Tired of students skimming nonfiction passages without really analyzing them—or writing essays full of vague opinions with no evidence?

This Nonfiction Unsolved Mysteries Reading & Writing Unit gives your students the structure, skills, and scaffolds they need to dig into complex texts and craft compelling, evidence-based arguments. Through six engaging lessons, students explore three famous unsolved mysteries, sharpen their nonfiction reading skills, and learn to develop and defend a theory using strong text evidence.

With close-reading protocols, scaffolded writing steps, and done-for-you activities, you’ll move students beyond surface-level responses into thoughtful analysis and well-supported essays. They’ll learn how to infer from details, identify central ideas, evaluate conflicting information, and construct a logical argument that goes beyond “just an opinion.”

✨ Here’s what they’ll learn:

• Nonfiction Reading Skills – Inference, central idea, relevant evidence, reasoning, and recognizing conflicting information.
• Close Reading Strategies – Annotating, rereading, and answering text-dependent questions.
• Critical Thinking – Comparing multiple accounts, analyzing theories, and weighing evidence.
• Argument Writing Foundations – Crafting a claim, planning reasons + evidence, and using sound reasoning.
• Essay Structure – Organizing an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion with clarity.

💡 Why this works:

This unit doesn’t just hand students articles and tell them to “write about it.” Instead, it provides a step-by-step process: guided notes, structured close reads, collaborative discussions, and clear writing scaffolds. Students get multiple opportunities to read, think, and write before drafting their final essay—building confidence in reluctant learners and giving advanced writers the tools to deepen their analysis.

📚 Perfect for:

• Teachers who want reading + writing taught together, not in isolation.
• Students who need nonfiction broken into manageable, confidence-building steps.
• Any middle school ELA class focusing on informational reading, argumentative writing, or critical thinking.
• ⏱ Flexible pacing: The unit is designed for 6 days but can be stretched across 2 weeks. Works in 45-minute blocks or longer class periods.

What’s inside:

• 6 detailed teacher lesson plans
• Teacher slide decks (PDF + Google Slides)
• Student notebooks (print + digital)
• Argumentative writing outline + graphic organizers
• Close reading questions with teacher keys
• Editable rubrics and examples
• 100% digital + low-prep setup

The six lessons are:

1. Introduction to Unsolved Mysteries + Nonfiction Reading Skills
2. Close Read #1: Dyatlov Pass
3. Close Read #2: The Mary Celeste
4. Close Read #3: The Mystery of D.B. Cooper
5. Planning: Outline an Argumentative Essay
6. Writing: Drafting the Argumentative Essay

This unit solves the most common challenges of teaching nonfiction and argument writing—students skimming instead of analyzing, repeating “interesting facts” instead of forming claims, or struggling to structure an essay. By breaking the process into clear, scaffolded steps, it builds confidence, strengthens critical reading, and leads to essays that students can be proud of. The result? Less frustration for you, more meaningful learning for them.

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Julie N. says, "I absolutely love every resource I buy from Martina. The layout is easy to follow, it correlates with her other resources, and has everything you need in it. The standards are aligned with every lesson, suggested responses are included, clear procedures, learning objectives, and so much more."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dee F. says, "I've used a handful of Martina's resources already and this one does not disappoint. I love how cohesive all units have been so far. Similar vocabulary and literary analysis concepts are introduced, but each one is done uniquely and in application to the genre being studied, providing great practice. I can't rave enough about all of Martina's resources!"

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Anne Marie C. says, "This resource was awesome! I moved into a non-fiction unit with my students and used a few of these lessons to help my students understand the non-fiction genre. The lessons were engaging and effective! "