Real-life CSI - DIY Crime Scene

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• communication
• critical thinking
• collaboration
• ethical understanding
• problem solving
• social skills.

Australian Curriculum content descriptions (v9): 

Year 10 Science:

• explain how scientific knowledge is validated and refined, including the role of publication and peer review (AC9S10H01)
• analyse the key factors that contribute to science knowledge and practices being adopted more broadly by society (AC9S10H03)

Syllabus outcomes: SC5-12ES, SC5-13ES

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, Ethical Understanding, Literacy

Relevant parts of Year 10 achievement standards: Students explain the processes that underpin heredity and genetic diversity and describe the evidence supporting the theory of evolution by natural selection. Students analyse the importance of publication and peer review in the development of scientific knowledge and analyse the relationship between science, technologies and engineering. They analyse the key factors that influence interactions between science and society.

Time required: 180 mins (split between three, 60 min lessons)

Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – the students should now have all the knowledge and skills they need to complete this task relatively independently, with minimal guidance from you

• Another class to be willing participants in having your class explain to them how to analyse a crime scene
• By the end of the planning phase of this lesson and, each group will order from you the materials they need to construct their crime scene in the construction part of the lesson. If the materials aren’t available, they will need to come up with alternatives or provide them themselves
• For the 'solving' lesson, each group will need their crime scenes. You will also need:
  • gloves
  • hairnets
  • lab coats.

This is an original Cool+ lesson.