What’s in the Suitcase? A Curiosity-Driven Opening Act for Novel Studies
By: Tracy A. McNelly and Angel Scalamogna
Imagine walking into your classroom one morning and spotting a mysterious old suitcase sitting in front of the room. It looks scuffed, slightly dusty, and out of place. A note rests on top reading: “Do not open...yet.” Instantly, questions start bubbling. What’s inside? Who put it there? What does it mean? Your students are at once transported into “detective mode” and suddenly, this suitcase is the talk of the class.
That’s the magic behind the “What’s in the Suitcase?”! It is a playful, hands-on approach to launching a new novel unit. Instead of handing students a book and diving into chapter one, this method begins with a mystery.
How we begin a novel study can determine whether students engage or check out. Purposeful opening acts create a space for curiosity and meaning making, introducing a sense of drama for what is to come while also setting students up for success as they begin to navigate characters, themes, and structures within the novel. Given that motivation strongly influences students’ willingness to initiate, persist in, and complete learning tasks (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), thoughtfully designed opening acts can serve as a powerful catalyst for student engagement. When content is personally relevant, students are invested and demonstrate a higher level of interest, effort, and persistence (Durik & Harackiewicz, 2018; Jang et al., 2016).
While motivation plays a central role in the academic, social, and emotional success of learners, the creation of innovative entry points for the novel study is equally grounded in research in literacy development. Presenting students with tasks that can activate their prior knowledge can pay dividends for later comprehension. According to Pressley, et al. (1992), activating relevant prior knowledge before introducing new concepts has been shown to enhance retention and understanding. When it comes to reading comprehension, research has shown that knowledge of a topic has more influence than reading ability (Recht & Leslie, 1988). Accordingly, it is important to find ways to help students build their knowledge and make predictions of the text before they turn to the first page. Such research invites educators to reconceptualize the opening of a novel study as not as a routine starting point, but as a strategic opportunity to activate prior knowledge, spark curiosity, and support comprehension. What’s in the Suitcase? is one such practice that does just this.
The idea is simple: fill a small suitcase with a collection of meaningful, symbolic, or mysterious items that are related to key elements in the story. These objects are meant to be representations of characters, themes, settings, or important plot points. Each item serves as a clue, and students can become literary detectives – predicting, inferring, and wondering long before the actual reading begins. Not only does this spark curiosity, but it also creates a tone of exploration and engagement that carries through the entire novel unit.
During a novel unit for The Secret Garden for example, the teacher might pack the following symbolic objects: an ancient key, a feather, a packet of seeds, a mirror, gardening tool, music box, picture of an English manor, and a letter and envelope. For the key, which represents the key Mary discovers, the teacher might ask questions such as: What do you think this key might open? Why would something be locked away? What could this symbolize? If you found a key without knowing what it unlocks, what would you do? What do you think our character would do? Table 1 provides a list of questions teachers can use to help prompt students’ thinking about objects packed in a suitcase.
This pre-reading strategy motivates students to work in a social environment amongst peers, which adds to their overall interest in the activity which can then be transmitted towards the novel itself. So, before you crack open your next classroom novel, consider packing a suitcase! Who knew a key, a feather, or a handful of seeds could unlock so much thinking?
Table 1. Questions to Prompt Students Thinking About the Objects in the What’s in the Suitcase? Strategy
| Story Elements |
Questions |
| Prediction & Inference |
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| Character Exploration |
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| Setting and Context |
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| Theme and Symbolism |
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| Personal Connection & Reflection |
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Durik, A. M., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2018). Task values and academic interest: Exploring reciprocal relations in middle school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(6), 911–925. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000244
Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2016). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000042
Pressley, M., El-Dinary, P. B., Gaskins, I. W., Schuder, T., Bergman, J. L., Almasi, J., & Brown, R. (1992). Beyond direct explanation: Transactional instruction of reading comprehension strategies. Elementary School Journal, 92(4), 513–555. https://doi.org/10.1086/461705
Recht, D. R., & Leslie, L. (1988). Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers’ memory of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.80.1.16
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Dr. Tracy A. McNelly is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Education Department at Saint Vincent College. Her research interests center on media literacy education and evidence-based literacy practices in PK–12 classrooms. |
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Angel Scalamogna is an English teacher in the Derry Area School District. In addition to teaching, Angel serves as a Residence Hall Director at Saint Vincent College within the Office of Residence Life and Student Affairs. |