1. Crime Scene Investigation
You are about to apply skills of prediction, questioning and inference to a series of clues that can be found within a crime story. You will need to put your detective hats on to solve the mystery of a murder.

2. Firstly, consider the difference between information and inference
Information is what we are given access to in a text, all that we can find out from within that text. This includes what we are told is true and untrue.
Inference is what we try to work out from what we are not told. This is when we take the information we are given and consider the possibilities of what it could mean.
Consider the story of the Three Little Pigs – draw a flow chart of what you know. This is grounded in the information you have been given in story books from the past.

3. …now consider the alternative possibilities – inferences to the story that might have been drawn.
Follow the link to see an an alternative perspectives on The Three Little Pigs story

4. Crime Scene Investigation
Examine the evidence to a horrible murder. What predictions can you make from the initial evidence?

5. Snap shots of evidence
Try to link the pictures together to predict what might happen in the story.
Consider:
What might have happened?
Who might have been murdered?
What could have been used as a murder weapon?
Where might the murder have taken place?

6. Now match the elements of a story to their definitions
Orientation – Introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation.
Resolution – The end of the story where loose ends are tied up.
Foreshadowing – The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a story.
Climatic scene (climax) – The decisive moment in a novel or play.
Character – Who or what the story is about (people, animals or creatures)
Conflict – Any form of opposition that faces the main character. It can be external or internal.
Setting – The time and location in which a story takes place.
Plot – A planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle and end.
Point of view – The angle from which the story is told.

7. Crime Scene Investigation
Use your skills of questioning to put together the jigsaw and work out the likely order of the following lines from a story. What inferences can you make?

8. “For God’s sake,” he said, hearing her, but not turning round,
“don’t make supper for me. I’m going out.”
“Tired, darling?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m tired.”
“It’s the old story,” he said. “Get the weapon and you’ve got the man.”
“This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I’m afraid,” he said.
When the clock said ten minutes to five, she began to listen, and a few moments later, punctually as always, she heard the tyres on the gravel outside…
“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
All the old love and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran over to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out.
“Quick! Come quick! Patrick’s dead!”
Soon, other men began to come into the house. First a doctor, then two detectives. One of whom she knew by name.

9. “Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
Here is the actual order:
When the clock said ten minutes to five, she began to listen, and a few moments later, punctually as always, she heard the tyres on the gravel outside…
“Tired, darling?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m tired.”
“This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I’m afraid,” he said.
“For God’s sake,” he said, hearing her, but not turning round,
“don’t make supper for me. I’m going out.”
“Quick! Come quick! Patrick’s dead!”
All the old love and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran over to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out.
Soon, other men began to come into the house. First a doctor, then two detectives. One of whom she knew by name.
“It’s the old story,” he said. “Get the weapon and you’ve got the man.”
“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”

10. Story title: Lamb to the Slaughter
What questions can we ask of the story? Use your skills of inference to work out what might happen in the story from the title.