Description
Teach your students Forensic Entomology! Learn to measure fly maggots and figure out the post-mortem interval (time since death). Students learn from 12 interactive Google Slides, recording what they learn on the provided Notes Sheet. The Google Slides are student independent – no direct instruction is needed.
Slides teach students:
- The life cycle of a fly
- Important forensic details about four species of flies
- The impact of temperature on the life cycle of a fly
- How to measure maggots / pupa to figure out the age of a maggot
- Using a fly growth chart to determine the PMI
Forensic Entomology Slides build up student’s skills, asking them to:
- Drag and drop elements
- Circle the right answer
- Fill in the blank
- Complete short answer questions
Then students are ready to test their Forensic Entomology skills! Seventeen Entomology Activity slides challenge students with five cases to solve. They have a jar of maggots which they drag to a digital ruler and measure. Using the provided fly growth chart, case information, and temperature data, they figure out the post mortem interval.
This activity is appropriate for even more sensitive students – there are no actual photos of decaying corpses.
NO PREP! Full answer keys are provided for the learning slides and the activity slides.
A teacher guide is included with tips for how to best use the resource, sharing the slides, and ideas to make grading easier!
Click here to see a preview of the Forensic Entomology notes and activity.
Here is what some happy teachers are saying about the Forensic Entomology notes and activity.
This was a great addition to my forensics unit. Students were thoroughly engaged. – Lauren S. April 28, 2023
I really love the self-guided learning slides and the activity. It makes easy for prep and I can focus on going around to help students. – Ms Montgomery January 5, 2022
I first purchased this activity as I struggled to create a more engaging entomology for students learning remotely. IT IS WONDERFUL! The interactive nature of the activity keeps students engaged as they learn to identify stages of development, estimate PMI, and make adjustments for temperature differences. I plan to keep this activity as part of my usual in-person entomology unit for years to come. – Shannon V. May 30, 2021
Thank you for making my life easier! I was struggling to cut out pipe cleaner insects…this worked for remote and in-person students. – Amy B. August 4, 2021
