R3 - The Case of the

Hip Hop Hijack

Pilot – June 2007

Portsmouth Public Schools

The Concept

• Create a cross-curricular problem-based thematic unit.

• Introduce 8th graders to graphing calculators (pilot group consisted of primarily low performers).

• Build interest in core content through real world connections.

• Engage students with hands-on, minds-on activities that use higher order thinking skills.

The Crime

• Location: Churchland Middle School, Portsmouth, Virginia

• Hip Hop group R3 (Righteously Respectful Rap) had just completed filming the music video for the title track on their upcoming CD The Authority of Wisdom.

• At approximately 10:49PM on 5/27/07, sound engineer DeForest Lee, was assaulted in the Churchland Middle School kitchen.

The Crime cont’d.

• The motive for the assault became apparent when the police arrived. A master CD ROM of the group’s upcoming album was stolen from the sound engineer.

• Within 15 minutes of the crime, perpetrator’s demanding $2 million dollars be wired to an off shore account in the Cayman Islands within 48 hours or the album would be released free for download on the Internet.

The Tasks

Note: In science, the students were so interested in the QX-3 that they took an extra day to look at fibers and learn how to take pictures with the microscope and import into Word. The science activities took 6 vs. 5 days.

Evidence Matrix

Perp #1 = Tonya

Perp #2 = Ding

The Case File

The Incident Report

The layout for the incident report will give you a feel for the documents created for the project.

Other Content ConnectionsSocial Studies• Debate (should math portion of police entry

exam be modified?)• Court System – criminal vs. civil, jurisdiction, trial

vs. appellate• Computer crimes – intellectual property – piracy • Freedom of Speech - Lyrics Language Arts• Debate• Cover the crime as a journalist (should math

portion of police entry exam be modified?)

Resources?

• CSI Blog – http://ppsblogs.net/crimescene

• Texas Instruments – now has lesson plans integrating the use of their calculators and probeware

• Court TV – downloadable pdf files of various CSI lesson plans