Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work

Build Background

Discuss what students already know about forensic scientists and crime scene investigators.
Create a KWL chart on the board and hand out the KWL worksheet to students. Review or explain that the K stands for knowledge we know, the W stands for questions we want to have answered, and the L stands for the knowledge we learned. Fill in the first column (K) with information students already know about forensic science. Have students complete the same section of their KWL chart.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

Give students a copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
Preview the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title of book, author's name.)
Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Ask students what they expect to read about based on the chapter titles in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

Discuss with students how asking questions about a topic before reading and looking for answers as they read will help them understand and remember what they read.
Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and the way in which it is organized.
Review or explain that the index contains an alphabetized list of topics in the book and page numbers that tell where to find information about each topic.
Model how to use the index to think of questions.
Think-aloud: I can use the index to think of questions I'd like to have answered about forensic scientists. For example, one entry listed is Sherlock Holmes. This makes me wonder if Sherlock Holmes was a forensic scientist. I think this is a good question. I'll write it in the middle column of the KWL chart.
Ask students to share questions they have about forensic scientists based on the covers, the table of contents, and the index. Write their questions about forensic scientists in the W column of the KWL chart on the board. Have students also write these questions on their KWL chart.
Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos, captions, glossary, and Stop and Think questions. Explain that investigators at a crime scene look at numerous pieces of evidence to solve a crime. As new evidence is presented, new questions are raised. Encourage students to use clues in the book and the Stop and Think questions to ask and answer questions as they read.
Have students record their questions on their chart.
As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Make inferences

Explain that not all the information in a book is directly stated. Sometimes readers need to make inferences by using details in the story to understand the indirect language used. Explain that an inference is a conclusion drawn by connecting clues in text to information already known. Making inferences allow readers to understand ideas in text on a deeper level.
Ask students to turn to page 7 and read the Stop and Think question. Invite students to share what an investigator might find out about a person from clothes or from clues on their clothing (items inside pockets, stains on the outside, and so on). Discuss with students that clues found on items such as clothing allow investigators to make inferences about a suspect in a crime.
Think-aloud: As I look at my clothing, I see chalk dust on my shirt. Inside my pants pocket is a note from a parent and an attendance slip. An investigator might infer that based on the clues, I am a teacher.

Introduce Vocabulary

As students preview the book, ask them to discuss what they see in the photographs. Reinforce vocabulary words they will encounter in the text.
Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word deduction on page 6. Explain that students can look at the letter the word begins with and then use what they know about syllables and vowels (one vowel sound per syllable) to sound out the rest of the word. Have them first look for a clue to the word's meaning in the sentence containing the unfamiliar word. Point out that clues are sometimes found in nearby sentences. Have students follow along on page 6 as you read the sentence with the word deduction.
Model how students can use the glossary, or a dictionary, to find a word's meaning. Have a volunteer read the definition for deduction in the glossary to confirm the meaning of the word.
As necessary, preview other vocabulary, such as suspect, page 4; convict, page 4; and informers, page 5 in a similar fashion before students begin reading.
Have students preview the rest of the book.
For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about forensic scientists and crime scene investigation. Have them write what they learned in the L column of their KWL chart.

During Reading

Student Reading

Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 11. Remind them to read for information about forensic scientists that will answer questions on their KWL chart. Encourage students who finish early to go back and reread.

When they have finished reading, have students circle any questions on their KWL chart that were answered and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Have them write on their KWL chart any additional questions they generated as they read.

Model answering a question on the KWL chart and filling in additional information.
Think-aloud: I wanted to know if Sherlock Holmes was a forensic scientist and if he was a real or fictional character. I found out that he was a fictional detective who was one of the first to use forensic science. I'll write what I learned in the L column of my KWL chart. I also read how many years ago, evidence found on
a pair of overalls was used to help investigators find a crime suspect. This made me want to know more about the types of forensic science investigators use today to solve crimes. I will write this question in the W column of my KWL chart.
Check for understanding: Have students write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book. Based on the information in the book, ask students to infer why the thieves would empty out their apartment (they must know that police will use items in the apartment as evidence to figure out who committed the crime). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (police gather trace evidence, very little evidence is needed to discover a suspect's identity, and so on). Introduce and explain the make inferences worksheet, and have them record this information on their worksheet.
Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their KWL chart questions and use information learned in each case to make inferences. Encourage them to add new questions they might have to their chart as they read.

Have students make a question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read the word and figure out its meaning.

After Reading

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps them interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find the answers to their questions and helps them understand and remember what they have read.

Have students circle the questions on their KWL chart that were answered by reading the book and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Then have them write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart.

Think-aloud: I wanted to know more about the types of forensic science investigators use today. I found out that investigators classify fingerprints and make DNA profiles to identify suspects more quickly and accurately.
Invite students to share the information they learned and what additional questions they generated as they read the book.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

Discussion: Ask students to reread page 15. Ask what can be inferred about the condition of the evidence (it is difficult to find, it is burned or in very small pieces, and so on). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (the CSIs had several city blocks covered in thousands of tins of rubble, an explosion can create tiny pieces of an object, and so on). Have them record this information on their make inferences worksheet.
Independent practice: Have students reread page 19 in their book. Ask them to think about what can be inferred about why no fingerprints were found in the office (the robber knew police would look for fingerprints, the robber wore gloves, the robber wiped the office clean of fingerprints). Have students complete the make inferences worksheet by recording their answer on their worksheet. When they have finished, discuss their answers as a group.

Extend the discussion: Have students turn to page 22 in their book and review the information on the page. Have them use the inside front cover of their book to list deductions investigators might make by looking at tire tread marks or a shoe print.

Build Skills

Grammar and Mechanics: Possessives

Have students turn to page 21 in their book. Read aloud the sentence Police hoped to gather DNA evidence from the robber's stocking. Ask students to whom the stocking belongs (the robber). Point out that the 's at the end of robber's shows possession, or ownership. Have students find the possessive word in the second paragraph (body's) and explain what belongs to the body (the cells).
Review or explain that a contraction using 's is not the same as a possessive. For example, it's is a contraction for it is, and does not show ownership.
Have students turn to page 6 and find the possessive in the second paragraph (Holmes's). Point out that the 's follows the name even though the last letter is
an s. Have a volunteer explain what belongs to Holmes (the deduction).
Have students turn to page 9 and find the two possessives in the last paragraph (overalls' and owner's). Point out that the apostrophe is found after the s in overalls. Explain that saying overalls's doesn't sound right; therefore there is not an extra s after the word.

Check for understanding: Have students circle the possessives in the book and underline the items that each owns (page 4: man's shoes; page 5: detective's home; page 6: Holmes's deduction; page 9: overall's size, owner's age; page 10: Roy's house, Neighbors' descriptions; page 12: thieves' hands; page 13: Henry's system; page 14: thieves' apartment; page 16: truck's axle, clerk's description; page 18: Locard's Principle, world's first lab, today's scientists; page 19: robber's mask, woman's stocking; page 20: Pearson's trial, robber's mask; page 21: body's cells, robber's stocking).

Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the possessives worksheet. Discuss student responses once everyone has finished working independently.

Word Work: Abbreviations

Have students turn to page 14. Ask them to find the abbreviation CSI and state its meaning. Point out that on the next page, the author refers to them as CSIs instead of writing out the whole phrase (crime scene investigators). Review or explain that an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, such as Mr. for Mister. Ask why the author uses an abbreviation for CSI (easier to read, easier to remember).
Have students turn to page 20 and find another abbreviation (DNA). Challenge them to find out what DNA is short for. (In the glossary, DNA is identified as deoxyribonucleic acid.) Ask students why the author might have used the abbreviation for this term (because the long version is difficult to pronounce).
Check for understanding: Ask students to list other three-letter abbreviations they know, such as FBI, HBO, and so on. List them on the board along with the phrases they are short for (Federal Bureau of Investigations, Home Box Office).

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section of the book.

Home Connection

Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students investigate a room in their home with someone at home. Have them use evidence gathered to make an inference about what events may have taken place previously.

Extend the Reading

Writing and Art Connection
Have students write their own versions of a Sherlock Holmes detective story. Have them write about a crime that had been committed and left as a mystery, just as the Case Files were described in the book. Have them make Sherlock Holmes the hero as they describe the forensic science he used to solve the mystery.

Science and Social Studies Connection
Provide print and Internet resources for students to research either the history or the future of forensic science. Have them find and list the many ways a case can be solved and the different types of evidence that can be used to convict criminals.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

consistently ask relevant questions about the topic prior to and during reading; locate answers to their questions in the text and understand that not all answers are found in one source
use story clues and prior knowledge to make inferences while reading and on a worksheet
recognize possessives in text and use them to complete a worksheet
identify abbreviations in the text and explain what they stand for during discussion

Comprehension Checks

Go to "Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work" main page


Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work Level X About the Book Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational Page Count: 24 Word Count: 1,897 Book Summary Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work is an informational book about the science of analyzing types of evidence found at crime scenes. The book provides a historical overview of the first forensic scientists in the early 1900s. Four case files give readers the opportunity to see modern forensic science at work, ranging from DNA testing to fingerprint analysis. Photographs and diagrams support the text. About the Lesson Targeted Reading Strategy Ask and answer questions Objectives Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions while reading Make inferences Recognize and use possessives Identify and fluently read abbreviations Materials Book -- Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work (copy for each student) Chalkboard or dry erase board KWL, make inferences, possessives worksheets Indicates an opportunity for student to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reusable.) Vocabulary Content words: convict, crime lab, crime scene, crime scene investigator, deduction, DNA, DNA profile, Exchange Principle, eyewitnesses, fingerprints, forensic science, informers, microscopic, suspect, trace evidence, vehicle identification number, victim Before Reading Build Background Discuss what students already know about forensic scientists and crime scene investigators. Create a KWL chart on the board and hand out the KWL worksheet to students. Review or explain that the K stands for knowledge we know, the W stands for questions we want to have answered, and the L stands for the knowledge we learned. Fill in the first column (K) with information students already know about forensic science. Have students complete the same section of their KWL chart. Preview the Book Introduce the Book Give students a copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about. Preview the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title of book, author's name.) Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Ask students what they expect to read about based on the chapter titles in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.) Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions Discuss with students how asking questions about a topic before reading and looking for answers as they read will help them understand and remember what they read. Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and the way in which it is organized. Review or explain that the index contains an alphabetized list of topics in the book and page numbers that tell where to find information about each topic. Model how to use the index to think of questions. Think-aloud: I can use the index to think of questions I'd like to have answered about forensic scientists. For example, one entry listed is Sherlock Holmes. This makes me wonder if Sherlock Holmes was a forensic scientist. I think this is a good question. I'll write it in the middle column of the KWL chart. Ask students to share questions they have about forensic scientists based on the covers, the table of contents, and the index. Write their questions about forensic scientists in the W column of the KWL chart on the board. Have students also write these questions on their KWL chart. Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos, captions, glossary, and Stop and Think questions. Explain that investigators at a crime scene look at numerous pieces of evidence to solve a crime. As new evidence is presented, new questions are raised. Encourage students to use clues in the book and the Stop and Think questions to ask and answer questions as they read. Have students record their questions on their chart. As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here. Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Make inferences Explain that not all the information in a book is directly stated. Sometimes readers need to make inferences by using details in the story to understand the indirect language used. Explain that an inference is a conclusion drawn by connecting clues in text to information already known. Making inferences allow readers to understand ideas in text on a deeper level. Ask students to turn to page 7 and read the Stop and Think question. Invite students to share what an investigator might find out about a person from clothes or from clues on their clothing (items inside pockets, stains on the outside, and so on). Discuss with students that clues found on items such as clothing allow investigators to make inferences about a suspect in a crime. Think-aloud: As I look at my clothing, I see chalk dust on my shirt. Inside my pants pocket is a note from a parent and an attendance slip. An investigator might infer that based on the clues, I am a teacher. Introduce Vocabulary As students preview the book, ask them to discuss what they see in the photographs. Reinforce vocabulary words they will encounter in the text. Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word deduction on page 6. Explain that students can look at the letter the word begins with and then use what they know about syllables and vowels (one vowel sound per syllable) to sound out the rest of the word. Have them first look for a clue to the word's meaning in the sentence containing the unfamiliar word. Point out that clues are sometimes found in nearby sentences. Have students follow along on page 6 as you read the sentence with the word deduction. Model how students can use the glossary, or a dictionary, to find a word's meaning. Have a volunteer read the definition for deduction in the glossary to confirm the meaning of the word. As necessary, preview other vocabulary, such as suspect, page 4; convict, page 4; and informers, page 5 in a similar fashion before students begin reading. Have students preview the rest of the book. For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here. Set the Purpose Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about forensic scientists and crime scene investigation. Have them write what they learned in the L column of their KWL chart. During Reading Student Reading Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 11. Remind them to read for information about forensic scientists that will answer questions on their KWL chart. Encourage students who finish early to go back and reread. When they have finished reading, have students circle any questions on their KWL chart that were answered and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Have them write on their KWL chart any additional questions they generated as they read. Model answering a question on the KWL chart and filling in additional information. Think-aloud: I wanted to know if Sherlock Holmes was a forensic scientist and if he was a real or fictional character. I found out that he was a fictional detective who was one of the first to use forensic science. I'll write what I learned in the L column of my KWL chart. I also read how many years ago, evidence found on a pair of overalls was used to help investigators find a crime suspect. This made me want to know more about the types of forensic science investigators use today to solve crimes. I will write this question in the W column of my KWL chart. Check for understanding: Have students write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book. Based on the information in the book, ask students to infer why the thieves would empty out their apartment (they must know that police will use items in the apartment as evidence to figure out who committed the crime). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (police gather trace evidence, very little evidence is needed to discover a suspect's identity, and so on). Introduce and explain the make inferences worksheet, and have them record this information on their worksheet. Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their KWL chart questions and use information learned in each case to make inferences. Encourage them to add new questions they might have to their chart as they read. Have students make a question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read the word and figure out its meaning. After Reading Reflect on the Reading Strategy Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues. Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps them interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find the answers to their questions and helps them understand and remember what they have read. Have students circle the questions on their KWL chart that were answered by reading the book and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Then have them write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart. Think-aloud: I wanted to know more about the types of forensic science investigators use today. I found out that investigators classify fingerprints and make DNA profiles to identify suspects more quickly and accurately. Invite students to share the information they learned and what additional questions they generated as they read the book. Reflect on the Comprehension Skill Discussion: Ask students to reread page 15. Ask what can be inferred about the condition of the evidence (it is difficult to find, it is burned or in very small pieces, and so on). Have students share the story clues and prior knowledge they used to make that inference (the CSIs had several city blocks covered in thousands of tins of rubble, an explosion can create tiny pieces of an object, and so on). Have them record this information on their make inferences worksheet. Independent practice: Have students reread page 19 in their book. Ask them to think about what can be inferred about why no fingerprints were found in the office (the robber knew police would look for fingerprints, the robber wore gloves, the robber wiped the office clean of fingerprints). Have students complete the make inferences worksheet by recording their answer on their worksheet. When they have finished, discuss their answers as a group. Extend the discussion: Have students turn to page 22 in their book and review the information on the page. Have them use the inside front cover of their book to list deductions investigators might make by looking at tire tread marks or a shoe print. Build Skills Grammar and Mechanics: Possessives Have students turn to page 21 in their book. Read aloud the sentence Police hoped to gather DNA evidence from the robber's stocking. Ask students to whom the stocking belongs (the robber). Point out that the 's at the end of robber's shows possession, or ownership. Have students find the possessive word in the second paragraph (body's) and explain what belongs to the body (the cells). Review or explain that a contraction using 's is not the same as a possessive. For example, it's is a contraction for it is, and does not show ownership. Have students turn to page 6 and find the possessive in the second paragraph (Holmes's). Point out that the 's follows the name even though the last letter is an s. Have a volunteer explain what belongs to Holmes (the deduction). Have students turn to page 9 and find the two possessives in the last paragraph (overalls' and owner's). Point out that the apostrophe is found after the s in overalls. Explain that saying overalls's doesn't sound right; therefore there is not an extra s after the word. Check for understanding: Have students circle the possessives in the book and underline the items that each owns (page 4: man's shoes; page 5: detective's home; page 6: Holmes's deduction; page 9: overall's size, owner's age; page 10: Roy's house, Neighbors' descriptions; page 12: thieves' hands; page 13: Henry's system; page 14: thieves' apartment; page 16: truck's axle, clerk's description; page 18: Locard's Principle, world's first lab, today's scientists; page 19: robber's mask, woman's stocking; page 20: Pearson's trial, robber's mask; page 21: body's cells, robber's stocking). Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the possessives worksheet. Discuss student responses once everyone has finished working independently. Word Work: Abbreviations Have students turn to page 14. Ask them to find the abbreviation CSI and state its meaning. Point out that on the next page, the author refers to them as CSIs instead of writing out the whole phrase (crime scene investigators). Review or explain that an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, such as Mr. for Mister. Ask why the author uses an abbreviation for CSI (easier to read, easier to remember). Have students turn to page 20 and find another abbreviation (DNA). Challenge them to find out what DNA is short for. (In the glossary, DNA is identified as deoxyribonucleic acid.) Ask students why the author might have used the abbreviation for this term (because the long version is difficult to pronounce). Check for understanding: Ask students to list other three-letter abbreviations they know, such as FBI, HBO, and so on. List them on the board along with the phrases they are short for (Federal Bureau of Investigations, Home Box Office). Build Fluency Independent Reading Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section of the book. Home Connection Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students investigate a room in their home with someone at home. Have them use evidence gathered to make an inference about what events may have taken place previously. Extend the Reading Writing and Art Connection Have students write their own versions of a Sherlock Holmes detective story. Have them write about a crime that had been committed and left as a mystery, just as the Case Files were described in the book. Have them make Sherlock Holmes the hero as they describe the forensic science he used to solve the mystery. Science and Social Studies Connection Provide print and Internet resources for students to research either the history or the future of forensic science. Have them find and list the many ways a case can be solved and the different types of evidence that can be used to convict criminals. Assessment Monitor students to determine if they can: consistently ask relevant questions about the topic prior to and during reading; locate answers to their questions in the text and understand that not all answers are found in one source use story clues and prior knowledge to make inferences while reading and on a worksheet recognize possessives in text and use them to complete a worksheet identify abbreviations in the text and explain what they stand for during discussion Comprehension Checks Book Quiz Retelling Rubric Go to "Seeing the Evidence: Forensic Scientists at Work" main page
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