Partners in Crime: Integrating Language Arts and Forensic Science, Grades 5-8

By E.K. Hein

Book Overview

Partners in Crime offers middle school teachers an innovative and highly entertaining resource for integrating language arts and science strategies that will challenge students while meeting standardized learning goals. With a creative approach of focusing on the practical application of critical thinking, problem solving, and prose nonfiction expression, Partners in Crime engages your students by asking them to solve a crime using the skills of forensic science while simultaneously teaching them key concepts in language arts. As flexible as it is creative, Partners in Crime can be used for a variety of classroom settings whether as a single activity, weekly lesson, full unit, or school and community project. The activities in Partners in Crime can also help you build teamwork by tapping into your school community, resources, and technology. Throughout the book, your students are encouraged to conduct original research and challenged to draw conclusions based upon their ability to weigh evidence. Partners in Crime also contains suggestions for helping you and your students make connections with local law enforcement that will provide support for deeper understanding of the exercises. The book is filled with ideas for encouraging students to create written reports, presentations, and producing films and videos. The book also includes activities and guidelines for benchmarking student performance during and after the each unit.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787969931
• ISBN13: 9780787969936
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great for Homeschooling

This is an excellent elective addition to our homeschooling. Well writen, clear and intereesting.

Review of 'Partners in Crime' by Erik Hein

Forensic Science for students has become a very hot item. This book, as a part of the growing collection of available materials for teachers, offers an interesting way to approach this topic. This book is targeted to help middle school teachers, and their students, become familiar with real-world forensic techniques. Some of the topics include toxicology, tool marks, fingerprinting, fiber and hair analysis, and more. What is even more exciting is the unique approach to how students learn. Not only are there suggested hands-on science activities but there is a strong interdisciplinary connection to langauage arts. The author provides a format that encourages students to write while they learn. They build their vocabulary and keep an investigative journal. As an added bonus, the suggested materials list for activities are items that can easily be acquired. Lastly there is a continuing mystery to be solved and each chapter provides another segment towards the solution of that mystery. All in all, this book is a must have for those who want to learn and teach students from upper elementary to high school.