WHODUNIT?

Why Teach Whodunits?

Using whodunits to teach argument writing encourages students to begin with the evidence and use it to determine what claims they can legitimately make in an argument.

Arguments are CLAIMS backed by REASONS that are supported by EVIDENCE and a WARRANT that explains how the evidence supports the reasons and the claim

Whodunits--crimes that need to be solved--contain EVIDENCE about which CLAIMS can be made and for which WARRANTS may be developed.

Whodunits teach students to...

• analyze evidence critically in light of existing knowledge
• interpret evidence to explain what it shows
• develop warrants that show why the evidence is relevant
• use the evidence and the explanations to solve the problem

"Wedding Day"

WHODUNIT #1

After a night on the town with a few friends, young Lochinvar woke up in his bedroom on a gray, sunless morn and faced his wedding day as you see it in the sketch on the right.

He was known to be compulsively late on practically all occasions, and the lovely Griselda, his bride-to-be, had said that if he was as much as one minute late for their 11:00 a.m. ceremony, the marriage would be off.

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If you were young Lochinvar, what would you do?

WHODUNIT #1
"Wedding Day"

Don't jump to conclusions! Start with the evidence, see where it leads you.

What follows is an example of how to link Evidence to Warrants to Conclusions to Final Claims...

WHODUNIT #1
"Wedding Day"

EVIDENCE: The clock is square, symmetrical in all directions, and has no numbers on its face.

EVIDENCE: The clock has an electrical cord attached to the top, on the far left side.

WHODUNIT #1
"Wedding Day"

WARRANT: Symmetrical clocks without numbers have no obvious orientation.

WARRANT: As a rule, electrical plugs are attached to devices near the bottom.

WHODUNIT #1
"Wedding Day"

CONCLUSION: Lochinvar would not notice if his clock were oriented incorrectly.

CONCLUSION: The clock has been tipped over onto its right side.

WHODUNIT #1
"Wedding Day"

CLAIM: Lochnivar has misread his clock. It is only 9:05 am, not 12:20 pm. He is NOT late for his wedding.

"Snowman"

WHODUNIT #2

Derek Haggleover, after swiping a $50,000 brooch at the Christmas display of Rhinestone the Jeweler, was traced to the schoolyard shown in the following sketch. All the footsteps are his, and he apparently hid the brooch somewhere within sight of what you see. After leaving the schoolyard, he was arrested and searched. He did not have the brooch, and the police could not find it. Can you?

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Questions

• Did he try to enter the school?
• If yes, did he succeed in entering the school?
• Could he have tossed the brooch up on the roof?

Questions

• Could he have hidden it in the snowman?
• Could he have hidden it in the snowdog?

Questions

• Could he have inserted it in a snowball and tossed it up on the roof?
• Did he throw any snowballs on the roof?

Questions

• Where do you think he actually hid the brooch?
• Why do you think he turned around near the exit gate and then, after a few steps, changed his mind?

Questions

• What do you think happened to the brooch?

BUT WAIT!

What is a claim?

A claim is a statement that is arguable and can be supported/ proven with evidence

Uhh... what is "evidence"?

EVIDENCE VS DATA

"Data" is just... information. It has no meaning of its own.

A shoe print of a size 14 boot in the mud next to Mr. Tibb's window is... just a shoe print.

On its own, it doesn't mean anything. On its own, it's just something that is there. It's just information. Data.

But... what if I'm trying to prove that Big Johnny -- the only man in town large enough to wear a size 14 boot -- was outside Mr. Tibb's window last night?

Then the size 14 boot print in the mud becomes something.

It becomes EVIDENCE. Evidence for my claim about Big Johnny. The print is evidence of Johnny's presence.

Evidence has to be evidence FOR or evidence OF something -- a claim, an argument, an opinion

Something does not become evidence until you explain WHAT IT PROVES (claim) and HOW IT PROVES IT (warrant)

Claims, evidence, and warrants are LINKED

CHOOSING EVIDENCE

The evidence you use depends on the argument you are making.

And the argument you decide to make depends on the evidence you have to support it.

Your evidence must be RELEVANT and SUFFICIENT to support your claim.

Evidence is RELEVANT if...

• It has a definite relationship to the claim
• It actually helps prove your point

Evidence is SUFFICIENT if...

• When taken together, the evidence completely supports the claim (not just part of it)
• Is there enough of it, or do you need more to feel convinced?

"Slip or Trip?"

WHODUNIT #2

Queenie Volupides and her husband, Arthur, live in a beautiful home in town. On the evening in question, Queenie’s neighbors reported that she tore out of the house after a tiff with Arthur.

Queen drove to their Country Club, where there was a party going on.

WHODUNIT #2

She left the Club shortly before one in the morning and invited a few friends to follow her home and have one more drink.

The guests arrived at the Volupides home about ten minutes after Queenie, who met them at the door and said...

WHODUNIT #2

“Something terrible has happened! Arthur slipped and fell on the stairs. He was coming down for another drink—he still has his glass in his hand! I think he’s dead! Oh dear—what shall I do?”

WHODUNIT #2

On the next slide is a sketch showing exactly what the scene looked like when the guests arrived.

Your job is to decide if Queenie is telling the truth, or if she should be brought in as a suspect for further investigation into the death of her husband, Arthur.

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Is her story consistent with the evidence?

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

As an investigator, you must determine what may have happened at the scene of the crime.

You already have an investigation summary and a photo sketch of the scene of the crime.

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

You need to analyze all of the facts closely, interpret them, and draw a conclusion based on those facts.

You may agree or disagree with the witnesses’ testimony in your report, but you will need to justify why.

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
Use the instructions on the following slides to complete the 3-column Evidence/Warrant/Conclusion Chart that you have been given (a sample is attached after the directions)

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

1. Find all the evidence you can that indicates whether Queenie is telling the truth.

Evidence includes concrete, observable information; personal testimony; written documents, material objects and their condition or appearance.

Write your evidence in the Evidence Column.

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

2. Next, analyze the observable facts.

Use common sense and the rules of nature to explain the observations you wrote about in the Evidence column.

Write these explanations in the Warrants (Rules) column.

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

3. Now, you will draw a conclusion.

Use the information you analyzed in the first two columns, and come to a conclusion about each piece of evidence.

Write these conclusions in the Conclusion column on the right.

WHODUNIT #2
"Slip or Trip?"

4. Finally, use all of the conclusions you created to help you finalize your statement about what you think happened. (This is your claim).

Write this at the bottom of the paper. It is here that you will state whether you think Queenie is lying or not.

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"What Happened to Winston?"

WHODUNIT #3

Every morning, Jenny Goodheart got up at 5 a.m. and rode around town on her bicycle delivering the morning newspapers.

One of her stops was at Winston Peacock's house. He lived alone, and everyone in town thought he had a fortune hidden somewhere in his house.

Winston's house was built into a hill, so the only access was through the front door or two side windows.

WHODUNIT #3

On the last day of the year, Winston greeted Jenny as usual, but the next morning there was no sign of him. Jenny assumed he was sleeping last since it was New Year's Day. On January 2nd, however, his newspaper from the day before--plus two bottles of milk--was still lying in front of his door.

Alarmed, she got off her bicycle and peeked into the nearest window. Although none of the lights were on, she could see Winston, who looked dead, lying on the floor near his desk.

WHODUNIT #3

Jenny quickly got on her bicycle and rode as fast as she could to the village police station.

A team of detectives went straight to the house. After looking through the window to verify Jenny's report, the detectives decided to enter the house.

They had to smash a window in order to get into the house and found the scene as pictured on the next slide.

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WHODUNIT #3

You are a member of the investigative team. You must determine whether this is a case of suicide or murder.

Analyze the evidence in Jenny's story and in the photograph, and look for clues about how and why the incident occurred. Once you've gathered and considered the evidence, make your claim.

Was it murder or suicide?

WHODUNIT #3
"What Happened to Winston?"

DIRECTIONS:
Create a three-column Evidence/Warrant/Conclusion chart like we did for Arthur's fall down the stairs in Case #2.

WHODUNIT #3
"What Happened to Winston?"

Remember the following:
Concentrate on FACTS that no one can argue:

"Arthur was lying on his back"

"Mirror/candles not messed up on the wall"

"Arthur still had a glass in his hand"

There's no arguing with those facts. None at all.

WHODUNIT #3
"What Happened to Winston?"

Next, take that evidence and create Warrants (rules of common sense) based on it:

"Usually, people fall face down when they fall down the stairs"

"Usually, when people fall down the stairs, they reach out to grab at anything they can find"

"Usually, when people fall down the stairs, they drop what is in their hands"

WHODUNIT #3
"What Happened to Winston?"

Do NOT speculate or guess at what happened!

If you find yourself saying "Maybe...", "She could have...", or "He might have...", then you are guessing at what happened. Don't do that!

Simply find evidence and create warrants (rules) based on that.

WHODUNIT #3
"What Happened to Winston?"

Lastly, draw conclusions from the evidence and the common sense rules you know. Use those conclusions to create your final claim:

"Queenie is lying about Arthur's accidental fall down the stairs."

"The Lunchroom Murder"

WHODUNIT #4

On an otherwise uneventful Thursday afternoon, police heard a shot inside Ernie’s Lunchroom. They rushed in and found the scene shown in the sketch on the following slide.

They identified the body as that of a prominent racketeer named Lucky George.

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WHODUNIT #4

Ernie, who is both the owner of the lunchroom and the only employee, had only one fact to tell the police: the murderer had leaned against the wall while firing at point-blank range.

The police looked and saw a hand imprint in clear view on the wall. The cash register had just been rung up at $8.75.

Who killed Lucky George?

WHODUNIT #4

This is a difficult case. Your investigative team must attempt to determine which of the people in the lunchroom killed Lucky George.

You will have to observe the details carefully. There is enough evidence to help you explain most of what happened.

In working out the solution, consider the questions on the following slides...

WHODUNIT #4
"The Lunchroom Murder"

1. Had Ernie been mopping up recently? What is the evidence? What is the warrant?

2. How many customers had recently been in the restaurant? What is the evidence and warrant?

3. With what hand did the shooter fire the gun? What is the evidence? What is the warrant?

WHODUNIT #4
"The Lunchroom Murder"

4. Do you think Ernie was the victim of a holdup? What is the evidence and warrant?

5. Did customers B, C, and D know each other? What is the evidence and warrant?

6. Did customer A enter the restaurant before customer D? What is the evidence and warrant?

WHODUNIT #4
"The Lunchroom Murder"

7. How do customers B, C, and D differ in their habits or ways of doing things? What is the evidence, and what is the warrant?

8. Which set of footprints are Ernie’s? What is the evidence? What is the warrant?

9. Are the footprints marked X those of the murderer? What is the evidence and the warrant?

WHODUNIT #4
"The Lunchroom Murder"

Now, bring it all together...

10. Who killed Lucky George?
How do you know?

Please write an investigative report that outlines all the evidence and all the warrants necessary to support your claim.

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