Murderous musical chairs is a fun, free activity to play with students outdoors or indoors. Draw pictures of different kinds of frequently used murder weapons, such as a gun, knife, poison and rope. Tape each picture to the bottom of a chair and play musical chairs. Align chairs in a circle, using one chair less than the number of players. Designate a murder weapon at the beginning of each round. Play music and when the music stops, players must find a seat. Both the student without a seat and the student sitting on the seat with the designated murder weapon is disqualified, and two chairs are removed.
Assign each student a character in a murder plot. Give each student a card with background information about his character. Detail the character's name, his relationship with the victim and when he last saw the victim, as well as a few other clues or tidbits that might inculpate the character. For example, state that the character had a fight with the victim the previous day or that he is an expert marksman, if the victim was killed in a drive-by shooting. To the entire class, present preliminary facts about the murder scene. Instruct the class to move about and interview each other, collecting information from each person to put facts together and solve the murder mystery. Then, as an entire class, have students discuss and dispute theories. There is no correct answer; this activity simply teaches students how to think critically, to pay attention to details and to use facts constructively.
Write a murder mystery as a class. For this activity, give one student a blank piece of paper and instruct her to write two or three sentences to begin the story. Instruct her to pass the paper to the next student, who will add a few sentences of her own before passing it along. Provide general guidelines to encourage students to describe the setting, develop characters, introduce multiple suspects and include a few red herrings, before narrating the murder scene. Pass the paper around the class a few times, if necessary, to complete the story.
Read a murder mystery scenario to students and then have each student submit his thumbprints, using a black stamp pad. Assemble a page or two bearing all the prints. Under the first set of prints, list "suspect A" and so forth for each set of prints. Make copies of the prints for each student. Explain to students the FBI techniques for analyzing fingerprints, which examine the following seven patterns: the loop, the double loop, the central pocket loop, the tented arch, the plain arch, the plain whorl and the accidental. Then describe, using these terms, the suspect's (one of the student's) thumbprints. Have students try to figure out which suspect is guilty.