 8-Year-Olds.
[online]. Brightly Raise Kids Who Love to Read. Available at:
https://www.readbrightly.com/mystery-books-for-6-8-year-olds/ [22nd January 2021].
Piacquadio, A. (2020). Photo of Girl Reading a Book. [image/ jpeg]. Available at
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-girl-reading-book-3755707/ [26th January
2021].
SparkNotes (2021). Summary Plot Overview. [online]. And Then There Were None. Available
at: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/andthenthere/summary/ [27th January 2021].
Wilcox, K. (2018). Crime Scene Do Not Cross Signage. [image/ jpeg]. Available at
https://www.pexels.com/photo/crime-scene-do-not-cross-signage-923681/ [26th
January 2021].
Winkler, M. (2020). No title. [image/ jpeg]. Available at:
https://unsplash.com/photos/cS2eQHB7wE4 [26th January 2021].
Youtube (2019). Who isthe Killer? 9 Detective Riddlesto Train your Analytical Skills. Available
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYV_M5-iNGY [26th January 2021].