The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What does the term “genre” mean? How many mystery genre characteristics can you name?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may think of the terms “genre” and “characteristics” in many different ways; allowing them to interpret the words themselves, without offering limiting definitions, will enrich discussion. After they have had a chance to theorize about genre and discuss whatever mystery characteristics they find important, you might use the resources below to introduce them to a more literary approach to discussing mystery.

• This overview from Scholastic features aspects of the genre and its characteristics. (Please note that only the first 1-2 pages are relevant to mystery. The wording of this resource is teacher-facing, but students can easily read and understand the material.)
• This analysis from Writer’s Digest focuses on genre expectations.

2. What distinguishes well-written mysteries from less effective mysteries? Which of the criteria you have listed might be personal preference, and which would most readers agree on?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may have some excellent ideas about the hallmarks of effective mystery writing, but they will grow the most as readers by carefully considering the follow-up question in this prompt. They are asked to distinguish between their own preferences and generally agreed-on standards. You could have them compile all of the suggestions from the first part of this prompt—on the board or, if they are discussing in small groups, on a common sheet of paper—and then debate which criteria belong in each category. Afterword, they could check their choices against the information in the following resources:

• This article from Writer’s Digest shares tips from 23 mystery writers on writing mystery and thriller novels.
• This 5-minute video explains what makes Agatha Christie’s novels so effective.
• This article breaks down seven aspects of well-written mysteries.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Choose a favorite fictional mystery—it might be from a game, a movie or television show, a podcast, a book, or any other source, as long as it is a made-up story. Describe the techniques its creator uses to make the story suspenseful, how they make the audience care about the mystery’s solution, and how they allow the audience to “play along” in trying to solve the mystery. Did you solve this mystery before the creator revealed the solution? Did your ability or inability to solve the mystery contribute to your enjoyment?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt is complex, so if you choose to have students discuss the prompt, you might wish to give them a few minutes before the discussion to jot down ideas. If students respond in writing, it could be helpful to lead discussion afterward so that they can hear about a wider variety of mysteries. The prompt asks students to focus on fictional works so that any discussion does not get bogged down in analysis of how much freedom of choice authors of nonfiction have in arranging elements of suspense, clues, and so on.