Alibi

Alibi by Anjali

Teach the various relevant vocab (alibi, detective, suspect, crime, innocent, guilty, etc). Pick four or five students to come to the front of the class and explain that there was a robbery yesterday at 12:06pm and that these four students are the suspects. Send them out of the room and have them come up with their story of where they were when the crime was committed (tell them that they should think of as many details as possible—if they were eating lunch-- how much was the bill, who paid, who served them, how did they get to the restaurant, etc.).

Meanwhile, tell the rest of the class that they are detectives and should come up with as many questions as possible. Then, I brought the first suspect into the class (the others still outside) and had the class ask him/her questions. After the class was done with the questioning, I sent him/her to the back of the class facing the back wall. Then, I brought the second suspect in and the students asked him questions, then the third, etc. The goal was for the class to find five differences in the suspect’s stories (one student said that a woman had served them, another said it was a man, etc). If they do find five discrepancies, the suspects are guilty! My students came up with some brilliant questions. I was really impressed.