Math Mysteries Series: Crimes, Capers and Whodunits

Gr 6–8—This program asks students to apply mathematical concepts to beat crime and determine whodunit. This five-disc production focuses on ratios and proportions, the number system, expressions and equations, geometry, and statistics and probability. Each easy-to-navigate DVD comes with a teacher's guide, student investigation workbook, and a case file in color. The guide offers an overview, suggests the order in which the video clips and student worksheets should be presented, and provides answers. The instructor will need to maintain an active role in the investigation, as the activities are not straightforward enough for students to complete without assistance. Each disc contains three menu options. In the first, Detectives Smith and Jones present the case, "Persons of Interest" features interviews with the suspects, and in the third, Smith and Jones recount the steps taken and explain how the case was solved. Although each video clip is only a few minutes long, the quality may make it difficult to engage students, as it is clear each excerpt was filmed with a green screen and the dialogue is laced with cheesy puns, such as in "The Cookie Factory Mystery," "That's the way the cookie crumbles." There are also related enrichment activities with additional math problems in the workbook, but these are not necessary to solve the mystery.