Forensics and Australia

Session 6 Weeks 2 and 3 Year 5

We hope everyone had a fun filled Mardi Gras break! Our heroes were excited to come back to school and see all of their friends. This week we started learning about Australia and the learners were able to watch “Back to the Outback” for Fun Friday! Our Elementary Studio was also broken up into squads for the remainder of the year and will compete against each other in fun challenges!

Two children in colorful costumes pose in the classroom during a Mardi Gras break

Children work at a table with crayons and paper in a classroom

A young hero in a cap cuts cardboard at a classroom table while other learners work in the background

A young learner sorts purple papers into trays at a classroom table

Young learner in a classroom sorts colorful alphabet letters on a table beside a wooden letter board

Two learners draw with markers at a classroom table with a blue basket of crayons

A child wearing headphones works on a laptop at a partitioned desk in the classroom

Three learners work in classroom cubicles, one using a laptop with headphones and one reading a binder

Two learners work on laptops at a classroom table with cubbies and bookshelves behind them

Three learners sit at a long table using laptops in an Elementary Studio classroom

Three learners work on laptops at a table in the Elementary Studio

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Quest

The ES heroes took casts of shoe prints, and tried to use size and pattern to determine which shoe print belonged to which learner. They learned how shoe prints can help determine the height of a suspect at a crime scene. Later on in the week they learned how to identify the differences between human and animal hair. They were able to use a microscope to compare several samples of human hair next to a cat’s hair.

Shoe print casts in muddy ground marked by cones for a forensics activity

Learners compare shoe print casts in trays at a picnic table outdoors

Plaster shoe print cast on a wooden deck used in a forensics activity

Two learners use tools to make casts in a foil pan at a picnic table during a forensics activity

Two learners work over a tray of sand during a forensics activity while another rests nearby

Three learners smile while examining shoe-print casts at a picnic table outdoors

Three learners smile around a tray of plaster shoe-print casts at an outdoor picnic table

Two rough shoe print casts resting on paper towels in a foil tray

Two learners use a measuring tape beside a classroom table during a forensics activity

A hero sits on the floor measuring his socked foot with a pencil

A learner crouches on the floor with a pencil and ruler beside blue chairs

A learner peers into a microscope beside a worksheet and pencil during Forensics and Australia

A learner writes beside a microscope at a table during a forensics activity

A young learner studies a slide under a microscope with a pencil at a forensics station

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Three learners use magnifying glasses to examine papers at a table during a forensics activity

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Cooking

Mrs. Molley led the heroes in cooking Australian sausage rolls, also known as pigs in a blanket! The learners were able to wrap the dough around the sausages and place them on the pan for baking. The snack was a hit and nearly everyone came back for seconds!

A sausage roll sits in a white tray on a patterned tablecloth

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ES Comms

The ES heroes learned about different types of logical fallacies to strengthen their debate tactics this week. Afterwards, they finished compiling their evidence to debate that the game they chose is better than their opponent’s game. Towards the end of the week they had mock debates and gave each other feedback. They will use this feedback to revise their reasoning and improve their delivery.

Poster titled Logical Fallacy Card Example about the red herring fallacy with a simple stick figure

Flyer titled Logical Fallacy Cards - Recipe with steps for a card, critique, and exhibition

Heroes present in a classroom while classmates watch during a mock debate

Two heroes stand in a classroom presenting debate notes beside whiteboards and project boards

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Guest Hero

Thank you to the LSU FACES Lab for coming to talk to our heroes about forensic anthropology! They brought human and animal bones and explained how they could tell the difference. Also, they went over the ways that human bones could be identified as being male/female, age, ethnicity, and by previous injuries. The lab students also demonstrated how they could use this information to do facial reconstruction to give the police a decent idea of what the unidentified person looked like to help connect remains to a missing person’s case. Our heroes were very interested and had tons of questions!