Crime Scene Math Investigations

This past week was AMAZING!  After my visit to the Ron Clark Academy, I feel rejuvenated and ready to "Set the Stage to Engage." This past week we were able to flip an extra room in our building to be a crime scene.  I deputized our first and second graders. [I will be adding a kindergarten version of this soon] We were dressed with detective hats and badges. Then I took them to the crime scene.  Students were grouped into 3 to 4 students per group and went through the following stations.  First was the cold cases.  Students had to find the clues in word problems to solve the word problem.

Station 2 Students were adding up money at the "evidence locker". Students were able to check their work by scanning QR Code.

 

Station 3: Students had to diffuse a bomb.  I took yarn and zigzagged it across an area. Then I put some mental math problems for them to gather as they make their way through laser field.  The goal was to make it through the laser field answering math facts before the bomb (timer) goes off. 

 

Station 4: The line up is where students have to solve to find the true suspect. 

 

Station 5: This was our crime scene.  I put down butcher paper and added foot prints and a chain knocked over with stuffed animals and play food tossed about.  I also added a crazy creature body taped off. Students looked for the evidence tents with flashlights to work on place value and expanded form. 

 In the last station students worked on more word problems.  The word problems were written backwards so they had to use a mirror to read,  There were problems also written small so they needed a magnifying glass to read. 

Here is a short walk through of our Crime room:

 We had so much fun with this unit.  Students spent about 10-12 minutes per station.  I hope you will try doing this or something like it because the excitement in the eyes of the students is amazing. What is more amazing was the learning that was going on and how engaged each student was.  I put together all the stations in one unit here.

I also used some signs from The Engaging Station 

She has some good ELA investigations if you want to move your CSI towards ELA.