Training Tips Missing Money Mystery: An Introduction to Forensic Science

Introduction

Welcome to the Staff Training Notes for The Missing Money Mystery, a series of 10 hands-on lessons in introductory forensic science designed for 4th to 6th graders. This program is ideal for after-school programs, summer and vacation camps, scout troops, church youth groups and anywhere that young people gather.

Who can teach The Missing Money Mystery?

Any responsible, enthusiastic and well briefed group leader, teacher, volunteer, parent, or other motivated adult can teach The Missing Money Mystery. The text is easy to read and understand, the set-ups are detailed and uncomplicated, and the processes and procedures are clearly explained in the Lesson pages. Adults act as coaches and mentors, and guide learners as they proceed through the lessons.

What special skills does the instructor need to teach The Missing Money Mystery?

No special technical or scientific (or forensic!) skills are necessary to teach The Missing Money Mystery. Instructors should be well organized, motivated and observant individuals. Volunteers such as other instructors or parents can be helpful in ensuring that all students are proceeding through their labs and making progress in their understanding. The Missing Money Mystery is fun, so enthusiastic and positive instructors are essential "cheerleaders" in the learning process.

The Missing Money Mystery seems to contain a lot of "labs" that require "special handling" do all of these experiments really work?

Absolutely! We ve designed each activity to teach an important lesson in scientific reasoning and to conduct an investigatory process. These activities promote both fun and learning, and the Notes for the Instructor (provided in each section) offers the "context" that helps learners see how their experiments are used in authentic investigations.

How can instructors most effectively deliver the lessons in The Missing Money Mystery?

Teaching any lesson in The Missing Money Mystery is easy if the instructor is well prepared. Follow these steps before every lesson.

• Read the entire lesson before you teach so you know what sort of outcome you are trying to achieve.
• Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary and background information.
• Identify the corresponding pages (where appropriate) in the Student Activity Book and review them so you know how to guide students to "fill in" their part of the activity. This step is essential because much of what students accomplish in their books will ultimately contribute to solving the mystery and becomes part of their Crime Scene Envelope evidence.
• Open the Course Kit and locate all of the materials you need for each lesson.
• Set up your classroom so that it s easy for students to work in groups of 2 or 4.
• Set up your demonstration area with all appropriate materials at hand.
• Review any safety precautions related to the particular lesson you are going to teach, and make sure you know where emergency help and supplies are located.

Review the entire lesson with any volunteers who will help you teach the lesson.

Once your lesson has started ..

Before you begin each lesson, review"the case so far " by reminding students of the materials and processes they ve explored in previous lessons. It s essential to activate students prior knowledge, and to stimulate their memories of how the story will help them make sense of what they are learning. Investigations are cumulative processes, and the sequence of collecting evidence through the activities will inevitably lead our detectives to the right solution.

Don t hesitate to review some of the vocabulary at the beginning of the lesson. And you can wrap up any lesson by asking students if any has developed theory of the crime. . . .

When you introduce new material and procedures, take a moment to assess how much students already know. For example, in a lesson on trace evidence, ask students to examine their own clothing and shoes. By examining these things, can we learn anything about where we have been, what kinds of pets we have, or what we may have eaten for lunch? These questions ask students to become literally self-reflective, an important habit of mind for critical thinking.

Students will be stimulated and excited when they get a chance to "show off" a little of their crime-solving knowledge.

A note about safety

All of the materials and activities in The Missing Money Mystery have been prepared with the greatest concern for student and instructor safety. Please read safety precautions closely before every lesson and make sure that when you are working you have provided adequate light, space, and information to ensure that all participants are afforded the highest level of safety possible.

Take your time as you work through the three activities in this lesson. It s important to start with the "envelope" activity, which seems deceptively simple, but in this activity, the concept of "properties" is clearly communicated, and the practice of description gets a jump start. Then move on to the "bag of stuff" and the "coin" activities.

Lesson 2 - Evidence at the Crime Scene

Use special care to keep learners out of the "crime scene" area and use the opportunity during the "Notes for the Student" section to underline how careless investigators can contaminate crime scenes. Encourage students to move methodically through the crime scene as they measure; in this lesson make the distinction between evidence and suspicions.

Lesson 3 - Tread Patterns

This is a lesson in which you might want to practice the sequence of making tracks and recording the data so that you have a "working example" to show your students.

Lesson 4 - Soil Samples

Before starting the lab, ask students to examine their own clothing and shoes to see if there s any evidence of where they have been (or what they had for breakfast!).

Forensic geology comes to the fore in this lesson; use this opportunity to point out that forensics has many specialties such as anthropology (the study of bones and skeletons) and odontology (the study of tooth impressions).

Lesson 5 - Cryptograms

Students who are "quick" may easily finish ahead of others; encourage these students to develop their own codes and practice by writing their names or short messages to share with their partners.

Lesson 6 - Lip prints

This lesson is also an opportunity to discuss fingerprints, and the difference between unique evidence and conclusive evidence. Unique evidence may point to one person, but it s not always conclusive! Ask students for other sources of prints (such as hands and feet).

Lesson 7 - White powders

This lesson requires some extra "set-up" before it begins. Read through the set-up instructions carefully.

Instructors are advised to read and completely understand this lesson before teaching it. DNA is a complex subject but helping students understand it will go much more easily if you understand DNA yourself!

Lesson 9 - Fiber identification

Have students practice using the tweezers and pocket microscopes before you begin the activity.

Lesson 10 - Analyzing the evidence

Critical thinking gets a workout in Lesson 10. As you work, remind students that what they are doing in analysis is the same sort of thing they do in preparing an essay or writing a report: they gather disparate pieces of information and try to put it into a coherent whole.

This activity really tests brainpower and creativity. When the course is completed and the crime has been solved, don t hesitate to issue a "Crime Investigator s License" to your students.

Extend your lesson

Instructors particularly those with access to computer labs can extend their lessons by reading through many of the activities described in the Other Directions, Discussions and Destinations section at the end of each lesson. Even if there s no computer available in the classroom, many activities can be adapted by an instructor who takes the time to visit the recommended websites before delivering a lesson.

Consult your colleagues

Many lessons in The Missing Money Mystery have cross-disciplinary applications. Talk with other teachers in your school or program about the ways in which what they are teaching might connect to your lesson. As you plan and prepare, ask your colleagues for good "discussion starters". Show them the activity sheets and materials you are using, and ask for their experience in teaching about science processes. The Missing Money Mystery is a great jumping-off point for lessons in character education, too!