The Sample
The sample doesn't care who you suspect.
Read the evidence, not the story everyone believes.
The Sample puts your students in a regional DNA laboratory as forensic technicians. Over about two weeks they work three real cases: a confident instrument “match” that a failed control proves is contamination, a disliked suspect the evidence quietly excludes, and a degraded sample too thin to name anyone. They read DNA profiles, check the three controls, and track the chain of custody to decide what the data can and cannot prove. No equipment and no prerequisites — just real forensic judgment a ninth grader can do on day one.
See what your students get, and why it lands.
No mockups. Every sample below is real, pulled straight from the files you download. Tap any one to see it full size.
A worksheet was never going to teach this.
Your students are not labeling the parts of a cell. They are technicians looking at an instrument that printed MATCH in bold — next to a control that says the whole run is contaminated. The confident answer is to report the match. The correct answer is to void it. That is real evidence discernment, with a case and a suspect riding on the call.
Tap to read the case evidence
They are graded on their reasoning, not on catching a suspect.
Here is what surprises teachers. A team that honestly writes “the evidence is insufficient” scores higher than one that reported a lucky match on thin data. The decision is assessed on whether it matches the evidence, traced through the team’s own case report. That is how a student learns to value the evidence over being the one who names a name.
Tap to read the grading note
Let the workbook hold the data.
The Sample comes with a workbook that holds the DNA profiles, the control checks, and the locus-by-locus comparison the team is weighing. They log the calls, and the picture builds across the cases. Their attention stays on the hard part — what the evidence supports — instead of on keeping the numbers straight.
Tap to see the comparison grid
Every day is already scripted. You just run the room.
You do not need a forensics background to teach this. The guide scripts every day, names what students will likely say, and gives you exactly how to respond. The profiles, the controls, and the reveals are all written for you. You bring the facilitation. The simulation brings everything else.
Tap to read the teacher guide
The lesson plan is already written — and it is evaluation-ready.
Every simulation comes with a fully editable, admin-ready lesson plan for every day: standards alignment, daily pacing, learning objectives, differentiation, and a Danielson and Marzano crosswalk. Hand it to an administrator, adapt it to your district template in minutes, or use the simulation itself as your formal observation lesson.
Tap to preview the lesson plan
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Everything you need to run it.
- An admin-ready, evaluation-ready lesson plan. A fully editable plan for all ten days with standards alignment, daily pacing, differentiation, assessment, and a Danielson/Marzano crosswalk. Included with every purchase.
- Ten days of playbooks (two pre-sim plus eight) that script every session.
- A student workbook that holds DNA profiles, control checks, and comparisons.
- Three case evidence packets with real STR profiles, control results, and custody logs.
- Case reports and dual rubrics that grade reasoning, not catching a suspect.
- Scaffolded supports for students who need more structure.
- Built on the PATIENCE framework: evidence integrity — information discernment, ethical reasoning, and emotional regulation.
Bring The Sample to your classroom.
About two weeks, fully planned, where students decide what the DNA can — and cannot — prove.
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