Held for Ransom Activity Version

Use the attached Activity Slides to guide the activity. Display slide 2 and ask students to copy the Fourth Amendment onto two separate sheets of lined paper. Do not reveal the purpose of the activity yet.

Continue to slides 3–5 to introduce the lesson’s essential question and learning objectives. Go to slide 6 to introduce document analysis. Let students know they will examine the field more in depth later. Explain that students conduct their own document analysis, beginning with handwriting analysis of their Fourth Amendment exemplars. Transition to slide 7 and invite students to participate in an informal Collective Brain Dump of ideas about what characteristics might be used to analyze handwriting. Discuss as a group before continuing.

Provide each student with a copy of the attached Characteristics of Handwriting handout. Go to slides 8–11 to review the 12 characteristics of handwriting with students. The Activity Slide’s notes have a few additional details beyond what is included in the table description. Encourage students to make additional notes on their handout to further clarify the descriptions of each characteristic.

To prepare students for two rounds of handwriting analysis, distribute the Handwriting Analysis handout to each student. Go to slide 12 and review the instructions for how students should analyze one of their own Fourth Amendment writing samples. After students have completed their own handwriting analysis, they should trade their second copy of the Fourth Amendment with a neighbor and repeat the analysis on their partner’s writing sample.

Next, go to slide 13 and ask students to compare the analysis of their handwriting to their partner’s analysis of it. They should first look at the writing samples side-by-side to assess visual similarities and differences in their writing characteristics. Then they should compare their data tables to see how consistent their analyses were. Invite a few students to share their findings with the class.

Move to slide 14 and ask the group to discuss the questions. It is important for students to understand how to visually eliminate samples without doing a close examination because they will use this skill in a later activity.

Before ending Activity 1, make sure students write their names at the top of each of their two Fourth Amendment samples and turn them in.

Review with students what was discussed in the last activity meeting. Now that students have had an opportunity to practice handwriting analysis, explain that they’re going to learn more about how handwriting is used in forensics. Distribute the Window Notes handout, then move to slide 15 and introduce the Window Notes instructional strategy. As you go over the content on the slides, students should record facts, vocabulary, surprising information, and any questions they have. This is a good opportunity to encourage them to take notes without writing down everything on the slide. Encourage students to summarize the information in their own words rather than copy every detail. Consider pausing briefly after each slide to give students an opportunity to finish capturing their questions and thoughts.

Transition to slides 16–17 to introduce document analysis to students. Share the forgery examples from the slide notes:

• Forgery can include things you wouldn’t expect, like changing information on your driver’s license to enter a bar illegally.

• People with expertise in forgery may consult with investigative organizations because they understand common forgery techniques.

Display slide 18 and provide an overview of the professional field of handwriting analysis. Depending on how in-depth you want to go into the history of handwriting analysis in the case, you may also want to provide additional information about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping beyond the brief bullet point in the slides. Continue to slide 19 to discuss handwriting. Handwriting—similar to fingerprints—is unique to individuals. Unlike fingerprints, which form before birth, handwriting develops over time and becomes more consistent as people reach adulthood. However, students should understand that handwriting can still vary due to a variety of factors.

Display slide 20 to discuss the limitations of handwriting analysis and the ways investigators can collect higher-quality handwriting exemplars from potential suspects.

Students now apply their understanding of handwriting analysis to act as document experts evaluating ransom notes.

Go to slide 21 to introduce the scenario. Put students in groups of 2–3. Have students go to page three of the Handwriting Analysis handout (previously distributed) and hand out copies of the Ransom Note Exemplar Analysis handout to each group. Give each group a prewritten ransom note (see Preparation notes). Make sure the original author is not in the group. Provide each group with pencils, highlighters, colored pencils, magnifying glasses, and rulers or calipers. Go to slide 22 to review the activity instructions. Students should complete the first two steps together: closely examine the ransom note using the 12 characteristics (Handwriting Analysis handout), and visually eliminate samples that obviously do not match the note.

Ask students to record their reasoning for each elimination on the Ransom Note Exemplar Analysis handout, including which handwriting characteristics they noticed.

Next, instruct students to divide any remaining handwriting samples among themselves and conduct close examinations of each. As a group, they should then compare their close examinations of the samples and the ransom note and come to a conclusion about which sample matches their note. Remind students that it is okay if they feel uncertain in their conclusion. The important part is that they can justify their decisions based on the evidence available to them. It is also okay for them to return to the samples they eliminated visually and do close examinations on those if necessary.

To wrap up the activities, students work in their groups to create an expert witness presentation to convince a jury of their peers that they have identified the ransom note writer from their handwriting samples. Display slides 23–24 to introduce students to the activity scenario and content expectations. Hand out a copy of the attached Expert Testimony handout to each student. Move to slides 25–26 and review with students what should be included in the introduction and conclusion of their presentation. Ask groups to create the introduction and conclusion together. Allow groups to decide who presents each portion, but only one student needs to record the group’s introduction and conclusion on the handout.

Display slide 27 to discuss the argument portion of the presentation. (Note that the Expert Testimony handout has more details than the slides, so be sure to draw their attention to those.) Students should divide up the evidence presentation work evenly so that each student creates at least one argument independently. Explain that each student presents one part of the argument and turns in the written version at the end of the activity. Each student should have a written explanation in at least one of the argument boxes on the handout (Eliminated Visually, Eliminated or Confirmed with Close Examination).

Once students have completed their written arguments, have each group present its testimony to the class. After each presentation, ask jury members to record the names of the students in the presenting group, indicate on the handout whether the testimony convinced them, and briefly explain the reasoning behind their decision.

After all groups have presented, collect the Expert Testimony handouts from students for individual evaluation of their work. Move to slide 28 and, as a group, discuss the following questions to provide a final reflection on the activity:

• What was it about the expert testimonies that you found convincing (or unconvincing)?

• Do you think handwriting/document analysis can provide enough evidence to convict someone of a crime? Why or why not?