Learn English with a Murder Mystery
This is a 15 to 20 minute group work fluency exercise. Each person is one character. There are 12 characters in the game. If you have a large class, consider splitting the class into smaller groups. If you have fewer than 12 students the first 8 characters are essential for the game.
Print enough character cards for the students in your class. Hand out one character card per student. Give students time to read their character card and ask questions.
The character roles are here: esl-murder-mystery-game.
Instructions for the students
Read the information about your character. Move around the class and talk to the other characters. Your objective is to find out who killed the English teacher. The answer might not be so obvious so you will have to put together some clues.
Game Background
During a high school reunion, the guests heard a loud scream at 8.45 pm. Five minutes later, Miss Greenspoon, the school’s oldest English teacher was found dead. Someone had hit her on the head with a statue. Many items were found beside her body including a book, a handkerchief, a picture of another teacher.
Game Play
Your job is to talk to the other characters and ask:
- who they are
- what they remember about Miss Greenspoon
- what they were doing when they heard Miss Greenspoon scream as she was killed
- collect clues and use your brain power to find out the name of the murder
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