Arkansas State Communication Association

Oral Communication Units and Activities

"WHO DONE IT?"

Unit(s): Group Discussion/Critical Thinking Skills/Listening Skills

Purpose:

The purpose of this activity is to encourage students to use critical thinking skills in group problem solving. It is also an exercise in critical listening and interpersonal communication.

Objectives:

Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through group problem solving.

Students will realize the importance of critical listening in group interaction.

Material:

The fact (clues) of the case (one set for each group) should be cut into strips so that only one fact or clue is on each strip of paper.

Procedure:

Divide the class into groups of from 5 to 6 students per group.

Give the following directions:
a. In a moment, each of you will be given clues to a murder mystery. Each member must read his clue(s) to the other members of his group. You may repeat the clues over and over but you CANNOT show the clue(s) to another member of the group or allow another member to read the clue (s). All clues MUST be given orally.
b. Each group is to determine the following information to solve the mystery:
     Who is murdered?
     Who is the murderer?
     What was the motive for the murder?
     What was the murder weapon?
     When and Where did the murder take place?
c. Any time your group thinks it knows the answers and the group agrees on the guess, you may give me the answers. The group MUST answer all of the questions correctly if you are to solve the mystery.

If part of the group's solution is incorrect, do not tell them which answers are wrong. Tell them only that they have not yet solved the case.

Students may decide to have one member of the group take notes for the group but allow this action to evolve from the group problem- solving process.

After groups have solved the case, a class discussion should follow over the process used in solving the problem. Focus the discussion on questions such as: What slowed the group down? What problems did it have in organizing? Did anyone take over leadership? Is this good or bad?

Solution: After receiving a superficial gunshot wound from Mr. Jones, Mr. Kelley went to Mr. Scott's apartment where he was killed by Mr. Scott with a knife at 12:30 a.m. because Mr. Scott was in love with Mr. Kelley's wife.

Kelley Murder Clues

Only one bullet had been fired form Mr. Jones' gun.

When the elevator operator saw Mr. Kelley, Mr. Kelley was bleeding slightly, but he did not seem too badly hurt.

A knife with Mr. Kelley's blood on it was found in Miss Smith's yard.

The knife found in Miss Smith's yard had Mr. Scott's fingerprints on it.

Mr. Kelley had destroyed Mr. Jones' business by stealing all his customers.

The elevator operator saw Mr. Kelley's wife go to Mr. Scott's apartment at 11:30 p.m.

The elevator operator said that Mr. Kelley's wife frequently left the building with Mr. Scott.

Mr. Kelley's body was found in the park.

Mr. Kelley's body was found at l:30 a.m.

Mr. Kelley had been dead for one hour when his body was found, according to a medical expert working with police.

The elevator operator saw Mr. Kelley go to Mr. Scott's room at 12:25 a.m.

The elevator operator went off duty at 12:30 a.m.

It was obvious from the condition of Mr. Kelley's body that it had been dragged a long distance.

Miss Smith saw Mr. Kelley go to Mr. Jones' apartment building at 11:55 p.m.

Mr. Kelley's wife disappeared immediately after the murder.

Police were unable to locate Mr. Scott after the murder.

When police tried to locate Mr. Jones after the murder, they discovered that he had disappeared and could not be found.

The elevator operator said that Miss Smith was in the lobby of the apartment building when he went off duty.

Miss Smith often followed Mr. Kelley.

Mr. Jones had told Mr. Kelley that he was going to kill him.

Miss Smith said that nobody left the apartment building between 12:25 and 12:45 a.m.

Mr. Kelley's blood stains were found in Mr. Scott's car.

Mr. Kelley's blood stains were found on the beige carpet in the hall outside Mr. Jones' apartment.

When he was discovered dead, Mr. Kelley had a bullet hole in his thigh and a knife wound in his back.

Mr. Jones shot at an intruder in his apartment building at 12:00 midnight.

The elevator operator reported to police that he saw Mr. Kelley at 12:15 a.m.

The bullet taken from Mr. Kelley's thigh matched the gun owned by Mr. Jones.

Anchovi Pizza Mystery

"I am going to give each one of you a piece (two pieces, etc.) of paper. Each piece contains a clue to a kidnapping. When all the clues are put together, you should be able to determine the following:

Who disappeared?
Who was the kidnapper(s) or conspirator(s)?
What was the motive?
How was the crime accomplished?

These are the rules:

Each person will state his or her clue(s) loudly, slowly, continuing around the room until all the clues have been read. A clue may be repeated in this "round- robin" fashion if it was not heard by a member of the group, but may be repeated only once at this time.
Once all clues have been read, the group must arrive at answers to the questions posed.
Clues may be shared as often as needed; however, all sharing of clues must be done orally. In other words, you may not show your clue to anyone else, and you may not leave your seats to walk around the room.
The group must agree on the answers to the questions. Answers agreed upon may be brought to me, and I will say only whether they solved the mystery or not.
Once the game begins, I will function only as described in the previous rule.
(optional) You may take notes if you wish.

The correct answers are:

Mr. Anchovi and Miss Goldie Digger disappeared.
Same as 1
The motives were money and lust.
They sent a ransom note, got the money, and ran off to Rio de Janeiro.

Anchovi Pizza Mystery Clues

Mr. Anchovi is a successful pizza tycoon.

Mr. Anchovi had been lately seen with his secretary, Miss Goldie Digger, after business hours.

Max Musclebound had threatened to destroy Mr. Anchovi if he ever caught him with Miss Goldie Digger again!

Police were unable to locate Max Musclebound after the kidnapping.

Mr. Anchovi's brother-in-law, Andy Muckluck, is a failure at everything he tries.

Max Musclebound is a nightlife man and a late morning sleeper.

The ransom note asked for $88,820.52, the exact amount of Mr. Anchovi's savings account.

A drunken Andy Muckluck had been heard to mutter something about a plan to fix Mr. Anchovi's wagon.

Mr. Martelli is a barber.

Miss Goldie Digger told friends she was afraid of Max Musclebound.

Andy Muckluck is jealous of his brother-in-law's money.

Mr. Martelli is a good friend of Mr. Anchovi's.

Mr. Anchovi told friends that he was afraid his wife would sue for divorce and take him for lots of money.

Andy Muckluck was observed stoned in a local gutter on April 5 at 5:00 a.m.

Several curls of Mr. Anchovi's hair were found on Mr. Martelli's floor.

Miss Goldie Digger loves Rio di Janeiro.

April 5, Mr. Anchovi wasn't in his regular seat on the 7:45 train.

Police were unable to locate Miss Goldie Digger after the kidnapping.

The only people who had access to Mr. Anchovi's savings account besides himself were his wife and Miss Goldie Digger.

Mr. Anchovi always took the 7:45 train to work.

The last person to see Mr. Anchovi was Mrs. Busybody, his neighbor, who watched him leave his house on April 5 at 7:30 a.m.

A curl of Mr. Anchovi's hair was sent to his wife with the ransom note.

On April 5, Mr. Anchovi disappeared.

Mr. Anchovi had recently been observed frequenting the Berlitz language school.

Max Musclebound is Miss Goldie Digger's jealous boyfriend.