Teachers and courses involved:

• Deb Daigle, Geometry
• Roxanne Cappelin, Algebra I
• April Cook, Biology and Physical Science
• Kirk Zeller, Chemistry and Physical Science
• Robert Burgess, Melinda Schroeder, Dana Ryser, English  
• Deb Alwin, Agriscience
• Susann Wright, Physical Fitness 
• Chris Valcarcel,  Social Studies 
• Deb Alwin, Bill Gaynor,  Critical Thinking
• Bette Brown, Bill Gaynor,  Accounting  
• Bette Brown,  BST
• Julie Piccirilli,  ESE        
                                                

Description of the Project

• The lesson begins with a ficticious crime complete with police and medical examiner reports (see case file). An assembly is held for all the students in the Business and Science Academy to introduce the scenario and hand out the case files. A crime scene is set up on campus complete with blood spatter, body outline, and crime scene tape. Five named suspects, played by staff, will be photographed, fingerprinted, and supposedly volunteer a DNA sample. The first week, English classes will interview the police investigators, biology classes will calculate the time of death, physical science classes will analyze hair and fiber collected at the scene, and math classes will triangulate the crime scene. Both the math and English classes will visit the crime scene to make observations and sketch the scene. One by one, the suspects will be ruled out according to the findings of the investigation. Students will keep all their CSI classwork in the case file given to them at the assembly. This will serve as their portfolio of the project. Updates will be broadcast on the Pirate News show every morning throughout the two week period, including the pictures, motives, and alibis of the suspects. The student’s case file has a sheet to take notes of all the findings that are broadcast on the news. Next, the math and science classes have an investigator speak to their classes about evidence collection, blood spatter, and fingerprinting. The biology classes will compare fingerprints collected at the crime scene with those taken from the suspects and the person who found the body. The algebra and geometry classes calculate the angle of blood spatter and measure blood spatter from different distances. Chemistry classes will type blood samples collected at the crime scene and compare them to the suspect’s blood types. English classes will use deductive reasoning while completing their investigative reports. Agriscience classes will be involved in learning scientific classification of tomatoes and their significance to our local economy. Critical Thinking classes will discuss strategies for linking information with prior knowledge. 
  During the second week, business classes will be analyzing the balance sheets and income statements looking for errors in the accounting practices of Tomatacana, Inc. Then the BST classes will type up the reports. Biology classes will be running gel electrophoresis to compare the DNA samples collected at the scene to samples from the remaining suspects to try to find a match. Physical fitness classses will be estimating the victim’s life expectancy based on his medical history report. Social studies will be researching the role of police and investigators in society and what it takes to become one. ESE classes will also visit the scene, write short stories of what they think might have happened and use clues along with evidence to back up their predictions.
  At the end of the two weeks, another assembly will be held to wrap up the project and show a video taped reenactment of the crime (played by staff members and recorded by production students).
  

Student Involvement, Reaction, Benefits

• The Business and Science Academy students were very involved in this project in all of their classes. Students from other academies were also involved if they had one or more classes taught by a Business and Science Academy teacher. Their interest in the project was phenomenal. At first, some of them thought it was hoaky, but they were all talking about it in class, in the halls, and even during lunch. New findings were spread to other classmates before we could even announce it on the news the next morning! They loved it! The interest level in what I was teaching more than doubled. Their attention span grew by leaps and bounds! Everyone was trying to figure out who did it, and they all wanted to make their own predictions known. Having the teachers play the roles of the suspects was also beneficial because it brought some familiarity and reality into it. Even the teachers had a lot of fun with this project! The crime scene was a complete success because so many students are visual and/or kinesthetic learners. They like getting out of the classroom and being able to visualize the crime. Most of the individual lessons in this project were also hands-on activities or labs that help students learn and retain the lesson being taught. The activities involved in this project were based upon the Florida benchmarks and enhanced by the mystery of the investigation. Forensics is a very popular subject right now with teenagers, especially because many television shows are currently based upon this topic.

Plans for Future Continuation/Modification

• I am hoping to make this an annual project for the Business and Science Academy. Next year, we would like to make many improvements to this project. The introduction assembly would start with a video of the crime scene and an explanation of the project. We could also have clips from this year’s project being played. The case files would actually come pre-labeled with each student’s name to ensure everyone got one and each student would have prongs to keep all the reports inside. The news broadcasts could be videotaped prior to the start of the project to ensure clarity and accuracy. We would like to add more investigative technology such as a luma light to search for bodily fluids. The last improvement would be to integrate the technology students by having them produce the commercials and also film the students while they are completing the activities. This would allow us to create a film for the closing assembly that would look back on all their findings and how they solved the case. This video could also be added to our Academy book as documentation of our project.