Description
All of the physical and instructional materials needed to run a complete elementary summer school program right out of the box!
Grades 4–5. Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? This fun, interactive, grade-appropriate, and project-oriented course is designed to engage students in forensic science through 12 dynamic lessons. A crime has occurred in Mrs. Randall’s classroom—her favorite cookie jar was broken and some of her homemade cookies were eaten. Working together, your students learn and use forensic science techniques—matching hair samples, examining trace evidence, testing blood samples, fingerprinting, and more—to analyze clues left at the crime scene and catch the culprit! There are 4 suspects, and it is up to the student teams to determine who is guilty through their scientific observation, sample examination, analysis, and lab work.
Product Features
- A self-contained forensic summer school program that includes everything needed
- Includes 12 lessons with materials for 30 students working in groups of 2 or 3
- Each lesson provides 1 to 3 activities
- Comes with teacher guide
- Code inside teacher guide provides online access to printable student handouts and other resources
- Clear, detailed directions make the labs easy to set up and conduct
Course Outline
The Cookie Jar Mystery comprises 12 lessons, designed to take approximately 1 hour each, for a class of 30 students. Your class size and ability level will determine the ultimate pace for the materials.
Lesson 1: Heads Up—Observation Skills
You can’t believe your eyes—or can you? Budding CSI detectives will love to explore the challenge of visual memory and eyewitness testimony in the “Did You See That?” activity.
Lesson 2: Think Ink—Ink Chromatography
When students make their ink chromatographs, the telltale composition of ink can help CSI detectives identify the perpetrator. Easy-to-follow instructions lead the way in your classroom’s forensics laboratory.
Lesson 3: The White Stuff—White Substance and Toxicology
Take a powder, please! Students take a closer look at the differences in white substances (of course, they’re all non-toxic) and at the world of poison science in this riveting research.
Lesson 4: Pull Some Strings—Fiber Analysis
Can scientific analysis of fibers help identify our thief? Students use pocket hand lenses to get up close and personal with fiber analysis, and they learn to distinguish between class evidence and direct (conclusive) evidence.
Lesson 5: “Hair” We Go—Hair Sample
Who knew hair could be so complex? Can our junior gumshoes match a hair sample to the correct suspect in this activity? This absorbing inquiry will have students scratching their heads (and plucking their hair) as they delve deeper into the Cookie Jar Mystery.
Lesson 6: Follow the Grain—Pollen Analysis
Achoo! Pollen as evidence? Learners explore another form of trace evidence that often tells where something happened. Students do the legwork in the field as they practice with this essential tool.
Lesson 7: Make an Impression—Bite Marks
Surprisingly simple materials provide all you need for another great lesson in comparing and contrasting for students to “sink their teeth into.”
Lesson 8: Bloody Brilliant—Blood Types
Of course, it’s not real blood, but we provide a blood evidence substitute that encourages learners to handle evidence just like genuine CSI laboratory technicians. This lesson in blood typing offers a great jump start for future scientists, geneticists, and crime scene detectives.
Lesson 9: One of a Kind—Fingerprint Evidence
Oh, the things we leave behind! This book covers everything you always wanted to know about whorls and ridges, fingerprinting techniques, and more. It includes 10 authentic fingerprint cards for each student to make a record of their prints.
Lesson 10: Crack the Code—DNA
Learning to unravel the mystery of our genetic code is revealed in this straightforward explanation, and the lesson helps learners narrow the field of suspects.
Lesson 11: Let’s Talk—Questioning Our Suspects
A lie detector test isn’t the only way to find out the truth! In this lesson, our junior CSI detectives learn the meaning of the “norm” and how knowing it helps them distinguish truthtellers from liars. Students also return to the “scene of the crime” for another look.
Lesson 12: Who Dunnit? Examining and Analyzing All the Evidence
Means, motive, and opportunity all come together in this culminating activity that encourages students to combine all the puzzle pieces and finally solve the Cookie Jar Mystery!