Hello! In this lesson, you will guide your pupils through creating a choose-your-own-adventure mystery story to explore If/Then/Else conditionals in an unplugged way. This follows on from Week 3's Conditionals 2.0.

Explain to the class: Today, you'll make a mystery story where the reader makes choices, like 'If you open the door, then you find a clue, else you get lost.' These choices will lead to different endings.

Start by recapping If/Then/Else with your pupils. Remind them: An 'if' is a condition or choice, 'then' is what happens if it's true, and 'else' is what happens if it's not.

Ask for examples: 'If it's sunny, then play outside, else read a book.' Invite 3-4 pupils to share real-life examples and note them on the board.

Explain that a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure is a story where the reader decides what happens next.

Students will make a mini version today: start at Scene 1, read a short paragraph, then choose A or B; each choice sends you to a different scene number and, after a couple of choices, to an ending.

Here’s a super-simple model you can copy to the board. It gives you Scene 1, two choices, two follow-up scenes, etc.

Perfect to show the structure before pupils make their own.

Scene 1
You’re walking along a forest path when the road splits in two.
Which way do you go?

• Take the left path → go to 5

• Take the right path → go to 8

Scene 5
The left path leads to a little stream with a wooden bridge.
What do you do?

• Cross the bridge → go to 10

• Go under the bridge along the bank → go to 11

Have pupils brainstorm simple mystery story ideas in pairs for 3 minutes, such as 'The Missing Jewel' or 'The Secret Cave.'

Explain they need at least two choice points where the reader decides something, leading to different paths (e.g., 'If you follow the footprints, then..., else...'). Keep it simple—no more than 4-5 parts total.

Give each pupil paper and instruct them to draw a flowchart of their story. Start with the beginning, then draw branches for choices.

For example: Box for start → Arrow to choice ('If you go left...') → Then branch to one outcome, else to another → Each leads to an ending. Allow 10 minutes for this.