Discussion Guide - Lerner Publishing Group

TEACHER-LED DISCUSSION GUIDE
& COMMON CORE LESSONS
Award-winning mystery writer Norah McClintock
brings you another great mystery series. A
low reading level makes these books fun and
accessible to even the most reluctant readers.
Writing About Mike & Riel Mysteries
Student discussion questions for
Mike & Riel Mysteries:
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and analysis
of content.
The Common Core State Standards for Reading divides student
reading achievement goals into four areas as follows:
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to
make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence
when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn
from the text.
The Common Core State Standards for Writing focuses on
three types of writing:
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and
well-structured event sequences.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze
their development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.
The following sets of discussion questions and prompts for
each title in the Mike & Riel Mysteries series are intended
to support these key areas in small group discussions and in
written responses.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop
and interact over the course of a text.
Student discussion questions for #1 Hit and Run
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including determining technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape
meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific
sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g.,
a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and
the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and
style of a text.
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats
and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as
in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in
a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes
or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the
approaches the authors take.
RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF
TEXT COMPLEXITY
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational
texts independently and proficiently.
1. Craft and structure: Jen’s parents believe Mike stole the
bike, but Jen doesn’t believe he did. Identify reasons why
Jen’s parents think he stole the bike and reasons why Jen
defends him.
2. Integration of knowledge and ideas: Mike thinks he’ll work
in a garage someday like Billy, but he could also become a
detective. Give some examples of how Mike helped solve his
mother’s case.
Writing Prompt for #1 Hit and Run
1. Riel calls Mike “a good kid” and agrees to be his foster
parent. Write an email that Riel might send to Children’s
Aid that outlines why he wants to be Mike’s foster parent.
Student discussion questions for #2 Truth and Lies
1. Integration of knowledge and ideas: If the police had found
the watch before Mike, what might Mike have done to prove
that he didn’t know the watch was in his locker? Why might
someone have planted the watch in his locker?
2. Key ideas and details: Mike notices that Sal has become a
closer friend than Vin. Compare Mike’s friendships with Vin
and with Sal. Which friendship is stronger, and why?
Writing Prompt for #2 Truth and Lies
1. Imagine you’re telling the story from Cat’s perspective.
Write a statement that she might have given the police
explaining what happened that night and why she thought
Mike was a suspect. Look for these titles in the Mike & Riel Mysteries collection:
Student discussion questions for #3 Dead and Gone
Student discussion questions for #5 Dead Silence
1. Key ideas and details: After the media learns that Riel shot
a child when he was a police officer, Riel acts differently
and Mike takes on more responsibility. Find and discuss the
instances in which Mike acts as an adult and Riel doesn’t.
1. Craft and structure: Mike considers Sal his best friend, but
he finds out that Sal kept secrets from him. Identify some of
Sal’s secrets that Mike discovers after Sal dies.
2. Range of reading and level of text complexity: Emily
threatens to accuse Mike of stealing her wallet. Give
some reasons why this strategy might work from Emily’s
perspective and from Mike’s. What could have Mike done to
avoid being blackmailed?
Writing Prompt for #3 Dead and Gone
1. Riel tells Mike what happened on the night he shot Mary.
How would Tom Howard describe what happened? Write a
statement that Tom would have given the police.
2. Integration of knowledge and ideas: At the beginning of
#5 Dead Silence, Mike hasn’t talked to Vin in months,
and Mike blames Teddy for killing Sal. How do Mike’s
relationships with Vin and with Teddy change throughout
the book?
LB: 978-1-4677-2605-4
PB: 978-1-4677-2611-5
EB: 978-1-4677-2612-2
LB: 978-1-4677-2606-1
PB: 978-1-4677-2613-9
EB: 978-1-4677-2614-6
LB: 978-1-4677-2607-8
PB: 978-1-4677-2615-3
EB: 978-1-4677-2616-0
LB: 978-1-4677-2608-5
PB: 978-1-4677-2617-7
EB: 978-1-4677-2618-4
Writing Prompt for #5 Dead Silence
1. If Mike could talk to Sal about why he was angry with him,
and Sal could tell Mike why he kept secrets from him, what
would they say to each other? Write a dialogue.
Student discussion questions for
#4 Seeing and Believing
1. Key ideas and details: Rebecca and Mike work together to
find Amanda, but Mike doesn’t always like what Rebecca
wants to do in order to get information. Find instances
when Mike convinces Rebecca to do things his way. How do
their methods differ?
2. Integration of knowledge and ideas: In chapter 10, Mike
wonders if believing influences seeing. How does what Sal
believe about Vin and Mike influence what he thinks he
saw? Which of his beliefs are true, and which aren’t?
Writing Prompt for #4 Seeing and Believing
LB: 978-1-4677-2609-2
PB: 978-1-4677-2619-1
EB: 978-1-4677-2620-7
1. Imagine Vin had told the police immediately what had
happened and what he knew. What would he tell them, and
what might have happened? Write a dialogue between Vin
and a police officer.
LB: $27.93 PB: $8.95 Single-User EB: $20.95 Multi-User EB: $42.60
Ages: 11-18 RL: Grade 4 IL: Grades 6-12 216-240 Pages
ABOUT DARBY CREEK ™
Key Ideas and Details
• Supporting understanding of text; details; inference
• Retelling and summarizing; theme
• Characters, settings, events
All Anchor Standards: CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.3
Darby Creek, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, creates series
fiction titles for emerging, striving and reluctant readers ages 7 to
18 (Grades 2-12). Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is
one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers
with thirteen imprints and divisions. For more information, visit
www.lernerbooks.com or call 800-328-4929.
Correlations are estimated and not final until verfied by 3rd party expert.
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