What's Your Alibi
| Activity | |
|---|---|
| Two students prepare alibis for a fictional crime. The class asks questions to find inconsistencies. | |
| Target level | JHS |
 | |
This activity will require an explanation what an alibi is and how asking questions can prove guilt.
Select a scene and time for a crime-say a bank robbery, at a well-known bank in the middle of town, at 11 o’clock yesterday. Two students are the suspects. They are sent outside and instructed to prepared an alibi for one another. This means they have to invent and be prepared to describe a situation during the period of the crime, in which they were in each other’s company and can therefore vouch for each other’s innocence. For example, they were shopping in a different part of town, or cycling together in the country. The class, who are the detectives, prepares a number of questions to ask them. Where exactly were you? What did you buy there? How much did it cost? Meanwhile the suspects prepare their story to try to anticipate all such questions and give exactly corresponding versions of their alibi. After about 5 minutes of preparation, the first suspect is called in and asked questions about his movements and actions during the crucial time. Then the second. If they do in fact corroborate each other’s stories, they are innocent; but if there are inconsistencies and contradictions, they are guilty.
