Description
This is the best forensics resource ever! Clear instructions, super easy to use … Every student I have taught with this curriculum is super engaged and loves the class, how could you not! Seriously, can’t say enough good things about this resource, you get a lot for your money. – Lily M
This is a ‘turn-key’ Curriculum! Ready to use right away!
- A full and detailed Pacing Guide (Click HERE to see it!)
- Student / Parent Letter and Course Description to hand out on the first day of class
- List of NGSS Standards aligned to each Forensics Unit
Curriculum Sample:
Click here for a sample of the Interactive Google Slides and notes to see how the curriculum is designed! This link will prompt you to make a copy of the sample slides so that you can interact with them like your students will.
How Students Learn with this Forensics Curriculum:
Each unit provides your students with Interactive Google Slides, that ask them to drag and drop, label, sort objects, watch video clips and answer questions. These can be 100% student led, or used for lecture, or a combination of both!
As they go though the Slides, students complete guided notes. These are not just fill in the black, copy and paste! The notes ask meaningful questions about what they are learning, and act as another way for students to use the content they are learning from the slides. Everything students need to complete the notes is included in the Slides!
Once students have completed the notes, they are ready to use their new skills! Units include sets of Interactive Google Slides that allow them to find and manipulate evidence to solve cases. These are NO PREP and fully student led – just print the case sheets for them to complete as they move through the interactive slides!
Units also include hands-on labs using inexpensive, easy to find materials that you can use year after year. Teaching guides give detailed instructions for how to set up and execute the labs, often with multiple ideas depending on your time, budget, and student constraints.
Every unit comes with Google Forms review questions and assessments that are easily editable, and self grading! At the end of the year, give your students the ready-made Final Forensics Exam with 80 multiple choice questions covering every Unit.
This Curriculum Bundle also includes a curated list of Forensic Files episodes, organized by type of evidence. Make every Friday a Forensic File Friday and show your students how CSI find and analyze evidence on real cases! Students complete the provided true crime work sheet as they watch to keep them engaged and focused on the important parts of the episode.
Sprinkled throughout the Forensics Curriculum are six fun projects!
Six Projects: Full instructions and comprehensive Rubric included for each one!
- Forensic Careers Project – great intro to Forensic Science
- True Crime Book Project – read a true crime book, analyze it based on what is learned during the class, present your book and the evidence used in the case
- Explosives Project: (Part of Explosives Unit)
- Innocence Project (part of DNA Unit)
- Crime Scene Processing Project (part of Crime Scene Basics Unit)
- Create a Crime Scene Model! – great as a Final Project and assessment!
Eleven Full Units
Forensics Basics Unit:
- Interactive Google Slides + Student Notes
- CSI skills
- Eyewitness evidence
- Processing the crime scene
- Sketching the crime scene notes and activity
- Evidence collection notes and activity
- Crime scene photography notes and activity
- Crime Scene Processing Project!
- Review Game
- Unit Test
Trace Evidence: Hair and Fiber Unit
- Trace Evidence Introduction + Locard Exchange Activity!
- Human Hair Evidence – notes, slides, and review questions
- Human Hair Evidence Lab
- Animal Hair Evidence: Slides + Notes + Lab + Review
- Fiber Evidence Slides + Notes + Review
- Fiber Evidence Case Study: Wayne Williams
- Fiber Evidence Lab
- Fun Review Game: No Prep!
- Hair and Fiber Evidence Unit Test
Trace Evidence: Soil, Paint, Glass and Powder Unit
- Introduction to Soil Evidence + Case Studies
- Soil Evidence Slides, Notes and Review
- Soil Evidence Lab
- Paint Evidence Lesson: Slides, Notes, Activity, Lab, Review
- Glass Evidence Lesson: Slides, Notes, and Review
- Glass Evidence Lab: Slides, Notes, Review and Lab
- Powder Evidence Lesson: Slides, Notes, Lab, Review
- Fun Review Game: No Prep!
- Unit Test
Blood Spatter Unit:
- Blood typing teaching slides and notes
- Hands on blood type Lab (digital version as well!)
- Notes for Blood Spatter
- Blood spatter analysis activity
- Blood spatter lab
- Fun Blood Evidence Review Game
- Blood Evidence Unit Test
Fingerprints Unit:
- Bertillon System activity and introduction to fingerprints
- Fingerprints teaching slides, notes, review and activity
- Fingerprint collection teaching slides, notes , review and activity
- Learn more about fingerprints: Answer interesting questions like can a criminal alter his prints? How long do they last after death? Plus a mini-research project.
- Fun Review Game: No Prep!
- Unit Test
DNA Evidence Unit:
- Forensic DNA Evidence teaching slides and notes and review questions
- Make a digital DNA Fingerprint and solve a murder case!
- Innocence Project project! Student research and presentation
- Fun Review Game: No Prep!
- Unit Test
Firearm / Ballistics Evidence Unit:
- Ballistics Evidences teaching slides, notes and review questions
- Ballistics digital activity – collect and analyze evidence to solve a shooting case!
- Case Study: The Shooting of Trayvon Martin
- Case Study: The Shooting of JFK
- Fun Review Game: No Prep!
- Unit Test
Explosives Unit:
- Learn about the different types of explosives and what CSI can learn from evidence left behind
- Research an explosive crime event and present your findings to the class
- Unit Test
Tire Impression Evidence Unit:
- Teaching slides, notes and review questions
- Tire Impression matching activity
- Skid mark teaching slides, notes and digital activity
- Hand on tire track activity
- Unit Review Game
- Unit Test
Tool Marks, Footwear and Odontology Unit:
- Forensic Odontology and Bite Mark notes, review, video guide, and activity
- Footwear Impression teaching notes, review and multiple activities
- Tool Marks Evidence teaching notes, activities and review
- Impressions Unit Review Game
- Unit Test
Forensic Death Investigation Unit:
- Teaching slides, notes, activity and review
- Autopsy terms teaching slides, notes and play doh activity
- Autopsy Form activity
- Investigate and determine the time sense death activity
- Five stages of decay teaching slides and notes
- Secrets of the Body Farm video guide
- Forensic Entomology teaching slides, notes and activity
- Forensic Anthropology teaching slides, notes and activity
- Fun review game! No prep!
- Unit Test
Additional Resources and Topics Included:
- Forensics Final Exam: 80 multiple choice questions
- Arson Investigation activity
- Forensic Files Organized List – find the perfect episode by topic!
- True Crime notes sheet – perfect for students to complete while watching a True Crime video
All products in the High School Forensic Science Curriculum include a FULL KEY and Teaching Guide!
What some happy teachers are saying about this resource in our Teachers Pay Teachers store:
Thank you! I was assigned to teach Forensics this year and was so overwhelmed with sorting through topics to develop the curriculum. This bundle saved me! It has everything I need to teach a full year curriculum! So worth it!!! – Jan E.
My students are finishing up the Crime Scene Basics unit and at the beginning of the unit, I was concerned that they were bored to tears. I, thankfully, was completely wrong! They are wrapping up their videos and are having a blast! We even had our resource officer “arrest” the bad guys – wailing sirens and a chase and handcuffs and everything. SO much fun and engaging! They can’t wait until the next unit – they decided they wanted impressions next. Thank you for such a great curriculum and content! – Victoria W.
I love this bundle. My students, who are learners with various disabilities have been so engaged in the lessons. Participation has been excellent. The support from Science Curiosity has been top-notch! I recommend this bundle to EVERYONE!! – Lisa C.
This bundle is full of great activities for any forensics class. I like the planning documents that have links to all the products and an order to work through. I look forward to seeing the next activities that will be added to it. – Ms B.
I found that most students enjoy the mix of virtual and hands-on learning opportunities that this bundle provides! Each component is laid out clearly with specific teacher guides that help me plan my days. – Hannah G.
This resource finally filled all the gaps I could not fill using textbook resources in my new Forensics elective science class. It has made preparing every lesson a dream and students are super engaged for each activity. – Denise E.
This bundle is EVERYTHING you need! I am a secondary science teacher, I was assigned a new class this semester and simply didn’t have the time to create a curriculum from scratch. I purchased this hoping for the best…. and it has been SO much more than I even hoped for! The notes outlines for students make sense. The keys are helpful. The unit is organized and *ready to go*. There are interactive parts to every lesson. My students have LOVED everything that we have done so far. THANK YOU! I will be buying more from “Science of Curiosity”. – D.H.
This resource is AWESOME. I have gotten a lot of return on investment. Other forensic units out there are way more expensive for something that won’t cooperate with Google Docs. – Mr. R.
This is by far the best resource I have purchased from TpT . The lessons are complete and are very interactive. My students have enjoyed digging into the material through readings, videos, and interactive crime scenes. This has been a great addition to my Forensic Science Class! – Cathy E.
The resources are thorough and well organized. I love that there are assessments that go with each of the bundles. I love that I have the option of doing all work digitally, virtually, or in person. I’ve used a lot the digital resources as make up assignments for students who are absent. Being able to have all of these resources really cuts down on my prep time. These resources are also more rigorous than many of the other resources I have looked at. – Samantha C.
The effort and workmanship, with engaging videos and cases to solve, is amazing and such a help with my science classes. – Allison B.
