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Something's Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha

A Whodunit Forensic Mystery

Grades: 5-9

Critical Thinking

Grades: 5-9

Critical Thinking

  •  Multiple Award Winner

Something's Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha

Something's Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha 8 5 5 1
$15.99

Description and Features

SKU
12101GBP

Description and Features

Investigate fun, engaging crime mystery puzzles

Description and Features

Students work as police detectives individually, or in small teams, to solve this fun and engaging crime mystery. Students begin by learning about different types of forensic evidence such as fingerprints, ballistics, handwriting, and more. Using witnesses' statements, police reports, and forensic evidence lab reports, students must apply their critical thinking skills and forensic knowledge to solve this case. As with any investigation, students will need to make inferences and deal with the reality that not all loose ends can be tied up.

Students determine the path of their investigation. Will they ask their police supervisor (teacher or parent) to see a specific witness statement? If so, they will need to determine which information from the statement will be helpful to the investigation. Does the information lead them to another clue? Could the witness really be a suspect? Does this person have an alibi? Do they ask for a Ballistics, Fingerprint, or Handwriting Report? These preliminary reports require students to use their forensic knowledge to analyze the information in the report, draw conclusions based on the content in the preliminary report, and record their findings in a final lab report. Their conclusions on the final reports will point them in the direction of the guilty parties.

Product Details

Item#: 12101GBP
Author(s): Karen K. Schulz
TOC: View Table of Contents
Subject: Critical Thinking
Type: Instruction/Answer Guide
Media: Paperback Book
License: Reproducible
ISBN–13: 978-1-60144-938-2
Pages: 144, perforated

Awards

The Old Schoolhouse - Homeschool Blue Ribbon Award for Favorite Middle School Product

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great forensic science program
5
Sep 5, 2018
Something’s Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha sounds like it would be a cheesy product but it’s not! This is a great forensic science program. Your children will work on developing their thinking skills while seeing how science is applied in real life situations. If your family likes crime scene shows they will love it.
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interesting and exciting
5
Sep 5, 2018
I like how the Critical Thinking Co.™ put this together to make it interesting and exciting, and encourage students to use critical thinking skills in a way that really requires them to apply them. Not just in the sense that they are reading and answering questions or drawing conclusions, but that they are pulling together pieces and parts of information from all different sources and synthesizing them and then drawing conclusions and using those conclusions to answer other questions. That’s the kind of critical thinking I want my son to be able to do as a high schooler, and honestly, this is just a really fun way to do it!
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my kids loved this program
5
Sep 4, 2018
Geared for grades 5 and up, Something's Fishy is quite challenging. My sons, especially the youngest, are pretty protected, and the youngest is exceptionally sensitive, but they loved this program. They viewed it from a scientific and mystery stand point only and never once blinked an eye at the details presented. If you have a child with an investigative mind who likes a good mystery, they will probably love Something's Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha. The Critical Thinking Co. has always been a favorite in our house. Their colorful workbooks and mind challenging products never disappoint.
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science and critical thinking applied to real life
5
Sep 4, 2018
As the students examine the evidence, they will need to request further information from the teacher, who plays the role of a sergeant obtaining the requested reports. So students will need to use critical thinking skills to decide what kind of evidence to ask for - what will they need first, and where will each additional piece of the puzzle lead them? They can examine Missing Persons Reports, Witness Statements, reports from the various labs and units (arson investigation, ballistics and striations reports, firearms identification catalog, counterfeit currency department, vehicle registrations, handwriting samples, fingerprint records, and the medical examiner's report), and record their findings on various forms. We used this investigation purely as a fun supplement, but it does present a lot of great introductory information on forensic sciences and how experts and detectives use these specialized fields of science in solving crimes. The practice in logical and analytical thinking is also valuable. It's a fun way to see how science and critical thinking is used in practical applications. I do want to mention that even though the students are learning about analyzing evidence from human remains, where the cause of death was violent, there are no graphic or disturbing images or descriptions. We both had a lot of fun sifting through evidence, analyzing information, and figuring out which Persons of Interest should be charged with the crimes.
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Loved it!
5
Jun 21, 2018
Did this with a group of homeschool students and we all had a blast! The kids are hoping the author is working on another one!
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Awesome
5
May 23, 2018
I did this with a group of homeschoolers and it was fantastic! The kids AND parents LOVED it. I lasted longer than we expected but no one complained. The youngest kids gave out, but the teens had a blast and have asked for MORE! Hope more books like this are published!
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5
May 18, 2018
Teachers seeking to actively and enthusiastically engage students in the learning process will be delighted by the ease with which this highly entertaining crime mystery simulation accomplishes that goal. Kids happily take on the role of police detectives trying to get to the bottom of this carefully crafted crime scenario. Working individually or in small teams, sleuthing students throw themselves into gathering information, observing, assessing, questioning, comparing, drawing inferences, and deducing their way towards solutions rooted in logic. Along the way, they also learn a good deal about various types of forensic evidence (fingerprints, ballistics, handwriting, and more) while using witnesses' statements, police reports, and lab reports to form and corroborate theories and conclusions. From cover to cover, Something's Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha is filled with easy-to-use tools and resources that lend this in-depth learning experience the immersive and rewarding feel of an exciting, real-life adventure.
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Outstanding activities to engage a variety of learners
5
May 14, 2018
I was able to observe these activities in action with many classes at different levels. Kids were PUMPED and primed to learn and explore! Well worth your efforts!!!
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