GEMS Science Summary 3/18/13

And the Plot Thickens...

We started off this session by analyzing our missing evidence from last week and going over our crime scene map. Details were added and theories began to take shape. Students were shown the suspect’s photos along with information the detectives provided us with. Each suspect had a statement along with pieces of information that might be crucial to figuring out this mystery. Unfortunately, Felix’s body was lost (or stolen?) on the way to the morgue, so we don’t know if he is even dead!

Using the evidence from the crime scene we made a clue board by posting each piece of evidence under the name of the suspect it could possibly go with. Students are now being encouraged to make some inferences as a story is beginning to take shape. Next week we will organize the clues under each suspect and begin analyzing the evidence by having testing stations.

This session we spent a lot of time coming to a consensus, within teams and with the whole class. They did a great job debating ideas and organizing details so we can logically process the evidence. I reminded them that there is no right answer to this mystery. Just like real life, a case doesn’t always have a definitive answer. It’s up to us to use what we know to piece together what could have occurred.

Next week we will have more evidence to process as the test results give us more clues.

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