1. What Makes A Mystery?
3rd Grade
Walnut Creek Elementary

2. Elements of a Mystery
Characters:
• Detectives
• Suspects
Setting
Clues
Red Herrings
Conclusion

3. Is Grandpa's Teeth a Mystery?

4. Who Stole Grandpa's
Teeth?
Grandpa's teeth have gone missing! Does this
story have all the elements of a mystery? Let's
find out!

5. Who are the
Characters and Suspects?
Characters: Suspects:
Grandpa The Usual Suspects
Agatha Mrs. Carbuncle
Mom The Townspeople
Detective Officer Rate
Officer Rate Pearl White
Gump the Dog
Mrs. Carbuncle

6. Setting
This story takes
place in Grandpa's
room and the
town they live in.

7. Clues
• Grandpa's room was a mess
• Gump didn't smile in any pictures in the book
• Gump smiled for a picture once Grandpa gets his new
teeth "for the first time ever"

8. Red Herrings
• Officer Rate's teeth
are too big
• Mrs. Carbuncle's
teeth didn't fit
• Pearl White had
"more than enough
teeth"
• Anyone who didn't
smile

9. Conclusion:
The townspeople raised money to buy Grandpa two
pairs of teeth
He shared a pair with Mrs. Carbunkle
Gump, the dog, smiled for
the first time ever at the
end of the book and had a
full set of big, white teeth.

10. Now you try...
• Choose a book that is on your
independent reading level from
the mystery section of our
classroom library
• Read the book and complete the
detective case report
• Create a Glog about your book to
share with the class
• Post your Glog to Voicethread
and comment on three friend's
Glogs