A cosy-but-clever winter mystery for middle school. In “The Notes That Disappeared,” messages keep vanishing during the winter concert season — and only close attention to word choice and voice will reveal who’s behind it.

This is Case File MW-01: The Notes That Disappeared — the Winter Grades 6-8 case in the DeskMade Detective Agency series. A self-checking ELA Whodunnit with a mature mystery-noir aesthetic that hooks older readers — ideal for December and the run-up to the winter break, without losing rigour.

HOW IT WORKS: Students work through evidence stations, answering close-reading questions about a literary text. Each correct answer eliminates a suspect until only the culprit remains — fully self-checking.

SKILLS COVERED:
• Analysing author’s word choice (diction)
• Identifying voice and how it’s created
• Connotation, tone and style
• Citing textual evidence; close reading

WHAT’S INCLUDED:
• Print-and-go student case booklet (PDF)
• Full answer key (PDF) for instant marking
• Editable Google Slides version for digital or projected play

PERFECT FOR: winter and December lessons, reading and English, early finishers, enrichment, substitute/cover lessons, and seasonal fun.

Part of the DeskMade Detective Agency ELA Whodunnit series — classroom-ready mysteries that do the prep for you.