Frankie Dupont and the High Seas Heist Freebie

Frankie Dupont and the High Seas Heist is the newest mystery book in the Julie Anne Grasso Frankie series. Book reviews for book 1, book 2, and book 3 are also available on this blog. They include printable pages for students to supplement the books. However, for book 4, my freebie is some Google Slides for students, and a free PDF for teachers with information about how to use the Google Slides. I learned about making Google Slides from a variety of sources including searching for YouTube videos, Danielle Knight Teaching’s Google Drive Toolkit, a blog post at Cult of Pedagogy, an online class about Google Slides Basics for teachers as well as students, and beginning a Google Certified Educator online course. I feel I am still learning and the possibilities with Google Apps are wonderful.

Julie lives in Australia and if this slide set worked around the world from Minnesota, I’m sure it will work for your classroom or homeschool. Of course, Google Drive is free, Google Slides are free, and students and teachers can access such materials online for free. Learn more about Google Slides at my blog post link.

Frankie finds himself on a cruise ship headed to Antarctica as part of a cover for his father who has a mystery to solve. I have only known a few people who rode on a ship to Antarctica, and they only went there to say they had been. Although they do not actually land on the continent, the weather becomes colder and colder as they approach the area. There is a reason the suspects want ice involved, which Frankie figures out as he solves not one but two mysteries. I like being on the cruise vicariously, the double mystery, and the down to earth goodness of Frankie and his family and friends.

Homonyms are sprinkled throughout the story such as DNA not D and A that are perfect for teaching literacy. Tweens can be given this story without reservations as the storyline and character conversations are all age appropriate. The figurative language such as alliteration is engaging, fun, and noticeable for class discussions. As a former gifted education teacher, I recommend this book for pull-out sessions as there are clues, twists, and turns to notice and figure out. I would suggest this book is for ages 8 and up.

I really liked the setting as it was on a cruise ship. The characters weren’t stuck in the inside rooms down below, either. They had outside rooms with portholes. These kids got the luxury treatment! Flowing chocolate fondue and strawberries for dipping isn’t in the usual novel for this age group. Poor Frankie doesn’t find his sea legs for a few days, but that does not prevent him from being a clever detective. Frankie is a great role model for youth in that he is bright and confident, but not egotistical. He approaches his mysteries with higher level thinking skills and hard work, which is how we want our children to be.

This is an image of one of the slides which is a work page in the PDF, as well. It is about homophones.

Here is the link to the free student slides in Google Drive. Each teacher or homeschool parent will be invited to make a copy. Please see the teacher directions and more information which is a PDF especially for this product.

Frankie-High-Seas-Mystery-Teacher-Information-for-Google-Slides