Students will become crime scene investigators as they practice making inferences using evidence, background knowledge, and logical reasoning. Through The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, students will analyze illustrations and text for hidden clues, learn how ciphers and codes can reveal information, and solve logic puzzles that require them to draw conclusions and justify their thinking. A guest speaker will extend the investigation by teaching students about fingerprinting and how investigators use physical evidence to make informed conclusions. This unit encourages students to think like detectives by asking, “What evidence supports my inference?”
3rd Grade Texas TEKS Connections: ELAR 3.6(F) – make inferences and use evidence to support understanding; 3.6(G) – evaluate details to determine key ideas; 3.7(C) – use text evidence to support an appropriate response; and 3.9(D) – recognize characteristics and structures of informational text. The cipher and logic activities also reinforce mathematical reasoning through 3.1A–G, including analyzing information, selecting strategies, communicating reasoning, and justifying solutions.