1. Sherlock Holmes “The Speckled Band”
To read the short story and apply the conventions of the genre
To use deduction to solve a problem
To further practice creative reading skills

2. What can you infer about the plot of the short story from the title?
Connotations & Inference
Speckled = covered or marked with a large number of small spots or patches of colour.
Band =
a flat, thin strip or loop of material, used as a fastener, for reinforcement, or as decoration.
a stripe, line, or elongated area of a different colour, texture, or composition from its surroundings.
What can you infer about the plot of the short story from the title?

3. Detective Genre
While reading the story, complete the table detailing how the conventions of the genre were used, by finding 1-2 quotes from the short story for each convention:
Genre Convention
The Speckled Band
The crime must be significant
The criminal must be a worthy opponent.
The clues must be made available to the reader.
The suspects must appear early in the story.
The solution must be reasonable and possible.

4. Science of Deduction
1. It was early in April in the year '83.
2. April 1, 1883 was a Sunday.
3. Two days before Holmes visited Stoke Moran, some repairs were started at Stoke Moran.
4. Repairmen would not have worked on Saturday or Sunday.
5. Holmes visited Doctors Commons to see a will on the day of visit
6. Doctors Commons would not have been open on Sunday
7. When Holmes and Watson visited Stoke Moran, there was "no sign of workmen." Such a statement would be unnecessary if the day were Saturday or Sunday when workmen would not be expected to be working anyway.
8. It was a perfect day with bright sun.
9. Wednesday and Thursday (April 4 and 5, 1883) produced little sun in London.
The date of Helen Stoker’s visit and Docor Roylott’s death remains a mystery.
Use only the clues provided
Use only logical reasoning and deduction to find the date when both Helen Stoner's visit and Dr. Roylott's death occurred.
You may use an empty calendar to help you identify the date.
April 1883
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Answer: Friday, 6 April

5. Creative Reading Preparation
As preparation for the final assessment, read over the three extracts from the short story, and annotate the following:
Bring the annotated extracts for next lesson!
Extract #1: Language techniques & features
Extract #2: Structural features
Extract #3: Language techniques/features & structural features