Chasing Vermeer

In Chasing Vermeer, Petra and Calder solve the mystery of a stolen painting. How do they solve this mystery? Does their unraveling of the mystery rely more on gathering evidence, making inferences, and coming to logical conclusions, or does it rely more on meaningful coincidences, paranormal events, and luck? How might the answer to this question influence how much you enjoyed this mystery?

Teaching Suggestion: Before students can answer this prompt effectively, they will need to have a sense of where the balance of evidence lies. Encourage them to go back through the story looking for evidence of both kinds of mystery solving and to create a graphic organizer, such as a T-chart, in which they can list their observations. After they look over their organizer and decide which kind of mystery solving Calder and Petra are mainly engaged in, they can spend a moment reflecting about their own preferences: Do they prefer plots to unfold logically, or are they more entertained by surprising coincidences and elements of the paranormal? A discussion of their conclusions might include a reminder of earlier discussions about how differing artistic strategies appeal to differing audiences.

Differentiation Suggestion: Because this question requires students to sift through large portions of text for evidence, English language learners as well as students with dyslexia, attentional issues, or executive function challenges may be more successful working with a partner or small group.