Description

Everything you need to teach Forensic DNA Evidence! NO PREP! DNA Evidence teaching slides, notes sheets, DNA Fingerprinting Digital Model activity, and Project!

DNA Evidence Lesson:

Forty one Google Slides! Topics covered:

• What is DNA?
• Where can DNA be found at a crime scene?
• How is DNA Evidence collected and stored?
• History of DNA Evidence
• What is the value of DNA as evidence?
• Limitations of DNA evidence
• Steps for making a DNA Fingerprint
• Using DNA when there is no body
• Post Conviction DNA Testing – mention of the Innocence Project

Four page notes sheet: gives your students a chance to write down what they learn. Same notes sheets are also provided digitally in a Google Slide set for students to compete digitally!

 

Model DNA Fingerprinting:

Your students will walk through the three steps of making a DNA Fingerprint. Then they use what they learned to create four DNA Fingerprints to solve a murder case!

All learning and instructions for the activity are included on the slides for them – truly no prep! Students can complete the activity on their own – or work in pairs.

Interactive Slides Activity includes:

• How are DNA Fingerprints Made?
• DNA Fingerprinting Notes
• DNA Fingerprinting Review
• Complete Answer Key
• Teacher Guide for how to use the activity

 

The Innocence Project:

This project demonstrates the power of DNA as Forensic evidence. It will give students the chance to learn about the work of the Innocence Project: a non-profit group that helps people who have been wrongfully imprisoned. The Innocence Project has led to nearly 400 people being released from prison, some of them even from death row.

Most of the exonerations are due to post-conviction DNA testing, which was not available at the time of the trial. The Innocence Project obtains stored evidence from the case and, if possible, tests for DNA. If the DNA does not match the convicted individual – they must be innocent!

Their website lays out six different reasons that innocent people are convicted of crimes:

• Government Misconduct
• Bad Lawyering
• Improper Forensics
• Informants (snitches)
• False Confessions
• Faulty Eyewitnesses Testimony

Students will use the information from the Innocence Project website to learn about their given topic, the strategies for preventing wrongful convictions per their topic, and one actual Case of a person who was wrongfully convicted due to their topic. Students will create a Google Slide presentation with all of this information, and share it with the class.

As a wrap up activity, the class can watch a CBS news video (30 minutes long), the amazing story of Ronald Cotton, a man who was wrongfully convicted of rape, and freed with help of the Innocence Project.

Each part of this resource has printable and digital copies – so it can easily be modified for in class and virtual learning use.

What is included:

• Google Slides Introduction to the Innocence Project
• Digital Sign Up Sheet
• Printable Rubrics for all six topics
• Google Slides Templates for all six topics
• Digital and Printable Student Notes
• Digital and Printable Student Notes for the Case of Ronald Cotton – An amazing story! Watch it HERE!
• Comprehensive Teaching Guide – four pages of instructions on how to best use this resource! Easy to use, no guessing!

 

DNA Evidence Review Game

A super fun whole-class review game that allows teams to compete against each other with some wacky twists and turns! Perfect review for the Unit Test.

 

Unit Test

Twenty five multiple choice questions on a fully editable, self grading Google Form

 

All resources are edible!

 

Click HERE to see the full Pacing Guide and know how this resource fits into the whole Forensic Science Curriculum.

 

Here are what some Happy Teachers have to say about this DNA Evidence Bundle in our Teachers Pay Teachers store:

As of now, I have purchased every Forensic Science bundle created by this imaginative seller. Excellent product and so very easy to implement.          – S. Johnson            March 23, 2023

My kids loved this activity. We tied it into a blood typing kit I bought from Fisher Scientific and adding a blood type question to the activity. They were amazing.            – S.S.           February 21, 2022

Once again, a literal hit-out-of-the-park! When you cannot be live for in-person labs, the digital Forensic Science resources Science of Curiosity makes are the next BEST thing! I keep coming back for more! The kids love the lessons, and learn so much from them. I am super impressed. Worth every penny and then some.             – Sarah K.       April 27, 2021

Excellent set of resources to teach a difficult concept remotely. The information was clearly laid out, the activity was surprisingly well done (I had no idea you could do such things!!). Extremely pleased and will definitely purchase more resources from this seller again!               – Ms. Hamilton         January 12, 2021