The Mystery on the California Mission Trail: Teachers Guide

Carole Marsh Mysteries: Real Kids, Real Places #5

by Carole Marsh, Lynette Rowe

Some say they sparked the discoveries and settlement of California. We call them a GIGANTIC history lesson This comprehensive guide enhances the many dramatic learning opportunities students can gain from reading The Mystery on the California Mission Trail by Carole Marsh. INCLUDES: A chapter guide of additional information, trivia, historical facts, and more to help teachers be "experts" on California history, Spanish missions, Father Junipero Serra, the Spanish language, and more Activity ideas that make the book come dramatically to life for young readers The author's additional comments and thoughts about missions, California, preservation, history, and more Additional information on geography, mathematics, writing, science, art, and more Reproducible activities for math, art, history, writing, geography, spelling, and much more Great out-of-the-box ideas like a California Missions Map, rewriting a new mystery ending, and much more

Genres: Mystery

150 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Carole Marsh is a children's author and the founder of Gallopade International, a children’s book publishing company headquartered in Peachtree City, GA. Marsh writes mystery fiction in addition to works of non-fiction for children. Initially she self-published under the imprint Gallopade Publishing Group, which she founded in 1979; today Gallopade International is a major small publisher based in Peachtree City, Georgia.

In 2007 Marsh received the Georgia Author of the Year award for her contributions to children's literature and to the state of Georgia over the past twenty-seven years.

Reviews

[Dayna Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another in the Real Kids, Real Places series. Grant & Christina head west with their grandparents to visit the California missions. When they arrive they discover that the bells from the missions are being stolen. They find themselves in a race against time to find the bells and catch the thief. This series is a great way to introduce young readers to mysteries. They are as predictable as Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, but more modern, and this series includes a great introduction to historical events as well.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of educational mysteries to teach children both the love one can have for language as well as for one's history. Still, the execution could have been much better. The style is awkward and the characters can and should be more rounded. However, I can see why kids like to read these books.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for a friend whose grandson is in fourth grade , studying missions. I taught fourth grade for years. The book does have some accurate information, but some of it does not agree with what learned from visiting most of the missions. It’s an okay book, but rather silly.

[Leah Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, fictional, quick-read about kids visiting the CA missions with their grandparents. They learn that the mission bells are missing, and the mystery ensues! It's a good book to accompany learning about the missions of CA. It has a little mystery to it, but the kids enjoyed hearing about the mission details even more than trying to solve the mystery. It is fun to incorporate historical fiction into science and social studies topics. It helps bring more life to the subject. This series is cute, and the kids enjoy it. (less)

[AS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite four stars for me, maybe 3.7, lol.

It’s a cute idea to have a mystery with real kids in the story. Kids will probably enjoy it, and there is a lot of great background information about the missions in it. The writing style is not the greatest, but it was a fun read.
I think it’d be great to share with kids who are learning about the missions, and I could see it being very engaging for a fourth grade California history class. Much more fun than the usual dry stuff from textbooks.

One thing that was a bit much for me was that the characters jump around from one mission to the next as if they were all just down the block from each other! If you were to really go from San Diego to Sonoma by car, stopping at all the missions along the way, that’d be a fairly big road trip, not just a quick afternoon jaunt, like the book makes it sound 😄 I can tell they were trying to include as many missions as possible, and I did enjoy reading the parts about the missions I’ve had the chance to visit myself, but I think it would have worked better if they’d focused on a few, rather than so many. Plus they could have given some indication to the reader of the distances involved. It’s a bit silly when they jump from San Luis Obispo to Mission Dolores, or from Santa Cruz to Sonoma as if these were all short trips!
Overall, though, probably a fun read for kids and they will learn some things along the way.

[DULCE MARIA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children who love a good mystery will enjoy reading this book. This would also make an awesome read-aloud book to accompany social studies lessons on the CA Missions. As an adult, I enjoyed reading this book, and I am sure my students would love to listen to it, or even read it on their own. I believe it is important to give students access to both non-fiction and fiction books.

[Jess Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Students love the idea of getting to solve a mystery and this book offers them the opportunity to do just that while also learning about the mission system. This book is the perfect book to have on the shelf of any classroom.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mystery book for children. The mystery element is a little fun but the real treat is the descriptions of the missions themselves. This is a good, fun book to accompany learning about missions.

[Madeline Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great companion book when teaching about the California missions. This book has a good mix of historical facts and a story line to keep students engaged throughout the whole story.

[Thaliagrace]

This book was very entertaining and informative.

[Congetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked more mystery and history. My son wanted more mystery, but he rated it a four.