Lesson plan form : Information Gap

Name: Wiebe J. Palstra

Class: TEIP
Teacher: Christina Goodknight
Year and level to be taught: Onderbouw HAVO

Duration lesson:
20-30 minutes (depending on level of english)

Starting situation The students receive a handout about a murder mystery. They receive a mix
of events concluding in the arrest of a man. Their job is to find out how the
murder mystery came to this conclusion. What happened before? Who is
involved and how? The teacher can relate this kind of abstract thinking and
working off of clues by relating it to the game Clue (in Dutch, Cluedo).

The teacher can then read it out loud for the entire class and explain the
game rules: only closed questions that deal with a yes or no answer.

Teachers Pass out handouts

objectives Explain the objectives of the mystery
Explain the rules (only closed questions)
Try and get everyone involved in the class activity.
Read over and help students comprehend.
Help students form simple and closed questions to gain more
information and extra clues.

Learning Students try and use/activate their existing knowledge or logic in

objectives: order to fill in the gaps.
Students learn to work in teams/groups.
Students learn to use different tenses (past, present and future)
Students are motivated to thinking more abstract.
Students learn different perspectives in problem-solving.

Student Pre activity While activity After activity

activities: Look over the handout: Students formulate We analyze key
The story and the questions. questions that helped
keywords. fill in the gaps.
Listen to everyones
Ask questions relating input. Make a selection of the
to the best questions.
objective/exercise. Analayze the story as it
unfolds. Reflection.
Start thinking of closed
 questions that result in Formulate questions
a yes or no response. independently or as a
group.
Work forms + Independent reading. Class participation Webmap to show the
indication Independently or as a best questions that
duration activity Group discussion or group. gave the best results.
questions.
All verbal, no writing.

Materials for Handout featuring key words and the main story. Below it are
students: several guiding questions that students may use when stuck.
The teacher: will help guide the investigation. Will also provide
the story, when he/she reads it out loud.
Their own imagination and abstact thinking. This will take some
creative thinking on their part.

Materials for The teacher will have the solution page.

teacher: Rely on the keywords given to the students.

Teacher
activities: Help guide the investigation and clue searching.
Try and get every student to participate and work together.
Make sure that students listen to one another. They can gain insight
from each others success.
Give examples of closed questions that they can ask.

Anticipated
difficulties & Several examples may have to be given to get the ball
possible solutions rolling.
Some students may prefer working in smaller groups and
may be able to participate more in doing so.
Perhaps it would be an idea to bring a practice mystery with
me that the students have already seen how it works, what
we are looking for and how it can be found.

Evaluation of the
learning effect: Did they all participate?
Did they work together and learn from one another?
Did they use each others ideas to fill in the gaps?

Teacher script:

Hello Class! Today we will be dealing with a mystery!

While passing out the student handouts

On the sheet of paper that I am passing out, you will find a story. You only get a summary and several key
words. Using these two things, I want you to question me, as a detective, to find out what exactly
happened to the person in question.

I will only be allowed to use yes or no answers.

Are there any questions before we begin reading?

Answer possible questions

Alright, lets all read this together!

Does anyone have any questions about the story and/or the keys words?
Can anyone give any examples of closed questions that provide a yes or no response?

Give several of my own examples if necessary...

Alright, now in teams of three detectives, start brainstorming! Allow each other to share your own
interpretations of the story and the key words. Once you have (slightly) agreed on a direction, I would like
you to start formulating questions to ask!

Allow the teams to start asking qustions and in the meantime I visit with every group to see how they
progress
Student Handout:

The Story

A man boards a plane in South America headed to Europe. At the check-in he reports that he has packed
his own bag and that there are no illegeal substances in it. After check-in, while sitting in the airplane the
local authorities board the plane and arrest the man promptly. They grab his personal belongings making
sure they have everything and escort him out of the plane. The man ends up being guilty and is sentenced
to jail for thirty years.

KEYWORDS: FREE VACATION, MONEY PROBLEMS, CONTACT, DEALER

The students are given the gist of the story. They also receive several key words. They have to act like a
detective and question I fill in the gaps of the story (according to their questions). I only answer with a
YES or NO response.

Teacher Handout:

Solution

The great part about this activity is that students will not be discourage as they have to use their
imagination and there is no real wrong answer. I hope that in the end they get the idea that this man may
have been involved in some sort of (drug) smuggling. Although they make come up with some other
creative ideas based on the story and key words.