Teach good observation and inference skills in this fun, easy to prep, inquiry science activity. Students use observation and inferences to solve the mystery of the broken pencils. Perfect for forensic and inquiry units, and the beginning of the school year.

This is an exciting mini-inquiry lab that uses a common everyday classroom supply, pencils! In this inquiry lab activity students read a short newspaper article about a pencil thief who is sneaking into classrooms and breaking pencils. The police are hoping that if they can figure out how the bandit is breaking the pencils it can lead to a break in the case. At this point students get to put their observation and inference skills to work to help the police make observations and inferences about how six pencils were broken. This activity fits nicely into a variety of science units including a forensics unit.

This lab is easy to modify to fit the level of your students. It is readily adaptable for students who need more support and equally easy to modify for students who are ready for increased challenge.

I usually use this lab to introduce science process skills and scientific thinking at the start of the school year. To increase my students awareness of what good scientists do I use this set of Science Process Skills Posters to decorate my classroom and provide my students with a visual reminder.

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