WEBQUEST FOR HUMAN SERVICES INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to the Laundry Crime Scene Investigation webquest! We need your help in catching the culprits who are responsible for shrunken sweaters, lost socks, and bleached out jeans. We will explore the steps in the laundry process, and why it is important to take good care of our clothes.
Here are the details from this episode’s case files:
CASE #101 – One of Mina’s chores at home it to help with the laundry. At first she did not suspect that the task would be very difficult…she even thought it would be fun! But then she noticed it…there, in the hamper…what looked like a pile of clothes and it was growing…growing…GROWING! To get rid of her growing pile of laundry she decided to do a load of laundry. So, she picked out a few of her favorite clothing items (new red shirt, white cotton shorts, fuzzy green sweater, and a pair of jeans), tossed them into the washer, dumped in some dish soap, closed the lid, and pressed the bright red button to start it. When the washing machine had turned off, she went to get her clothing out. It was then she noticed that something was wrong. Her white shorts had turned pink, there were green fuzzies all over her red t-shirt, and little yellow bits of paper all over her jeans! She stuffed the clothes back in the washer and ran to the phone to call the Laundry CSI team…
Investigation Questions:
- What happened to Mina’s clothes?!
- Who is responsible?
- How can we prevent this laundry “crime”?
TASK:
As the Laundry Crime Scene Investigation team, it is your job to gather the facts and help Mina identify what was responsible for the ruined clothing.
The objectives for this assignment are to:
Identify the most important steps in caring for clothing
Explore and evaluate sources of information
Synthesize information into a creative and usable format
As a CSI team, each one of you will have a different role to play in this investigation. Each role is equally important and vital to the success of this laundry crime-fighting organization. The roles are:
Decoder – Mina says she saw an unusual code printed on the tags of her garments. The decoder’s job is to investigate the tags and decipher the code.
SortingDetective - The detective’s job is to sort out the details of what happened. He/she will find out what Mina did with the clothes just before putting them in the wash and if this could have led to the laundry “crime.”
Forensic Specialist– A forensic specialist will examine the four articles of clothing and see if he/she can find any evidence such as stains, tears, missing buttons, etc. that can be repaired and used as evidence.
Solvent Analyst– Perhaps there was something wrong with the form of soap that Mina used in the washer. The solvent analyst will examine the soap and determine if it had been tampered with or if the wrong kind of soap had been grabbed by mistake.
EquipmentInvestigator– The equipment investigator looks at the washing machine and decides if an equipment malfunction could have resulted in an accidental laundry mishap.
PROCESS:
To solve this case, your team will need to do the following:
- Each team will delegate the above roles.
- Use the web resources (or find files on network) provided to search for “clues” that will help you answer the questions on your task sheet.
- Share the information you find with the rest of your team. Everyone needs their own copies for personal notebooks.
- Complete the Laundry Homework assigned in class.