Short story: The Blue Carbuncle

Objective & content

Sherlock Holmes's Christmas story, The Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892), retold at A2+. The language is simplified, the story is not: every clue and the ending are Conan Doyle's. Two days after Christmas, Holmes studies an old hat left in the street with a Christmas goose. Then the goose turns out to hold the Countess of Morcar's famous blue jewel, and a young plumber is in prison for stealing it. Holmes follows the goose from an inn to a market stall, and to the real thief. The story is told by Dr Watson, as in the original. By the end, pupils can follow a story of about 1,600 words, follow the chain of clues, and use three verb forms from the story.

Pedagogical guide

The story runs over four pages, set like a novel, with one drawing on each page. Page 5 holds the tasks. Six choice and true or false questions check the story. "Find the clues" sends pupils back into the text: why Holmes said the owner of the hat was clever, how he knew Mr Baker knew nothing about the jewel, what Ryder was looking for at the market, and how Ryder took the wrong goose. A box gives three verb forms from the story (the past simple, have + past participle, and the first conditional), then pupils complete four sentences from the story with them. In the last task, pupils work in pairs: they write the newspaper story, "Famous jewel found inside a Christmas goose!". Page 6 is the answer key with the teacher notes.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Ask "What can you tell about a person from their things: a bag, a pair of shoes, a hat?"
2. (20 min) Read the story aloud, or pupils read in pairs. Stop after "Look what my wife found inside it!" and ask "What do you think it is?" Stop again after "James Ryder," he said. and ask "Where did we hear this name before?"
3. (10 min) Pupils answer the choice questions, then the "Find the clues" questions; check together.
4. (10 min) Pupils read the box and complete the four sentences.
5. (10 min) In pairs, pupils write the newspaper story in five sentences and read it to the class.

Adaptations

[S] Read the story over two lessons, two pages at a time, and go through the words they may need first (goose, jewel, reward, stall, bet). Pupils can answer the choice questions and two of the clues only.

[A] Pupils write what John Horner, the plumber, says when he hears that he is free.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy per pupil, in colour or black and white: pages 1 to 5 are for pupils, page 6 is the answer key. Pupils should know the past simple of common irregular verbs and have met the present perfect. A good choice for the last lessons before Christmas.