Materials Needed:
1 set of “Clue Cards” hung up around the room: Version 1, Version 2, or Version 3
Investigation Sheets one per student
Clipboards
Directions:
Hang the CLUE CARDS around the outside of your classroom. Tell students that a murder occurred. The object of the game is to be the first student to identify who did it, with what weapon, and in what room. Students can start with any Clue Card and work in any order they choose. They will walk around the room and answer the questions on the Clue Cards. When they determine the right answer, they can assume the “alibi” listed next to their answer choice is true. Meaning if they think 0 is the answer and the Clue Card says “0: Mr. Green was in the Ballroom.” That means Mr. Green could not have committed the murder and it couldn’t have taken place in the Ballroom. Students will go to the top of their Investigation Sheet and cross off Mr. Green and the Ballroom.
The other 3 alibis listed on the Clue Cards are decoys and may not be true. Students use no information given from the decoy alibis. After finishing a Clue Card, they go and work on a different Clue Card hoping to eliminate more choices. The first student who thinks they can identify who did it, with what weapon, and in what room wins. They will know as soon as they have ever suspect crossed off except one, every room crossed off except one, and every weapon crossed off except one. As soon as a student wins the game ends and everyone turns in their Investigation Sheets.
FAQs and Tips:
If the questions in your class require work, have students show their work in the box that matches the number of Clue Card they are on. (The blank templates have this space built in.)
To help prevent cheating and friends going and telling their friends the answer, make students write what Clue Card checked off the person, place, or weapon next to it. For example, if the answer to Clue Card 3 was 0: Mr. Green was in the Ballroom. They would cross off Mr. Green and the Ballroom and write a 3 next to both things. That way you can check their answers and evidence. I tell my kids “You can’t just go around accusing people of Murder without any evidence. That will get you locked up in jail too!”
If a student comes up and has the WRONG answer. I put them in “Jail” for 2 minutes for making a false accusation. (Essentially, they just can’t work for 2 minutes.) Then I circle a minimum of 5 problems they need to go check to get the right answer. If you only circle the ones they did wrong, they will be able to use the process of elimination to fix their mistakes without actually learning the material. Circle at least 5.
If you want to make it extra engaging. Replace the people with teachers from your school, the weapons with school supplies, and the rooms with classrooms or places in your building. Tell the kids someone stole something from your room, and they have to figure out who did it. (Example- Candy Bin, Laptop, Picture, etc.)
REMINDERS: TO EDIT ANY OF THE TEMPALTES YOU WILL FIRST NEED TO DOWNLOAD THEM TO YOUR COMPUTER. NOBODY IS ABLE TO ALTER THE ORIGINALS AS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE USE THEM. ALL POWERPOINTS ARE MEANT TO BE USED IN POWERPOINT AND NOT GOOGLE SLIDES.