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CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Standards, Strand, and Progress Indicator must be reference for each group of content and essential
questions, skills, and assessments. Numbers and letters may be used.
Month
Content and Essential Questions
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Resources
Topics:
 History of Forensic Science
o Development as a
Science
o Influential Court Cases
 Careers in Forensic Science
o Careers and Specialties
o Educational
Requirements
Essential Questions:
 What is forensic science and
what major disciplines does it
encompass?
 Who are the major contributors
to the development of forensic
science?
 Why have the number of
forensic laboratories increased
so rapidly in the last 40 years?
 What services does the typical
5.1.A.1
comprehensive crime
September
5.1.A.3
Lab #1
laboratory provide in the
5.1.D.1
criminal justice system?
 What is the significance of the
Frye and Daubert federal court
decisions as they relate to the
admissibility of scientific
evidence in the courtroom?
 What is the role and
responsibility of the expert
witness?
 What other specialized services,
other than the crime
laboratory, available to law
enforcement personnel?
 What are the specialty careers
or disciplines in forensic
science?
 What are the requirements for
the careers in forensic science?
 What colleges and universities
offer courses and degrees in
forensic science?
1
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
Content and Essential Questions
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
October
Topics:
 The Crime Scene
o Securing and Recording
o Dealing with Physical
Evidence
Essential Questions:
 What is physical evidence?
 What are the responsibilities of
the first police officer who
arrives at the scene?
 What steps are taken to
thoroughly record the crime
scene?
 What are the proper
procedures for conducting a
systematic search of a crime
scene for physical evidence?
 What are the proper
techniques for packaging
common types of physical
evidence?
 What is the chain of custody
and why is it important?
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.C.3
5.1.D.1
5.1.D.2
Lab #2
Lab #3
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.2
5.1.B.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.C.2
5.1.D.1
5.1.D.2
5.1.D.3
Lab #4
Lab #5
November
Topics:
 The Crime Scene (continued)
o The Murder Scene:
Death and Autopies
Essential Questions:
 What contributions do the
forensic pathologist,
entomologist, and
anthropologist make to a
homicide investigation?
2
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
December
Content and Essential Questions
Topics:
 The Crime Scene (continued)
o The Murder Scene:
Death and Autopies
 Introduction to Physical
Evidence
o Types
o Examination of
o Significance of
Essential Questions:
 What are the common types of
physical evidence encountered
at the crime scene?
 What is the difference between
the identification and
comparison of physical
evidence?
 What is the difference between
class and individual physical
evidence?
 What is the function of the
national databases available to
forensic scientists?
 What role does physical
evidence play in the
reconstructing the events
surrounding the commission of
a crime?
3
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.B.1
5.1.B.2
5.1.B.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.C.2
5.1.C.3
5.1.D.1
5.1.D.2
5.1.D.3
Lab #6
Lab #7
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
January
Content and Essential Questions
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Human Body
o Drugs
o Forensic Toxicology
Essential Questions:
 What is difference between
psychological and physical
dependency?
 What are the names and
classification of the commonly
abused drugs?
 What field and laboratory tests
are used to perform a routine
drug identification analysis?
 What is the process of
chromatography?
 What is the proper collection
and preservation of drug
evidence?
 How is alcohol absorbed into
the bloodstream, transported
throughout the body, and
eliminated by oxidation and
excretion?
 How is alcohol excreted in the
breath via the lungs?
 How do infrared and fuel cell
breath-testing devices work for
alcohol testing?
 What are the procedures for
measuring the concentration of
alcohol in the blood?
 What precautions need to be
taken to properly preserve
blood in order to analyze its
alcohol content?
 What techniques do forensic
toxicologists use to isolate and
identify drugs and poisons?
4
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.B.1
5.1.C.2
5.1.D.1
Worksheet #8
Lab #9
Lab #10
Lab #11
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
February
March
Content and Essential Questions
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Human Body (continued)
o Forensic Serology
Essential Questions:
 How do the A-B-O antigens and
antibodies determine the four
blood types: A, B, AB, and O?
 How is whole blood typed?
 What forensic test are used to
characterize a stain as blood?
 How are the antigen-antibody
interactions applied to species
identification and drug
identification?
 How is suspect blood properly
preserved for laboratory
examination?
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Human Body (continued)
o DNA and DNA Profiling
Essential Questions:
 What are the parts of a
nucleotide and how do they link
to for DNA?
 How does the concept of base
pairing relate to the doublehelix structure of DNA?
 What is the significance of
repeating base sequences?
 What is polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) technology and
how is it applied to forensic
DNA typing?
 How does the newest DNAtyping technique of short
tandem repeats (STRs) work?



What is the difference between
nuclear and mitochondrion DNA?
How are the DNA computerized
databases used in criminal
investigations?
What are the necessary
procedures for proper
preservation of biological evidence
for laboratory DNA analysis?
5
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.C.2
5.1.D.1
Lab #12
Lab #13
Lab #14
Lab #15
Worksheet #16
5.1.A.1
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.B.1
5.1.B.2
5.1.B.4
5.1.C.1
5.1.C.2
5.1.D.1
5.1.D.2
Lab #17
Lab #18
Lab #19
Worksheet #20
Lab #21
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
April
Content and Essential Questions
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Crime Scene
o Fingerprints
o Hair and Fibers
Essential Questions:
 What are the common ridge
characteristics of a fingerprint?
 What are the three major
fingerprint patterns and their
subclasses?
 What are the differences
between visible, plastic, and
latent fingerprints?
 What is the automated
fingerprint identification system
(AFIS)?
 What techniques are used for
developing latent fingerprints
on porous and nonporous
objects?
 What are the proper
procedures for preserving a
developed latent fingerprint?
 What is the anatomical
structure of hair?
 What are the three phases of
hair growth?
 What are differences between
human and animal hair?
 What hair features are used for
microscopic comparison of
human hairs?
 What is the proper collection of
forensic hair evidence?
 What is the role of DNA typing
in hair comparisons?
 What are the differences
between natural and
manufactured fibers?
 What are the properties of
fibers that are most useful for
forensic comparisons?
 What is the proper collection of
fiber evidence?
6
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
5.1.A.1
5.1.B.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.D.1
Lab #22
Lab #23
Lab #24
Lab #25
CHRONOLOGICAL MONTHLY CURRICULUM MAP FOR: Course #121 Forensic Science
Month
May
June
Content and Essential Questions
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Crime Scene (continued)
o Document Examination
Essential Questions:
 What is a questioned
document?
 What are the common
individual characteristics
associated with handwriting?
 What are the important
guidelines for collecting known
writings for comparison to a
questioned document?
 What are some of the class and
individual characteristics of
printers and photocopiers?
 What are some of the
techniques used by document
examiners use to uncover
alterations, erasures,
obliterations, and variations in
pen inks?
Topics:
 Physical Evidence from the
Crime Scene (continued)
o Glass
Essential Questions:
 What are the properties of
density and refractive index?
 How are glass fractures
examined to determine the
direction of impact for a
projectile?
 What are the proper methods
for collecting glass?
7
Skills/Standards
Assessment/Standards
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.B.1
5.1.B.2
5.1.B.3
5.1.C.1
5.1.D.1
Lab #26
Lab #27
Lab #28
Lab #29
Lab #30
Lab #31
5.1.A.2
5.1.A.3
5.1.B.1
5.1.B.2
5.1.B.3
5.1.D.1
5.1.D.2
Lab #32
Lab #33