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Teaching The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Long title, quick read.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 465

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime tells the story of a fifteen-year-old boy named Christopher Boone, who finds—you guessed it—a dead dog in his neighbor's yard. In most editions of the book, Christopher is described as having Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder that makes social interactions difficult and uncomfortable. A fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, Christopher decides to do some detective work of his own, and solve who killed the pup.

The book is a precious gem on its own as Christopher jumps from advanced astrophysics to the existence of God, from quadratic equations to his favorite animals at the zoo. Christopher's narrative voice is unlike any in literary history, and it can be somewhat jarring. But luckily, our Shmoop guide will make sure your middle schooler or high school readers are able to think more deeply about the narrator's unique point of view and this fast-paced mystery.

In this guide, you'll find

  • a re-writing activity that reflects on the importance of point of view.
  • an exploration of the mystery genre and how this book fits in to it.
  • an opportunity to link a Sherlock Holmes story to the novel and reflect on literary connections.

Curious Incident is an educational goldmine. The novel forces us to look at the world from a different perspective: a perspective where the most complex mathematical formulas are common sense, and an everyday conversation is an impenetrable puzzle. Getting out of our own heads is never a bad thing, and our Shmoop guide will make sure that you and your students enjoy the journey.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Christopher lets the reader know very early on that he doesn't like novels but does like mysteries. So he writes one for Siobhan's assignment, and that's the book we end up reading (7.1). (For a quick primer on how to pronounce Siobhan, go here.) The question is, is this book a mystery or is it something else? How can the reader find out?

The students start by figuring out what components make a murder mystery, then find evidence (or not) of these components, and wrap things up with an essay. This will take about 90 minutes.

Materials Needed: pen and paper, computers and internet

Step 1: As a warm-up, the kiddos will answer these in writing:

  • Why did Christopher write a murder mystery? Find proof for this.
  • What are the parts of a murder mystery novel?

Step 2: Discuss the first warm-up question in detail and ask for proof. Have students turn and share with a neighbor what they wrote for the second question.

Step 3a: In pairs, have students list the components of a murder mystery novel.

Step 3b: While the students are working, create a three-columned chart with 16 rows on the board (one row for titles, 15 rows for components).

  • First column: components of a murder mystery
  • Second column: ✓ or X if the book has that component
  • Third column: if ✓ then give proof or an example
  • Here's an example:
Components of a MysteryDoes the Book Have It?Proof or an Example:


Step 4: Review what the students found in Step 3 and write the components on the board in the first column so everyone's on the same page. They'll need this list for the next step. Make sure everyone understands what each component means as you go along.

  • Crime (death) to be solved
  • Victim
  • Suspects
  • Motives
  • Alibis
  • Detective (or sleuth)
  • Clues
  • Evidence
  • Suspense
  • Foreshadowing
  • Red herrings
  • Law enforcement
  • Weapon(s)
  • Settings
  • Mood setters

Step 5: Partners will work together to create a chart and fill it in. We suggest writing one component at a time because some components won't need a lot of space (like victim) and some will (like clues and evidence).

  • First column: components of a murder mystery
  • Second column: ✓ or X if the book has that component
  • Third column: if ✓ then give proof or an example
  • Here's an example:
Components of a MysteryDoes the Book Have It?Proof or an Example (with chapters):
crime (death)✓ Someone killed Wellington with a garden fork. (2)
victim✓ Wellington, Mrs. Shears's dog (2)
mood setters✓ seven minutes after midnight (2)
leaking blood from the fork holes (5)
screaming, shouting Mrs. Shears (5)
"then Father banged the steering wheel with his fist and the car weaved…and he shouted, "I said leave it" (41)


Step 6: Students will wrap things up individually with a written debrief/essay:

  • Why did Christopher write a murder mystery?
  • What makes a murder mystery?
  • Does this book have all those components? If not, what is it lacking? Is there anything extra?
  • Is the murder the only mystery in the book? Explain.
  • How did Christopher go about solving the case?
  • How did solving the mystery impact Christopher?

Their answers to each question should be a paragraph in length, and the answers should lead into one another so as to create the logical flow of an essay.

Instructions for Your Students

Christopher lets the reader know very early on that he doesn't like novels but does like mysteries. So he writes one for Siobhan's assignment, and that's the book we end up reading (7.1). The question is, is this book a mystery or is it something else? How can the reader find out? (To learn how to pronounce Siobhan, go here.) You'll start by figuring out what components make a murder mystery, then find evidence (or not) of these components, and wrap things up with an essay.

Step 1: Answer these in writing:

  • Why did Christopher write a murder mystery? Find proof for this.
  • What are the parts of a murder mystery novel?

Step 2: As a class, discuss the first warm-up question. Then turn and share with a neighbor what you wrote for the second question.

Step 3: With a partner, write down the components of a murder mystery novel.

Step 4: Go over the components so everyone's on the same page. Make sure you understand what each component means.

  • Crime (death) to be solved
  • Victim
  • Suspects
  • Motives
  • Alibis
  • Detective (or sleuth)
  • Clues
  • Evidence
  • Suspense
  • Foreshadowing
  • Red herrings
  • Law enforcement
  • Weapon(s)
  • Settings
  • Mood setters

Step 5: Work with your partner to create a chart and fill it in. Try writing one component at a time because some components won't need a lot of space (like victim) and some will (like clues and evidence).

  • 1st column: components of a murder mystery
  • 2nd column: ✓ or X if the book has that component
  • 3rd column: if ✓ then give proof or an example
  • Here's an example:
Components of a MysteryDoes the Book Have It?Proof or an Example (with Chapters):
crime (death)✓ Someone killed Wellington with a garden fork. (2)
victim✓ Wellington, Mrs. Shears's dog (2)
mood setters✓ seven minutes after midnight (2)
leaking blood from the fork holes (5)
screaming, shouting Mrs. Shears (5)
"then Father banged the steering wheel with his fist and the car weaved…and he shouted, "I said leave it" (41)


Step 6: Wrap things up individually with a written debrief/essay:

  • Why did Christopher write a murder mystery?
  • What makes a murder mystery?
  • Does this book have all those components? If not, what is it lacking? Is there anything extra?
  • Is the murder the only mystery in the book? Explain.
  • How did Christopher go about solving the case?
  • How did solving the mystery impact Christopher?

Your answers to each question should be a paragraph in length, and the answers should lead into one another so as to create the logical flow of an essay.