8th+Mystery+story

8th Grade Mystery Story:

__PA standards__ –
 *  NETS.6.6-8: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and operations.

__Objectives__ -
 * 1) Use proper keyboarding techniques to improve accuracy, speed, and general efficiency in computer operation.
 * 2) Students will demonstrate the ability to use a word processing application on a computer.be able to accomplish everyday tasks associated with creating, formatting and finishing small sized word processing documents/assignments ready for distribution.

__Warm up__ –Each class I will introduce a skill listed in the vocab section and demonstrate how to use it in Microsoft Word.

__Vocab__ –
 * alignment, tab, Indenting paragraphs, Save As, Spelling and grammar check, fonts, quotation marks, capitalizing,

__Tech lab__ #4 Word Processing & Tech Lab #3

__Evidence of best practice__ – students will be able to refer to the video and helpful tips on my wiki at anytime they get stuck.

__Activity__ - //__**Choose three items from below**__// (it does not have to be one from each). Create a mystery story - [|375 words] (not repetitive words)


 * Characters || **Plot ideas** || <span style="background-color: #00ffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Suspense Writing Prompts** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Very tall, long nose with a broad chin and dark hair**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Short, long blonde hair, dark green eyes and a big chin**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**About 6’2’’and balding hair with blue eyes and long arms**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Medium height, black skin, dark hair cut short and a beard**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Big, muscular with a shaved head and a mean look**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Tall, with a broad nose and a chin that sticks out**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Very short, with long curly hair and a warm smile** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is looking for the perfect present**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character wants to ruin a painter's picture**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is being blackmailed**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is sick and needs a rare medicine**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is found dead in a room**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character needs money to pay for college**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is running for office and wants to be sure he will win**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is planning on something evil**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Your character is very sad** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** It was a strange night, there seemed to be a chill in the air... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** As soon as I arrived, I could sense that something was out of place... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** One night, I looked out the window and I saw the neighbor... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** I was reading a book when I looked up. There in the window I saw... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** I decided to go for an evening stroll. I walked about three blocks when I felt it... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** They would have been fine if they hadn't stopped for the stranger... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Everyone avoided the big old mansion. It was believed to have... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** They said she was able to utter a few words before she died... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Something is drastically wrong! Every time I pick up the telephone... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Sometimes I think my friend has strange powers. Every time he's around... **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** All of the sudden I was trapped! ** ||

Expectations
 * 1) 10 points - Make suspenseful words red - AT LEAST 5 - example - Creaking, eerie, mystical, moaning, creepily, mysterious, anxious.
 * 2) 10 points - bold 5 important words
 * 3) 5 points - Font size 12 or 14
 * 4) 10 points - make the title stand out with size, color and font
 * 5) 10 points - Include a picture that WRAPS THE TEXT, but keep it to one side of the page (not the middle)
 * 6) 5 points - Make sure your name and room numbers are on the top
 * 7) 40 points - Mystery at least 250 words of a page (240-230 - 10, 229-200 - 20, 199-180 - 30)
 * 8) -2 points for every misspelled word and word that is lower case that should be capitalized (up to 20 points)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An Example: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**The Precious Jewel** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**by Private Luckeye**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **I decided to go for an evening stroll. I walked about three blocks when I felt it, the jewel was in my pocket. I was going to take it out of my pocket to look at it, but I was afraid that someone was near me, ready to turn me in to the police. I just couldn’t stand it anymore, and I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it. The shining light it gave off hypnotized me. I just kept staring. I heard it say to me before I lost consciousness “Don’t worry Alexia. I’ll find you and seek you out!”**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **I woke up in the hospital room and saw the jewel in my backpack. Then I went home and my mom was furious. I told her that it was no ordinary jewel that the police took away from me while I was unconscious - it was uncontrollable.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **The jewel should be kept somewhere special, but I didn’t know where. For whoever had it was doomed to death. I knew I had to do something about it, and put it somewhere, but where?**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **It was cold and snowy when I went to school the next day. I was suspicious of everyone. Who could I trust?**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **Maggie asked me if she could borrow my hat and boots to get hers in her car trunk. So I let her. Then, all of a sudden out of nowhere came a car driving so fast and straight toward Maggie. Then I yelled as loud as I could, “Maggie jump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The car didn’t stop and I was lucky to get the license number. I ran over to Maggie. Luckily, after she went to the hospital we found out she only had a broken arm. //The driver must have thought she was me//.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **Then I went right to the police station to report what I saw. We found out that the crazy driver was Ian Ray, who had a long record of speeding tickets, and stealing jewels. He was driving a stolen vehicle, so we didn’t know its license plate number.** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **The police said, “Sorry ma’am, but we are not sure what to do. The only thing we can do is wait for more reports about reckless driving. Hopefully one of the many drivers that reported reckless driving saw the license plate number that is Ian Ray’s.”**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **I thought to myself, "It could take days, weeks, months, or even years before I hear back from the police." So I took matters into my own hands. First, I went to the hospital and questioned the staff. I asked them what Ian Ray was doing here. One of the nurses said that he came to visit an old sick friend, Teresa Walkinha.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **Then, I said, “Does anyone know where he went afterward?”**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **A doctor said, “I don’t, but I know who will.”**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **I shouted, “WHO?!?!?!?!?!” The doctor said, “ We could ask Teresa.” "But," I said, “ Teresa is not here, she must have been kidnapped by Ian.”**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **Then, I went home and rested. I was in a deep sleep when I was awoken by the telephone. I answered, and I knew right away that it was the policeman I talked with earlier today. I was so excited that he called I could barely listen. But I knew I had to. He said that Ian had been in a car crash earlier, with Teresa held hostage. Luckily she was not hurt in the crash. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t wait to see her myself. Before he hung up, he reassured me that Ian would not be seeing or bothering anyone for a very long time, for he will be held in jail. I was pleased very with that. When I hung up, I went to the phone book to call Teresa.**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** The End ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344/StoryStarters.html