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The Rhino Case: A Conservation Mystery

This is the first of three Claim,

Evidence, Reasoning activities for

The Rhino Case: A Conservation Mystery

In this activity you begin with a Question.

“Who killed the Customs Agent”?

Teachers: Make a copy of this google slide presentation

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Student Directions

This google slide presentation has been set up in slideshow mode.

Hover over each page until a hand icon appears. Click on the hand for more information.

Hover over the Crime Scene (Slide #4) until a hand icon appears. Click on the hand icon. You will be sent to another slide with evidence, personal information and clues, all geared to help you solve the crime.

Many of the slides will have a “Go Back To Crime Scene” button. Click this button to go back to the Crime Scene.

Use Slide #22 to take notes about your observations, discovered data and evidence, personal information and forensic analysis.

Answer questions on slide #5 and complete slides #23, #24, #25 and #27 as directed by your teacher.

Warning! You must click on the hand icon when it appears on each slide. Clicking on other areas of the slide will simply take you to the next slide.

Learning Goals

Practice using claim, evidence, and reasoning.
Strengthen logical thinking and teamwork.
Explore forensic science and text-based evidence.

Carefully read the Crime report and observe the suspects on the following slide.

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Part One - Who Killed the Customs Agent?

Next, look at the crime scene. Be observant! There are 12 Hotspots to help you.

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Clues

You notice that there is a hand print on the Screen. You also notice that the cash register has rung up a bill for $81.23 (See slide #10).

Next, you look closely at the place settings at the bar. Also notice who sits at seat #1,#2,#3,#4 and #5.

Questions:

Is the shooter right or left handed?
Do any of the guests at the bar know one another?
Who do the fingerprints on the bullet casing and silencer belong?
Who do the footprints around the dead customs agent belong?

or

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Crime Scene Footprints

You study the three different shoe prints at the crime scene. You discover the shoe size for each shoe print in the crime lab reports. Your teacher informs you that a person’s shoe size is roughly 15% of their height.

7 ft.

4 ft.

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Crime Scene Fingerprint and Bullet Analysis clues

You notice that there are several suspicious items at the crime scene and some of which have fingerprints on them. You study the Crime Scene Fingerprint analysis. Make sure that you find all of the fingerprints!

Go Back To Crime Scene

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Carefully examine each of the suspects to discover important information that will help solve the crimes. You notice each suspects height, teeth description, blood type and a short bio. Here you have the Blood Analysis and Teeth Impression analysis crime reports.

Go Back To Crime Scene

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Now review the hair and footprint analysis to find clues.

Go Back To Crime Scene

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The Bartender, Place settings and Receipts

Go Back To Crime Scene

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The Place Settings

Be observant! What’s the difference?

Go Back To The Bar

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Carefully examine each of the following slides of each of the suspects to discover important information that will help solve the first crime. You notice each suspect’s finger print, height, teeth description, seat # (if applicable), blood type and a short bio. Here are images of the first seven suspects. There are five more suspects starting on slide 31.

Now let’s meet the Suspects

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Go Back to Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

.

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Go Back To Crime Center

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Go Back To Crime Scene

🔎 A Shadowy Choice…

Just as you finish reading about Sheik Abdul, a shadow moves across the corridor.A stranger steps forward, cloaked in gray and speaking in a low voice:“You’ve seen enough. There’s no need to go further,” they say, dropping a heavy satchel at your feet.

“Inside are gold coins. Rare. Untraceable. You and your friends could disappear and live well. All I ask is this—walk away.”Your heart races. You glance back at the other clues.

Will you accept the bribe and stay silent?� Or will you refuse and fight for justice?

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Now it’s your turn.

Write your evidence from observations, research and forensics on Investigative Notes #1.

Write your Claim, Evidence and Reasoning on the Investigative Notes #2.

Answer all questions and fill in the Table on slide #23 Write Final Investigative Report ( #25)

CHECK OFF THE CER CHECKLIST BELOW:

CLAIM
___ Does the claim answer the question? ___ The claim should only answer the question. ___ Does the claim lack an explanation or reasoning? ___ Is the claim more than a "yes" or "no" answer? ___ Is the claim a complete sentence?

EVIDENCE
___ Is each piece of evidence relevant to the claim? ___ Is there enough evidence listed to support the claim? ___ The evidence should lack any explanation or reasoning. Is each piece of evidence strictly an observation or data from the lab? ___ Is the evidence listed specific and not vague or a generalization?

REASONING
___ Is there a justification how each piece of evidence supports the claim? ___ The reasoning should not simply repeat the evidence. Is there a link between the evidence and claim provided? ___ Does the science principle explain why the evidence supports the claim? ___ Is the reasoning written in complete sentences?

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Investigative Note #1


The Forensic Analysis

Observation Notes:

Your crime

scene observations.

Your research

To explain the evidence.

Evidence Notes:

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Questions and CER Table

1. Which hand did the shooter use to fire the gun? What is the evidence? What is the reasoning?

2. Did customers sitting at seat #1, #2 and #5 know each other? What is the evidence / reasoning?

3. How are the habits of the individuals sitting at the bar differ? What is the evidence / reasoning?

4. Who do the footprints belong to? What is the evidence? What is the reasoning?

5. Who killed the Customs agent? How do you know?

6. Outline all of the evidence and reasoning necessary to support this claim in the Table below:

Claim Evidence Reasoning

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Write your claim, your evidence and your reasoning

Claim:

Accurate Complete

? ?

Reasoning:
Evidence:	Evidence:	Evidence:

Reasoning connects (chains) your evidence to your Claim.

Investigative Notes #2

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Final Investigative Report

Put your CER into a paragraph

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Post CER Activity

Discussion Questions

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Post Discussion Activity - Case of the Rhino Slayer Part One

After each student group shares their CER with the class, the class engages in a round of debates. Finally the students will answer the following questions:

What was the easiest part of this activity?

What was the most difficult part of this activity?

Could you identify the guilty suspect with only one piece of evidence?

Compare the Scientific Method with Claim, Evidence and Reasoning. How are they different? How are they similar?

How would you make this activity better? What would you change? Eliminate? Add?

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Explanations, Prompts

and

Rubric

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CLAIM, EVIDENCE AND REASONING Explanations and prompt examples

THE QUESTION: First decide what is the question that you would like to have answered.

THE CLAIM: The Claim answers the question. The claim communicates what you think, using science based academic language. You may use one of the following statements as a sentence frame to help you get started:

Example: The Customs agent was……….

Example: Based on observations, research and forensic evidence, the Customs agent was……….

THE EVIDENCE:

Your observations = record what you see at the crime scene.

Forensic evidence = Record all crime scene lab results/data

Research = Gather information related to the question and your claim. Use the following sentence frames:

Example: According to the crime report ……….

Example: It was discovered through research that ……….

THE REASONING: Link Evidence to the Claim. Explain how/why does the evidence supports the claim.

Example: This supports the claim because ……….

This is important because……….

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The Rhino Case: A Conservation Mystery Rubric

	0	1	2	3
Claim		Claim is scientifically correct and complete
Evidence		Does not provide evidence, or only provides evidence that does not support claim.	Provides appropriate but insufficient evidence to support claim or also includes some inappropriate evidence.	Provides appropriate and sufficient evidence to support Claim.
Reasoning: Completeness		Does not provide reasoning, or only provides irrelevant evidence	Some attempt is made to relate evidence to underlying principles, but there are missing pieces.	All of the ideas necessary to link the evidence to the claim are included.
Reasoning: Accuracy		The links between the evidence and the claim are based on incorrect ideas.	Evidence is tied to the claim by scientific principles established in the class. Some ideas are incorrect.	The evidence is tied to the claim by scientific principles established in the class, AND there are NO extra ideas that are incorrect.

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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Go Back To Crime Scene

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