1. A murder mystery Being a historian is just like being a detective. You have to look at clues (evidence) to work out what happened in the past. Have a look at this crime scene. Can you work out what happened?

2. A Murder Mystery 1) Why would you need to be careful upon entering this crime scene? Language Zone Today’s Historical Vocabulary speculate justify opinion evidence corroborate useful reliable

3. A Murder Mystery Language Zone I speculate that… I can justify my opinion because… 2) What strikes you as interesting or important in this scene?

4. A Murder Mystery Language Zone This source of evidence may be reliable because… This source of evidence corroborates with the picture because… 3) What new information do we learn from this source of evidence? 4) How does the information in this source corroborate with the evidence from the picture of the crime scene? 5) Do we think this neighbour is a reliable witness? Nobody saw the crime. However there is one witness, a neighbour. “Oh, there was a terrible noise last night- shouting and crashing, something terrible. She’s usually such a quiet girl too. Out most nights she is.. I mean “was”… Oh, it’s terrible. I was just saying to my Eddie…”

5. A Murder Mystery Language Zone The doctor’s report may be useful to the detectives because… The camera film may be useful to the detectives because… Over all I think the most useful piece of evidence is… because… 6) Which of these two pieces of evidence do you think is most useful to a detective investigating this case? The police find two other pieces of evidence. Firstly, the doctor’s report says victim was hit over the head by a hard straight object. Secondly, the film in the camera reveals several pictures of the same man.

6. A Murder Mystery Language Zone This source of evidence corroborates with the picture/ witness’ account/ the doctor’s report/ or the camera film because… 7) What new information do we learn from this source of evidence? 8) How does the information in this source corroborate with the evidence studied so far? The police also find a letter on the table which reads, Tuesday 24 th April Dear Elizabeth, I must see you. Don’t say “no” again. I’ll be round on Thursday on my night off. Be there. Richard

7. Language Zone Speculate means guess.Justify means prove. An opinion is someone’s view.Evidence is a source of information Corroborate means agrees with.Reliable means it is trustworthy. Useful means it is helpful for the investigation When historians begin an investigation they sometimes ___________ what the final answer to their question might be. They then use _____________ to try to ___________ their ______________. They have to decide which information is _____________ for their investigation, and test to see if it is also ______________. They do this by seeing where pieces of evidence ___________ one another.

8. Language Zone Speculate means guess.Justify means prove. An opinion is someone’s view.Evidence is a source of information Corroborate means agrees with.Reliable means it is trustworthy. Useful means it is helpful for the investigation When historians begin an investigation they sometimes speculate what the final answer to their question might be. They then use evidence to try to justify their opinions. They have to decide which information is useful for their investigation, and test to see if it is also reliable. They do this by seeing where pieces of evidence corroborate one another.