Students watch an episode of "Frontiers" and discover the scientific basis for handwriting analysis. In the video, they discover how size, shape, and slant of handwriting suggest personality traits. After a discussion, students offer...

Students brainstorm ways to look for evidence and investigate suspects.  In this investigative lesson students pretend to be investigators and analyze a crime scene. 

High schoolers perform tests on different chemicals to determine their chemical properties. In this forensic science lesson plan, students identify an unknown sample using its physical and chemical properties. They solve a fictional...

Students conduct an experiment that allows them to assess individual differences in random DNA sequences and apply those differences when solving a forensic problem. After discussing the polymerase chain reaction and its use to identify...

Students read about how forensic entomologists use maggots to solve murders. In this forensic science lesson, students read an article and answer questions. They go to different websites about evidence and fingerprinting. 

Students examine the importance of details in evidence gathering, as well as the relationship between chemistry, physics and biology.  In this forensics lesson students divide into groups and look at fingerprints and fill out an...

Second graders conduct a classroom investigation. In this investigative lesson, 2nd graders spend their time observing, measuring, and collecting data. They simulate a forensic science lab by conducting a fingerprint, scent, footprint,...

Pupils prepare for an participate in a debate. They watch instructional videos on how debates proceed. Pupils work in teams to research various topics, present their opinions on the issue, and respond to opposing viewpoints during a...

High schoolers use chromatography to separate plant pigments collected from a fictitious crime scene and suspects. They compare the Rf values of the plant pigments to determine whether the plant pigments found on any of the suspects...

Students explore the different blood types, and are introduced to new knowledge through a crime scene simulated activity. They explore the genetics of blood types, and are introduced to immunology/diseases.

Pupils detect the waveform of musical notes to determine the code for the "safe" in this forensics simulation lesson. They use a microphone and tuning forks along with Vernier EasyData on their graphing calculator to analyze five musical...

Students study the process of DNA Fingerprinting and how DNA Fingerprinting is used in solving crimes. They examine a crime scenario that involves collecting DNA Fingerprinting information from blood collected at the crime scene. They...

Students recover latent prints by iodine fuming, cyanoacrylate fuming, and dusting with powder, after a lecture/discussion on fingerprinting techniques. They each provide a fingerprint for identification by another student. A database of...

Young scholars receive bloodstain pattern evidence from a crime scene. They answer a series of questions through inquiry, observation, measurement, and analysis. Pupils complete this challenge, by reconstructing the evidence through four...

When water is a solvent in a chemical equation, we consider it an aqueous solution. Scholars match the name of four states of matter to their proper symbol in a chemical equation. Four puzzles provide repetition to help pupils remember...

In this trace evidence worksheet, students use the websites on the forensic science page of the kid zone at http://sciencespot.net/ to complete the fill in the blank questions on the worksheet.

Ninth graders identify and relate terms in biotechnology. They discuss genetic engineering in the world today. Students are given a worksheet to determine the father in the paternal case. They complete answers on the worksheet.

Learners explore forests.  In this "forest forensic" lesson students divide into groups and go through the stations using their clues to solve the questions. 

Students read a paragraph describing various insects and decomposition rates, then fill in the table indicating when the three insects arrived or left the body. They write paragraphs explaining when the person died, and how they know.

High schoolers examine how to capture foot prints while they simulate a criminal investigation. They discover how the clues are needed for identifying or eliminating murder suspects.

Students solve the mystery of dead Mr. Potato Head using physics and algebra. They discuss Newton's Law of cooling as it applies to the mystery scenario involving a cooling baked potato as the "victim". They manipulate algebraic...

Students watch a video about careers in chemistry. In this Chemistry lesson plan, students will research chemistry careers and chose one to do further research on.

Students investigate various substances to determine the perpetrator of a crime. For this biology lesson, students test for the presence of organic compounds in various samples. They identify an unknown substance based on its physical...