Unit 5

What Are the Traits of a Good Mystery?

Activity

Reading Mystery Stories - Crack the Code

All mystery stories have the same structure, or are written in the same way.  Five key elements of mystery stories are character, conflict or problem, setting, plot events, and solution.

Characters are the people in the story.  In the story of Sammy on the Case, the main character or protagonist is the narrator (person who tells the story. The antagonists, characters who block the main character from achieving his goal are Leo, and his dog Sammy.

The setting is the place and time of the story.  In Sammy on the Case, the crime takes place at the park during the day.

The conflict in a mystery story is usually person vs person. The main character wants to solve a crime, but many elements block his or her progress. These can be red herrings, false clues to lead the main character off track in his or her investigation, or other characters (suspects).

Suspects are the people thought to be guilty of the crime. In the unusual story Sammy on the Case, the narrator is the suspect. The suspects have a motive or reason for committing the crime.  The narrator's motive is to play a trick on his friend.

The clues are the hints that help the detective solve the mystery. Sammy uses his nose to follow the clues. Sometimes the clues involve witnesses, people who give a first-hand account of what they have seen, or heard.

The plot events are the actions in the story.  The solution comes at the end of the story when the crime is solved. Sammy captures the bike thief, the narrator.
Style is how the story is told. Writers often use "word pictures" called similes and metaphors when they write.

Using these word choices (called figurative language) make their writing more interesting and descriptive.


A simile is a type of figurative language that uses the words like or as to make a comparison. Here are some examples:

  • as bright as the sun
  • sneaky like a fox
  • as hard as a rock
  • fast like the wind
A metaphor is a type of figurative language that makes a comparison without using like or as. Here are some examples:

  • Tommy was a statue while he stood in the yard.
  • Lisa breezed past the house on her bike.
  • Jeff listened to the story with a wooden face.

Click each coloured row for information about the activity.

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Watch the video Similes & Metaphors to see more examples.

Click on this link for BrainPOP.
(Log-in: User: 0099, Password: students.)

Look again at the poster What's the Mystery? Sammy on the Case that you downloaded on the page Predicting and Inferring - Think Like a Reader. The writer of this story has also used figurative language to make his story more interesting. For example, the third sentence of the story starts out with "Leo is the brains of the outfit..." This an example of a metaphor because it makes a comparison without using the words like or as.

Metaphors and similes are called figurative language because the words do not mean exactly what is being said. In the example from What's the Mystery? Sammy on the Case, Leo isn't actually a brain; calling someone a brain is a way of saying they are really smart. This is the same as if you told someone that a cookie you were eating was as hard as a rock; the cookie isn't actually a rock, it is just really hard.


Throughout the rest of this unit, you are going to be asked to find examples of similes and metaphors in the stories you read. You are going to add these examples on this Figurative Language sheet.



Document: Figurative Language
Click here to download

Download PDF


  1. Download the document Figurative Language.
  2. IMPORTANT NOTE: When the download screen opens: 
      • Click the "Open with" button.
      • Select "Adobe Reader".
      • Click "OK".
      • You will then be able to view the document Figurative Language.

  3. Print the document.

There are four parts to the sheet:

  • Provide the name of the story you are reading
  • Identify the example of the simile or metaphor from the story
  • Identify whether this is an example of a simile or a metaphor, and explain why
  • Tell what the simile or metaphor actually means

For the first row of this sheet, find and add another example from the story What's the Mystery? Sammy on the Case. Be sure to write down what the simile or metaphor really means.

You will be using this worksheet again. When you have finished adding the example to the figurative language sheet, make sure you keep it in a place where you will be able to find it again easily.

Game

Game

Play the game Fling the Teacher - Simile and Metaphor to help you learn the difference between similes and metaphors.