A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

"A Good Student's Guide to the Truth—Now It's Your Turn"

This activity provides students with the opportunity to research a mystery in their own communities, gain a practitioner's view of investigative journalism, and develop a deeper understanding of the novel's main character by emulating Pip in their sleuthing.

Journalists Jodi Cantor and Megan Twohey teach students how to conduct investigative journalism in their book Chasing the Truth: A Young Journalist's Guide to Investigative Reporting. Just like Pip chased the truth about Sal and Andie, you will research and write your own piece of investigative journalism, using what you learned from A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and highlighted teachings from Chasing the Truth. With a small group, complete the following tasks:

• First, read an excerpt from Chapter One of Chasing the Truth, accessible at this link.
• Next, discuss the 10 Questions for Writing and Discussion in this article about the Chasing the Truth book.
• Lastly, brainstorm local mysteries you may want to investigate further. Use local newspapers or online sources to identify possible investigation topics. Conduct enough brainstorming and research that you and your small group can produce/answer: (1) A list of questions that you have about the topic, (2) A list of the players involved in the case, and (3) If you had more time, what would your next steps be? List out 3 next steps and 3 witnesses or subjects you would like to interview in your quest for the truth.

Teaching Suggestion: To support students in making the necessary connections between practical investigative journalism and the fictional characters and events of the novel, consider asking students to identify how the elements they encounter in this activity are similar to or different from the events and characters of the novel. For example, you could ask: How would Pip have reacted to the first chapter of Chasing the Truth? What lessons in that chapter would have helped Pip in her investigation? How might Chasing the Truth also reflect the theme of The Search for Identity? As a final step, you may have student groups present the details of their cases and their next steps to the class, encouraging students to identify similarities and differences across their cases and next steps, and to discuss any common themes that emerge.