A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students' familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The book you are about to read uses investigative journalism as a stylistic tool that influences the structure and tone of the work. If you had to define the term investigative journalism, how would you define it? To help, examine these recent examples of investigative journalism: (1) Tampa Bay Times's exposé of toxic hazards inside a recycling plant,[JB1] (2) CBC's investigation of Shein's use of toxic chemicals, and (3) Sky News's examination of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. What characteristics do these stories share, despite their wide range of subjects?

Teaching Suggestion: Even without much prior knowledge or preparation, students can make intelligent guesses about characteristics common to investigative journalism. Students may enjoy working in pairs to share their thoughts or discuss the articles, collaborating together to identify these characteristics. This work can help prepare students to consider the novel's theme of The Importance of Finding Out the Truth. As an extension, you may wish to have the class discuss the following questions: How can investigative journalism be beneficial to society and culture? How can it be detrimental? Resources like the ones below might further inform your work with students or provide students with additional resources: