CASE FILE 03
WRITING · GRADES 3–5
The Case of the Door in the Tree CASE DETECTIVE(S)
D AT E O P E N E D
W I T N E S S S TAT E M E N T
“I was walking down the trail when I found a little door in the side of a tree. I opened it and The rest of the report is missing. Your job is to reconstruct what happened. QUESTIONS FOR THE REPORT WHO
W H AT
HOW
Who was behind the door?
What happened next?
How did it end?
Y O U R I N V E S T I G AT I O N
01
02
03
Reconstruct
Sharpen a detail
Read the record
Write the scene that happened after the door opened.
Go back and make one detail more precise before you record.
Read your report aloud as the official account.
File your evidence in Seesaw. Photograph your report, then record yourself reading it.
Scan to watch Detective Stache's video
The case is yours. Write the ending.
seesaw.academy/adventure03
CASE FILE 03
WRITING · TEACHER GUIDE · GRADES 3–5
The Case of the Door in the Tree
A witness statement stops mid-sentence. Students reconstruct what happened. 10–15 minutes
Grades 3–5
Camera + Voice
Works with one device
LEARNING GOAL
Students continue a narrative with characters, events, and details, revise one detail for precision, and read the finished scene aloud. TEACHER DIRECTIONS
1. Read the witness statement aloud and stop where it stops. 2. Give two minutes of quiet thinking: who, what, and how it ended. 3. Students write the scene that happened after the door opened. 4. Before recording, each writer sharpens one detail and can say what changed. 5. Capture the writing and the reading in one post.
M AT E R I A L S
Paper and pencils Writing notebooks or folders At least one device
S E E S AW TO O L S
Photo of the writing, plus the author reading it aloud.
W I T N E S S S TAT E M E N T
“I was walking down the trail when I found a little door in the side of a tree. I opened it and…” Revision check: Which detail did you strengthen, and what does the reader see now that they didn't before? STUDENT DIRECTIONS
Reconstruct
→
Sharpen a detail
→
Read the record
BADGE EARNED
Case 03 Closed One challenge = one prizedrawing entry. Submit your entry at seesaw.com/adventures
TEACHER CAPTURE
STUDENT CAPTURE
Lay the finished reports on a table, photograph them in a batch, and record two or three writers reading. Post as one class case file.
Students photograph their report, record themselves reading it, and post it to the journal.
Suggested reflection: “Which detail did you strengthen, and what did it change?”