Sisterhood Sleuths Free Outreach Program for Schools and Youth

At a Glance

The Sisterhood Sleuths Outreach Program is a free 30-chapter curriculum for students aged 10–18, built around Cathy Warshaw's YA novel The Obsidian Eye.
The programme is available at no cost to teachers, librarians, and youth mentors worldwide.
Each chapter includes a lesson plan, guided discussion, student worksheets, creative activities, and original song tie-ins designed to deepen emotional learning.
The curriculum is grounded in cognitive science and educational psychology, designed to develop critical thinking, independent reasoning, and collaborative problem-solving.

A story about two teenage sleuths navigating secret societies across the globe might seem like pure entertainment. That was never the only intention. Author, songwriter, and certified teen empowerment life coach Cathy Warshaw built the Sisterhood Sleuths franchise around a single conviction: that the skills young people most need to thrive — critical thinking, courage, curiosity, resilience, leadership — can be taught through story. The Sisterhood Sleuths Outreach Program is where that conviction becomes a curriculum, and it is entirely free.

What the Programme Is

The Sisterhood Sleuths Outreach Program is a structured 30-chapter educational curriculum built around The Obsidian Eye, Book 1 of the Sisterhood Sleuths series. Designed for students aged 10 and above, it is available at no cost to teachers, librarians, homeschool educators, youth mentors, and community organisations worldwide. Each chapter is thoughtfully structured to meet students at different developmental stages, combining literary engagement with practical life-skills development in every session.

Every chapter includes a lesson plan with real-world connections, guided discussion questions designed to spark deeper thinking, age-appropriate student worksheets, creative activities, and original song tie-ins that deepen emotional engagement with the material. Students are not asked to passively read and answer questions. They are guided through an active investigation — forming theories, solving ciphers, collaborating with peers, and reflecting on how the story's themes connect to their own lives. The programme's foundational premise is simple: students don't just read the story, they live it.

Sample Lessons

The curriculum opens with four core lesson types that establish its range and intent. Lesson 1 explores themes of friendship and courage through character comparison, role-play, and guided discussion around trust, bravery, and teamwork. Lesson 2 introduces mystery and problem-solving through puzzle-based challenges and a create-your-own cipher activity that turns every student into a codebreaker. Lesson 3 uses journal prompts and group sharing to explore empowerment and identity, helping students connect the story's themes of belonging and self-discovery to their own experiences. Lesson 4 challenges students to draft a short mystery inspired by The Obsidian Eye, developing storytelling skills while embracing their inner sleuth.

Grounded in Science, Not Just Story

The Outreach Program was not designed as a supplementary reading activity. It was designed to change how students interact with information — and the methodology behind it is deliberate. Grounded in cognitive science and educational psychology, the programme guides students through a structured transformation across five stages: Orientation, Guided Inquiry, Reflection, Collaborative Reasoning, and Independent Analysis. Students begin by following. They then begin to question. They then lead their own thinking.

The skills the programme is designed to build are not abstract. They include critical thinking, independent reasoning, pattern recognition, confidence in problem-solving, the ability to work through uncertainty, and the capacity to apply learning beyond the classroom. Warshaw's position is clear: these are not optional extras in a young person's education. They are the foundational capabilities that determine how well a student navigates the world after school ends.

"I've created the program to bring light even in the dark, and help children develop empathy, kindness, courage, and compassion into the future. These are cornerstones of a good life, and I want every child to feel they have access to that knowledge."
— Cathy Warshaw, Creator, Sisterhood Sleuths Outreach Program

Free, Global, and Available in Any Language

The decision to make the programme free and globally accessible is unconditional. Warshaw has committed to providing translations of all programme materials into any language required, ensuring that schools and youth groups in under-resourced communities worldwide face no barrier to participation. Since the programme's announcement, book clubs, teachers, youth leaders, librarians, nonprofits, psychologists, and international community groups have all made contact to participate — reflecting both the reach of the Sisterhood Sleuths platform and the genuine demand for quality, story-led educational content at no cost.

Teachers, librarians, and youth mentors can request programme materials, download sample lesson plans, or enquire about starting a pilot at their institution by visiting sisterhoodsleuths.net/outreach-program-global-education. Translation requests and general enquiries can be directed to inquiries@SisterhoodSleuths.net.