Skip to content

Day 2: Missing Painting — Detective Scenario

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Apply critical thinking, evidence analysis, and witness-statement reasoning to identify a suspect in a detective scenario; present a case summary
TEKS d(1)(C), d(4)(F)
Deliverable Completed Missing Painting case summary (suspect named, evidence cited, advice for prevention)
Materials Chromebooks, H&L Workbook Ch 13 (pp. 217-219), printed Missing Painting worksheet, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: A famous painting was stolen from a museum last night. What is the FIRST question you would ask if you were the detective?

Take 3-4 responses. Look for "Who had access?" or "Who had a motive?" — these are the two questions detectives use most. Bridge: today students become the detective in a real H&L workbook scenario.

Activity 1: Missing Painting Setup (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 13, pp. 217-219, "Missing Painting" (Career Climb)

Read the workbook scenario aloud: "Imagine that you are a detective and a famous painting was stolen from your local art museum last night. The police and investigators need your help to solve this case. Your job is to find and review evidence, analyze witness statements, and figure out who stole the painting."

Distribute the Missing Painting worksheet (or have students open the H&L workbook to p. 217). Walk through the case file:

The 4 Suspects (workbook p. 217):

  • Alex: A museum tour guide who worked late last night during the theft
  • Zara: An art collector who wanted this painting for her collection but was denied the sale
  • Taylor: A security guard who went home early because of an illness
  • Kai: A jealous artist who is upset that his artwork was not displayed in the museum

The 5 Pieces of Evidence (workbook p. 217):

  1. At 10:15 PM, security camera caught a person wearing a hat and gloves sneaking into the museum
  2. No evidence of forced entry, back door was unlocked from the inside
  3. A note was found at the painting site saying "This is not art!"
  4. A trail of red paint led from the back door to the painting display
  5. One suspect was seen carrying a large bag when they left the museum

The 5 Witness Statements (workbook p. 218):

  • Janitor, saw someone in long coat, hat, and gloves near the back door at 10:20 PM, leaving a trail of red paint
  • Another Tour Guide. Alex always carries a large bag and works late, very passionate about art
  • Security Camera Operator. Taylor clocked out at 9:45 PM, looked sick, left through the back door
  • Art Collector Assistant. Zara was upset about being denied the sale but moved on
  • Local Artist. Kai had a recent painting called "Deep Red Sky" and kept saying "They don't know what real art is"

Facilitation Tip

Read each witness statement aloud with the worksheet projected. Pause after each one to ask: "What does this tell us? What might it mean?" Model the analytical thinking detectives use.

Activity 2: Solve the Case (20 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 13, p. 218, Step 2: Solve the Case

Students work individually (or in pairs for support) to analyze the evidence and witness statements. They use the worksheet space to:

  1. Cross out suspects as they eliminate them, with one sentence explaining why each is eliminated
  2. Circle the suspect they believe is the thief
  3. Cite at least 2 pieces of evidence that support their conclusion
  4. Identify the motive in one sentence

The intended solution (from workbook clues): The strongest evidence points to Kai the artist: the "This is not art!" note matches Kai's quoted statement "They don't know what real art is," and the trail of red paint connects to Kai's recent painting "Deep Red Sky." However, the workbook is intentionally open-ended; students who build a strong case for another suspect (e.g., Alex with the large bag and late hours) can also succeed.

DOK 4: What conclusions can you draw about why detectives need BOTH evidence and witness statements? Could you have solved this case with only evidence and no witnesses? Why or why not?

Activity 3: Present Your Case (12 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 13, p. 219, Step 3: Present Your Case

Students complete the workbook's case summary in the space provided. The summary must include:

  • Who you think stole the painting
  • What evidence led you to that conclusion (at least 2 pieces)
  • One piece of advice to prevent future thefts at the museum

After writing, students pair up with a peer who picked the SAME suspect and compare their reasoning. Then they pair with a peer who picked a DIFFERENT suspect and defend their case using the evidence cards.

Before pairing, project these three discussion norms and read them aloud:

  1. Lead with evidence, not volume. Start every claim with "The evidence that supports my suspect is " or "Witness ___ said ."
  2. Attack the case, not the person. "Your evidence is weaker because ___" is fair. "You're wrong" is not.
  3. Name one thing the other case gets right. Before the pair ends, each partner says "One strong point in your case is ___."

Give pairs 4 minutes: 90 seconds for each partner to present, 1 minute to trade the "one strong point" acknowledgment.

The workbook's "Extra Time" extension: act out the case presentation as if standing in front of a courtroom. Students who want to perform their case can volunteer for a 1-minute presentation to the class.

Facilitation Tip

Tell students upfront: "There is no single right answer. The goal is to build the STRONGEST CASE using the evidence available. Real detectives sometimes get it wrong, what matters is the quality of your reasoning."

Exit Ticket (3 min)

EXIT TICKET (Diagnostic MCQ with Misconception Distractors) · Printable PDF:

A detective looks at the evidence and says Alex took the painting. Later, she finds new clues that point to Kai instead. Now she must tell her boss she was wrong.

To change her mind and fix her mistake, which quality does the detective need MOST?

  • A. Speed, because detectives have to solve cases fast.
  • B. Honesty, because telling the truth about being wrong is hard but important.
  • C. Confidence, because good detectives never doubt themselves.
  • D. Luck, because detective work is mostly guessing.

Circle your answer. In one sentence, say why the other three choices are weaker. (d(1)(C), d(4)(F))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide a "suspect elimination grid", a 4-column table where students mark Yes/No for "Had access?" and "Had motive?" for each suspect. This scaffolds the reasoning.
  • Extension: Students write an alternate version of the case where the thief is a DIFFERENT suspect. They identify what evidence would have to change to make that alternate version believable.
  • ELL: Bilingual case file with key vocabulary translated. Pre-teach: Suspect = Sospechoso, Witness = Testigo, Evidence = Evidencia, Motive = Motivo, Detective = Detective, Theft = Robo, Museum = Museo. Pair ESL students with bilingual peers; the visual structure of the case file is accessible for all language levels.