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Murder In The Science Lab

Official Police Report Date: October 31, 1993 Location of crime: Stinson Middle School, Science Lab, C217 Estimated time of occurrence: Halloween, sometime around midnight Officers: Sgts. Martin and Pena Last night, the body of a scientist, whose name and identification are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was discovered in the science lab at Stinson Middle School at 13200 Skyhawk Drive. The body was located in the center of the classroom in a sprawled position, ventral side up. The person was wearing a disguise of some kind and a large onion was found nearby. There was no evidence of a struggle; however, foul play has not yet been ruled out. The victim attempted to identify the aggressor by typing an incriminating note, which was found torn in pieces near the body. Small blood samples were taken but the results of the tests have not been revealed. Hair and fiber samples were collected. No fingerprints were found. Police are baffled by two things: What actually occurred in the lab, and where did the blood come from? Figure 1 Police report
The 5-E Model I designed this lesson using the 5-E Instructional Model developed by Rodger Bybee of Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies and James Barufaldi of the University of Texas at Austin. The model systematically guides students through the lesson using the five steps of engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation. Engagement (the hook) The day before the lab, I asked one of my colleagues to lie on the floor and traced the outline of her body in the center of the room with duct tape. I set the stage by squirting fake blood (ketchup) around the scene, tossing a white lab coat on the floor near the outline, and placing a large onion nearby. For the final touch, I put up signs reading "Caution: Crime Scene" around the area.	For each group of four students, I prepared a bag of evidence including thread, hair, fibers, onion cells, and prepared blood smears (from a science supplier). I wrote an incriminating note­The rat ate my prize onion­­then tore it up and placed random pieces in each of the evidence bags.  Students entered the classroom with wide eyes and lots of questions. "What happened?" "What's going on?" I innocently explained that I knew nothing­when I got to school that morning, I found the science lab in disarray and an official police report left by school administrators and the sheriff. I handed out copies of the police report (Fig. 1) and the activity sheet and asked students to break up into forensic teams of four to read the background information and police report. Then I asked students to offer explanations for what may have occurred in the lab the night before and suggest methods for solving the crime, if indeed a crime was committed.
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