Nate the Great Goes Undercover

Nate the Great Goes Undercover by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

I, Nate the Great, am a detective.

I work hard, I rest hard.

In this book, Nate the Great is working on his first night case.  Someone is tearing up his annoying neighbor, Oliver's trashcan! Oliver wants Nate the Great to find out who is vandalizing the trashcan.  After a lot of investigating, Nate finds out that it's an animal that is tipping over the garbage can.  But what kind of animal is it?  A skunk, cat, mice, birds?  Or is it an unsuspecting animal?  

I would use this book in my classroom because it gives the reader a feeling of suspense, regardless of their age.  It's a great way to introduce first graders to the wonders of a mystery.  

South Carolina State Standards for ELA 

Standard 3-1 The student will read and comprehend a variety of literary texts in print and nonprint formats.

Indicator 3-1.1 Analyze the details that support the expression of the main idea in a given literary text.

What's in a Mystery? 

In this lesson, the students will be learning about plot structure, character, and setting.  They will use a graphic organizer to collect their thoughts as well as a self made mystery word chart.  They will identify the characteristics of a mystery as well as create their own mystery and present it to the class. 

Websites

www.readwritethink.org

www.scholastic.com

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/natethegreat/activities.html