My name is Elizabeth Abernathy, and I am a teacher at Kealing Middle School in Austin, Texas. For the last two years I have been lucky enough to teach a semester-long elective on Forensic Science for magnet 6th graders, but the lessons I use could be adapted for almost any grade level or subject. My degree is in geology, and I am certified to teach science grades 6-12, but before I organized the curriculum for my class I had no training in forensics. Most of the lessons I use came from books in the public library, a few teacher manuals for forensic science, and a high-school curriculum passed along to me from a chance meeting at a science teacher conference. The exciting thing about teaching forensics is that more and more resources for teachers are being produced, so there are a wealth of ideas to choose from. My class is an introductory survey where we learn the beginnings of identifying fingerprints, hair analysis, forensic entomology, and which ever other topics that particular class thinks are interesting. There are even simpler mysteries that can be set up for elementary classes, such as those listed in the “Mystery Festival” book published by LHS GEMS. In the other direction, there are high-level chemistry labs found at the CourtTV website.

By posting on the NSDL website, I’m hoping to encourage other teachers to start a forensics elective at their school, or to incorporate forensics lessons into their regular classes. For example, when talking about genetics, you could do Punnett squares about blood typing. I’m also planning on having my students this semester add to my posts, and help answer any questions. They are also very excited to be a part of this project!