This last activity is designed to tie together any loose ends or resolve unanswered questions about the mystery. It is also designed as a celebration of the mystery solved! Lesson Objectives Learn what happened to Alice Celebrate their hard work and forensics skills with a “Mystery Solved” celebration Next, simply click the links below for …
Lesson 10: Considering the Confession: Understanding Misunderstandings! Read More »
Students will use balances to literally weigh the evidence of each suspect against one another. Not only will this give your students a chance to use a common measurement tool in science, it will provide a visual to help them formulate their own conclusions. Lesson Objectives • Identify whether or not the number in a …
Lesson 9: Weighing the Evidence: Testing the Scales of Justice Read More »
In this activity, students will figure out which suspect was most likely to have left behind orange paint smudges by mixing together different primary colors of paint. Students will be challenged to follow a procedure in the correct order. Lesson Objectives Recognize that the properties of objects can change, including color Combine primary colors to …
Lesson 8: Following Colorful Clues: Making Orange Paint Read More »
Students will be asked to learn more about guinea pigs to better understand how Alice came to be missing. Is it possible that a suspect took Alice home? This information will be recorded in a table. Students will use the table to make arguments about the potential involvement of each suspect. Lesson Objectives Research the …
Lesson 7: Researching Rodents: Discovering a Guinea Pig’s Survival Needs Read More »
For this lesson, students will focus on visible, two- dimensional prints. They’ll study the visible, two-dimensional shoe prints left behind on Mrs. Hawkins’ classroom floor. Students will try to match parts of a print to a larger pattern and measure the length and width of the shoe print. Lesson Objectives Correctly identify shapes within a …
Lesson 6: Inspecting Pattern Evidence: Comparing Shoe Prints Read More »
Students will focus on the fallen model skeleton in Mrs. Hawkins’s classroom to imagine (and predict) what happened on the day Alice was taken. By running a simple experiment, students will make a connection between a force (a rolling ball) and the resulting movement of the object (a model figurine). Lesson Objectives Understand that forces …
Lesson 5: Applying Physics: Studying Force and a Falling Skeleton Read More »
In this activity, students will hear the alibis of four suspects. They will practice the skills of a forensic scientist by listening carefully to each story. Then, using matching picture cards, students will retell the details of each suspect’s story in sequential order. Lesson Objectives Retell the events of a story in sequential order Match …
Lesson 4: Analyzing Alibis: Monitoring the Movement of Suspects Read More »
Students will discover that a picture can replace a long verbal description and help others better understand. In science it is very common to use pictures – photographs, diagrams and graphs – to convey your process and findings. Lesson Objectives Use descriptive and positional words to convey the physical properties of objects Practice giving a …
Lesson 3: Listening to a Witness: Creating a Composite Sketch Read More »
This lesson will challenge your students to make a rough sketch of a pretend crime scene. The focus of sketching at this stage (rough) should be the inclusion of all objects, the proper positional placement and relative size of objects in the scene. Lesson Objectives Observe changes that have occurred at a staged crime scene …
Lesson 2: Recording Your Findings: Sketching the Scene Read More »
In this first lesson, your students’ are introduced to the mystery of the missing guinea pig through a video taken immediately after realizing that Alice was missing. Students will also be introduced to the job of a forensic scientist and prepare to take on the role by practicing their skill of observation. Lesson Objectives Understand …
Lesson 1: Observing the Clues: Investigation with Your Senses Read More »
