The Mystery

in Cardiff
An interactive mystery game

Inferencing collaborating critical thinking

For grades 4-8

 Mystery Game Rules and Directions
Thank you for purchasing this mystery game! This is a great group activity
to work on inferencing, critical thinking, and collaboration. Follow the
instructions below to ensure that your game runs smoothly.

1. There are several ways this mystery game can be played,

depending on your class size and your preference.
2. The first way, is to split your class into teams of 3-4.
3. Read the introduction to get students thinking about what the
mystery is about.
4. Once students are split into teams and ready to play, give each
student 1 clue. There are 25 clues total. The clues are not
meant to be in order. Mix them up.
5. The students will share their clue with their group first. Once
all of the students have shared their clues with the group they
are in, they will then join with another group and share all
their clues. This will continue until the entire class has seen all
25 clues.
6. Another way to play, is to post the clues around the room and
have students look at the clues on their own.
7. A third way to play is to have students take turns reading the
clues aloud until all 25 clues have been read.
8. Regardless of the way you play, students can keep track of
their clues on the graphic organizer provided. There is an
example to help students understand what is expected.
9. Once all students have heard each clue, give everyone a chance
to come up with their theories about what happened, who did it,
and why.
10. Share theories aloud before revealing the truth. Once students
know how the mystery unfolds, you can have a discussion using
the discussion questions provided.

I hope your students have as much playing this game as I did

creating it! Come back for more fun!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cultivating-Lifetime-
Learners

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
 A Mystery Game

The Mystery in Cardiff

Tony Malkovich has a seemingly perfect life
working as a detective in the city. However, when a
painting goes missing from the local museum, he begins
to realize that things are not quite as they seem in the
town of Cardiff. The idyllic seaside town holds a secret.
A recent argument among a few individuals,
leaves Tony with some startling questions about the
town of Cardiff and the mystery of the missing
painting. At first, the people of Cardiff are patient and
caring. They want to help Tony solve the mystery, but
once Tony starts digging deeper, he can tell that the
people of Cardiff are trying to stop his investigation.
Who is involved? Why don’t they want the mystery
solved? Tony Malkovich didn’t know what he was in for.
It will be your job to find out who stole the
painting. We are counting on you! Listen to your
teacher for directions on how you will solve this
mystery. Keep track of your clues on
the graphic organizer provided. Some
clues can be misleading or a red
herring. Look at each clue carefully to
help you decide! Good luck detectives!

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
 Chantelle Hollis, the local museum director, noticed the painting missing
when she arrived at 7:00 AM on February 16th.

Joseph Southerland, the janitor of the museum, stayed late on the night
of February 15th. A ball had taken place at the museum that night and
Joseph wanted the museum clean before the next day.

Elisa O'Meara, a local waitress, had attended the ball on the evening of
the 15th with her fiancé, James Buchannan.

Maria Pearce, a recent graduate of the local high school, often

volunteered at the museum.

Jared Bullock, a local business man, had been seen leaving the ball with
Maria.

When Tony went to interview Joseph Sutherland the day the robbery was
discovered, he was notified by his mother that he had left town.

The ball that had taken place the night of the 15th, was in honor of the
local sheriff who had recently retired.

Maria Pearce was a good student that others admired. She had never
been in trouble and often volunteered at places around town, including
the museum.

Elisa O’Meara was known for her rather mischievous ways. A few years
prior, she was arrested for stealing a book from the local library.

James Buchannan owned a local bakery.

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
The painting that was stolen from the museum was a Monet, valued at over
$10 million.

Rumors swarmed Cardiff that Jared Bullock was running out of money and
would soon have to file bankruptcy if he didn’t come up with a large sum of
money soon.

A latex glove with red finger nail polish was found at the scene of the
crime.

Maria was seen leaving through the backdoor of the museum on the night of
February 15th.

Chantelle is the only person who has keys to all of the museum cases.

Using a black light, Tony found a message where the missing painting used to
hang. The message said, “You’ll never catch me.”

Maria often wears red nail polish.

A large white van was seen driving away from the scene of the crime on the
night of the 15th around 11 PM.

Jared and Maria have brown hair.

Joseph often complained that he was not paid enough by the museum.

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
Tony found a strand of long blonde hair on the railing in front of where the
painting was hung.

Chantelle owns a white van.

A strange man was seen lurking outside of the museum in the early morning
hours of February 16th

Elisa and James had recently made several large purchases. They bought a
$400,000 home and a $50,000 car.

Maria borrowed Chantelle’s keys on the morning of February 16th.

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
 Answer Key and Discussion
Questions
This was a tough case to crack, but in the end,
Chantelle was the thief. Chantelle had access to the entire
museum whenever she wanted. She had the only set of keys
that had access to the painting that was stolen. She tried to
frame Maria by putting the latex glove with the red nail
polish near the crime scene. What gave Chantelle away was
her white van. An eye witness had seen her driving away
from the museum at 11 PM, well after the ball had ended
and the museum had closed. Great job at cracking the case!
Chantelle has been charged for her crime and the painting is
back where it belongs.

Discussion Guide
1. Did you organize the clues in a specific way to help you
solve the crime?
2. Did the graphic organizer help in organizing the clues?
3. Is there another way you could have organized the clues
and information?
4. If you worked in a group, did someone dominate the
conversation or did everyone take turns equally?
5. Did anyone ignore certain clues?
6. Did someone act as a leader or did you work
collaboratively?
7. Did you consider each clue equally or were some clues
more important?
8. Did you encourage you teammates to participate?
9. If you did not solve the mystery, what do you think went
wrong?
10.What was your favorite part about solving the mystery?

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
 Name: ___________________ Date: ___________

The Mystery in Cardiff

Directions: Use this sheet to keep track of clues and make
inferences, like a real detective!
Characters involved: ________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Character Connections

Important notes: _________________________________

_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
What I think happened: ___________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
 Name: ___________________ Date: ___________

The Mystery in Cardiff - Example

Directions: Use this sheet to keep track of clues and make
inferences, like a real detective!
Characters involved: The characters involved in this
mystery are; Chantelle, James, Jarred, Elisa, Maria,
and Joseph. Tony is the detective.

Character Connections

The museum Fiancé to Elisa, Owns a local

director. Drives a owned a local business, left the
white van and has bakery, made ball with Maria,
keys. large purchase. has brown hair.
Chantelle James Jarred
Fiancé of James. Recent high school Janitor at the
graduate. Seen museum.
Local waitress.
leaving the ball Complained about
Known for being with Jarred. Has not being paid
mischievous. brown hair. enough.
Elisa Maria Joseph

Important notes: Latex glove with red nail polish found. Long
blonde hair found at the scene of the crime. White van seen
leaving the museum.
What I think happened: I think Elisa and James stole the
painting, because they needed money for their large
purchases and their upcoming wedding.
©SydneyPeters2018 ©CultivatingLifetimeLearners
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