Grade 7 Students Finish Genetics Unit With a CSI-Style Investigation

Students in grade 7 life science applied their studies of genetics into a fun, problem-solving activity as crime scene investigators. 

Middle School science teacher Eric Harrington turned his classroom into the scene of a mysterious fictitious crime, which required students to understand how blood typing, DNA fingerprinting, fingerprint pattern analysis, hair analysis and impression evidence leads to problem-solving and paint a picture of who was responsible. 

“It is their task to apply the genetics content along with problem-solving skills to solve the crime,” Mr. Harrington said. 

This year the crime scene was displayed both in the classroom and digitally on the website Thinglink, which allowed Mr. Harrington to make an interactive digital scene that students could use to investigate and analyze evidence.