The Missing Ice Cream Recipe

Inside the case file

A secret ice cream recipe has vanished from the Sunnybrook Summer Fair — and the only way to get it back is to read closely. This printable Summer Reading Mystery turns a fun summer story into a reading-detective investigation for Grades 3–6 classroom teachers, homeschoolers, and tutors. It drops straight into an end-of-year or summer reading lesson and gives students a real reason to read closely.

Reading is the whole game here: students use text evidence to cross off suspects one at a time until the culprit is cornered. No apps, no laminating, no prep.

Quick Details

Grade Levels: Grades 3–6
Format: Printable PDF
Resource Type: Reading Mystery worksheets
Reading Skills: Fiction comprehension, main idea, theme, inference, figurative language, and text evidence
Tech Needed: None — no apps, locks, passwords, or student logins required

The Case

The secret recipe for the summer fair's famous ice cream has disappeared from Sunnybrook, and a line-up of suspects is waiting. The only way to crack the case is to read the story closely and use every comprehension answer as a clue to rule a suspect out, until just one remains.

How the Reading Mystery Works

As Reading Detectives, students read the summer story and eliminate a suspect with each comprehension answer until one is left standing — the text holds every clue.

What's Included

• A "You are a detective" case-file page that sets the scene and the mission
• An engaging two-page summer fiction story (The Case of the Missing Ice Cream Recipe)
• A suspect line-up page for eliminating suspects one clue at a time
• Multiple-choice comprehension questions (all answers found in the text)
• Open-ended reading response questions
• A vocabulary word list and word search for early finishers
• Extension activities for deeper thinking
• A full answer key
• Color and black-and-white versions
• Print-and-go PDF format

Skills Covered

• Reading and understanding fiction text
• Identifying main idea, theme, and story elements
• Finding and using text evidence
• Making inferences and drawing conclusions
• Figurative and descriptive language
• Vocabulary in context
• Logic, reasoning, and critical thinking

Best Used For

• End-of-year and summer reading lessons
• Fiction reading comprehension practice
• Reading centers, early finishers, sub plans, and small groups
• ELA test prep
• Homeschool reading