Bring guided reading to life with this engaging Lesson 1 resource based on Agatha Oddly: Murder at the Museum by Lena Jones. Designed for Years 5 and 6, this ready-to-use lesson introduces pupils to Agatha Oddly’s world through an immersive detective-themed investigation that develops retrieval, inference, prediction and evidence-based reasoning from the very first chapter.

Rather than simply answering comprehension questions, pupils become junior investigators, gathering evidence, analysing character behaviour and solving their first case as they explore Agatha’s curiosity, bravery and determination. Every activity has been carefully structured to encourage rich discussion, close reading and thoughtful written responses while requiring little to no preparation from the teacher. The fully editable PowerPoint also allows teachers to personalise slides, adapt activities and differentiate learning to suit their class.

What’s Included

• Fully editable guided reading PowerPoint
• Comprehensive Teacher Guide with lesson timings and teaching notes
• Complete answer key
• Vocabulary instruction
  Reading fluency activities
  Retrieval and VIPERS comprehension questions
  Analytical writing task
  Independent extension activity
  Reflection and plenary activities

Lesson Activities
Mission Hook (Think–Pair–Share)
Vocabulary Explorer
Fluency Focus
First Read: Initial Findings
VIPERS Domain Interrogation
Spark Task: Character Evidence File
Discover Task: Analytical Writing
Excel Task: Detective Profile
Case Closed: Final Debrief

Reading Skills Developed
Retrieval
Vocabulary
Inference
Prediction
Explanation
Summarising
Reading Fluency
Evidence-Based Reasoning
Character Analysis
Analytical Writing

Why Teachers Love This Resource
Ready to teach with little to no preparation
Fully editable PowerPoint that can be adapted to suit any class
Engaging detective theme that motivates reluctant readers
Consistent lesson structure that is easy to follow
High-quality discussion and analytical writing opportunities
Comprehensive Teacher Guide with complete answers
Develops deeper comprehension rather than simple retrieval
Encourages pupils to justify ideas using evidence from the text
Professionally designed slides with an engaging, classroom-ready layout
Resource Details
Book: Agatha Oddly: Murder at the Museum by Lena Jones (book not included)
Chapter: 1 – Rule Breaker
Year Groups: Years 5 & 6
Lesson Length: Approximately 60 minutes
Format: Editable Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and Teacher Guide
Preparation: Little to no preparation required

Created by KJ_EduInsights – Practical Strategies for Teachers, this classroom-ready guided reading lesson transforms the opening chapter of Agatha Oddly: Murder at the Museum into an engaging detective investigation. Through structured reading, purposeful discussion and evidence-based analysis, pupils develop the key comprehension skills required by the National Curriculum while becoming fully immersed in Agatha’s first mystery.