Detective Club: Solve a Murder Mystery and Learn About Evidence and Criminal Law
#Superstar In this ongoing class, we will solve a murder mystery based on a true crime! Students will learn about evidence and elements of different crimes. ESL-friendly!
Leandra - B.A. PoliSci; Law Student (she/her)
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(271)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
Attention super sleuths! Welcome to Detective Club! This class has been running since July 2020, with students solving some of the most complex and interesting cases I've ever come across. Each week we will have a new case to solve! Each section will have the same case for the week. Students will analyze the crime scene in order to infer all possible scenarios that could have happened at the scene. Students will use this to then decide who they need to question and what evidence would be beneficial to analyze next. The teacher will role-play characters as students interview--or interrogate--the characters involved. Students will go through a case in the same order as the real detectives did, using what they learn at each stage to guide them closer to the guilty party. Along the way, we will learn about the different types of evidence and their importance. At the end of class, the teacher will reveal who was ultimately arrested in the case. The true-crime story will be told, and the outcomes at trial will be revealed as well. We will discuss the elements of the crimes charged, evidentiary issues that arose during the investigation or trial, and hypothetical scenarios to challenge learners' understanding of what we just learned. The cases do not build on each other, so you may come and go at any time. Please note, that unless it is specified below, or an announcement has been made, I do hold classes during the Holidays. 2022 Week of: Aug 1. - New Case Aug. 8 - New Case Aug. 15 - New Case Aug. 22 - New Case Aug. 29 - New Case Sept. 5 - New Case Sept. 12 - New Case Sept. 19 - New Case Sept. 26 - New Case Oct. 3 - New Case Oct. 10 - New Case Oct. 17 - New Case Oct. 24 - New Case Oct. 31 - New Case Nov. 7 - New Case Nov. 14 - New Case Nov. 21 - New Case Nov. 28 - New Case Dec. 5 - New Case Dec. 5 - New Case Dec. 12 - New Case Dec. 19 - New Case Dec. 26 - New Case
Learning Goals
Students will learn about evidence as they use their deductive reasoning skills to solve a murder. They will also learn the different ways evidence is used at the investigative stage compared to the trial stage. For example, detectives commonly use hearsay evidence to lead their investigations. However, hearsay evidence is typically inadmissible at trial. Additionally, students will be introduced to elements of criminal laws: the act and requisite mental state must be satisfied. We will learn what these phrases mean and how to apply them to the case at hand. We will touch on what motive is and how it is used in investigations and at trial.
The goal of this course is to have fun solving a murder while also learning the real-world processes involved in solving a murder.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
While there will not be any graphic images shown, the topic of murder will be discussed. In order to do so, we will also have to mention if any weapons were involved and other details such as where an injury occurred. Other types of criminal activity may be mentioned as well if it is a part of the story line, such as theft, robbery, selling drugs. These are only mentioned briefly. Please also note there are a few cases where suicide is the initial theorized cause of death.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined May, 2020
5.0
271reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have been teaching on Outschool since April 2020 and it has been such a wonderful experience! I aim to offer fun, interesting, and unique classes to learners. I have 8 years of experience tutoring children and three years of experience as an online ESL teacher. I have a 120-hour TESOL certificate, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and I am a law student. I am passionate about law, true crime, and mysteries. When I am not teaching on Outschool, I work at a law firm as a paralegal. I have ten years of paralegal experience working in different areas of law (family law, criminal law, personal injury), and have studied these in-depth in law school. My true crime and mystery fascination began as a child. I'd watch Forensic Files with my dad and read mystery books like Nancy Drew. I have linked all these passions and interests together in my classes while also adding interactive experiences to build critical thinking and logical reasoning skills.
I love that I can share what I have learned through my work and academic experience with students on Outschool. I believe all students should learn about the law--even if they do not wish to become a lawyer--because that is the best way to empower them. Our daily lives are structured and governed by law. Knowing the theories behind them can equip young learners with invaluable skills in the future, such as: recognizing when the right to self-defense applies, that their injuries could be a potential lawsuit, or that the seller from a recent purchase breached a warranty. It will help them make better decisions, as they will realize that their actions could have legal consequences. Finally, it will help their critical and analytical thinking skills, as studying and applying legal principles utilizes these important brain functions.
Here are some of my most popular classes:
🕵️♂️🔎𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛🔍🕵️♂️
𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐰.
🎂Ages 12 - 16,
📄In this class, students will play detective as they analyze crime scenes and other evidence, interview witnesses, and interrogate suspects (played by me). Throughout, students will learn about criminal law, criminal procedure, and rules of evidence (in court) as they relate to the case. Students will be able to discuss what they believe is happening and who they believe is suspicious. Cases are based on true crimes. This class allows students to have fun while using their critical thinking skills. They are assessing and inferring what the evidence means and where it should lead us in the investigation. Students must also scrutinize the statements made by all the suspects and compare them to what we have found in the evidence. I believe these are great skills to have which can be utilized in everyday life (not accepting things at face value, digging deeper to ascertain the truth!).
https://outschool.com/classes/detective-club-solve-a-murder-while-learning-about-evidence-and-criminal-law-ZUIrQPPT#usZATvCIa0
🎮🚓 𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬!🚓🎮
Learn about Criminal Law and then play Among Us.
🎂Ages 13-18,
📄Come learn about criminal law and play Among Us! This class will be perfect for all students. For those that wish to be lawyers, it will be a preview of what they will learn in law school. For others, it will give them the knowledge to understand the principle behind state laws. Even if one is not a lawyer, everyone should be familiar with criminal law and the criminal justice system. It will be a great way to understand things that are going on in the news. We will learn about criminal law in the first half of class and then play Among Us together in a private game in the second half. Criminal topics are taught as we learn them in law school. Students learn about the legal theories behind actual state laws. Students will learn what all the verbiage means, and then apply them to hypothetical scenarios. This will utilize their analytical thinking skills! Students often make comparisons to what we learned in class to what is happening during gameplay. Criminal law topics include homicide, property crimes, other crimes against the person, defenses, and more!
https://outschool.com/classes/a-sus-criminal-law-class-learn-about-criminal-law-then-play-among-us-qVmuyyOH#usZATvCIa0
Looking for more intensive (yet fun) law-based classes? Check these out:
➡️𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒄𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅'𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 - ages 13-18, one time. Students will learn about the infamous McDonald's coffee lawsuit and learn about products liability and negligence. https://outschool.com/classes/the-mcdonalds-coffee-case-ekxylh8Z#usZATvCIa0
➡️𝑴𝒄𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅'𝒔 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑳𝒂𝒘𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒔 Ages 13-18 , one time. Students will learn about two lawsuits related to McDonald's french fries as a way to learn about contract law and breach of implied warranties. https://outschool.com/classes/the-mcdonalds-fries-law-suits-SUIBqxyj?sectionUid=b768cab5-8311-4eb3-b1e8-b6fe61396339#usZATvCIa0
➡️𝘿𝙬𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙫. 𝙅𝙞𝙢: 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚. Ages 13-18, ongoing (weekly) https://outschool.com/classes/dwight-v-jim-intentional-torts-in-the-office-6B4X6qd5#usZATvCIa0
➡️𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 Ages 13-18, ongoing (weekly) https://outschool.com/classes/all-about-torts-learning-civil-law-and-analyzing-cases-ongoing-class-bDZbyuDE#usZATvCIa0
➡️𝑳𝒂𝒘 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒑: 𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔! 𝑨 𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝑳𝒂𝒘 𝑩𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 - https://outschool.com/classes/law-camp-crazy-contracts-a-crash-course-on-contract-law-by-studying-weird-cases-7adMbSin#usZATvCIa0
➡️ 𝑴𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒑: ages 13-18 - a five-day intensive on trial procedure, how to create opening and closing statements, and how to conduct examination. It culminates in students pretending to be lawyers in a trial on the last day! https://outschool.com/classes/mock-trial-camp-RCfzDFdS#usZATvCIa0
➡️ 𝙈𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙥 2: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 https://outschool.com/classes/mock-trial-camp-2-civil-trial-the-case-of-the-negligent-pedestrian-CniQ3T0K#usZATvCIa0
Refund policy:
Students that miss class may either be transferred into another section or can watch the replay (after the student has been verified by the teacher). Students will not be refunded for classes they forget to attend.
*** LET ME HOST YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY PARTY OR EVENT! I can host fun Among Us or Murder Mystery Parties for small or large groups. I charge a flat fee, message me for more! ***Reviews
Live Group Class
$15
weekly1x per week
55 min
Completed by 558 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
1-12 learners per class
