Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER) Practice | Solve the Case CSI Introduction Activity

Are you looking for an engaging activity to easily introduce your students to claim evidence reasoning (CER), and scientific explanations? Students will love solving the case in this CSI investigation where they write up their findings using the claim evidence reasoning format. 

What will students be doing during this claim evidence reasoning activity? 

• They will observe a crime scene
• Analyze the police report and forensic reports
• Record their observations and notes in an investigation journal
• Research to discover what certain words mean like Bovine or a specific heart medication
• Use their knowledge to explain what happened using the CER format.

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What teachers like you are saying about this claim evidence reasoning activity:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This was a fantastic way of reviewing CER with my students! They were engaged from the get-go! This year, my students are all about crimes and solving mysteries. This resource allowed them to get into the crime and use their CER skills to determine who might have committed the crime. I kept it open-ended, if they had solid evidence to prove someone’s guilt, then they got the points. I was amazed at how creative they got with the evidence, and how invested they were in solving the crime! Thank you so much for creating this resource, it was amazing!”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”My students loved this activity so much! They were so into solving the “crime” that they didn’t even realize the work they were putting in! An excellent way for them to practice CER in little steps and then allow them to put it all together!”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”This activity was a great way to work on CER without being too “science-y.” I teach 9th grade instructional biology and this was just the right amount of science and writing. My students lose interest very quickly and solving the mystery kept them guessing. After every piece of evidence, they were trying to figure out how he died. Great resource!”

What is included in this claim evidence reasoning activity:

✅ Picture of the crime scene

✅ Police Report

✅ List of suspects

✅ Forensic Reports: fingerprint, chemical (includes drug and alcohol levels), blood, autopsy, and DNA

✅ Language support sentence starters

✅ Student journal (print and digital format)

✅ Grading rubric.

✅ student self-check checklist

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