Quick Start Guide
Teen Series
A simple overview for teachers, co-op leaders, and parents
1. What Cactus Curricula Is
Cactus Curricula is a story-based forensic science program where teens investigate a mystery while completing hands-on labs and writing their own detective story. Each mystery runs for six weeks and blends three subjects:
- Forensic Science
- Creative Writing
- Applied Critical Thinking
Everything is provided: story, evidence files, labs, writing support, and weekly structure.
2. How the Course Is Delivered
The course is hosted online for easy navigation and weekly structure. You can:
- Access the teacher materials digitally from any device
- Print only what students physically need
- Complete the curriculum on your own schedule during your license period
There is no PDF download of the full course, but all the Student Edition’s essential pages are printable.
3. What to Print
The Print Center is your weekly hub for student pages.
Cactus Curricula is designed as a blended experience. Most investigation materials are printable and designed for hands-on use, while the storyline, science explanations, and videos are accessed inside the online course.
Inside the Print Center each week, you’ll find:
- Evidence File pages (suspects, reports, codes, and clues)
- Lab Worksheets (hands-on activities, data, and analysis)
- Forensic Focus Questions (FFQs)
- A printable Table of Contents Checklist
Printing the weekly Evidence File pages and setting up a crime board (or binder) is strongly recommended. These visual tools help students make quick connections between suspects, clues, and events, and many families find that this hands-on setup boosts excitement, confidence, and momentum as the mystery unfolds.
The Teacher’s Edition stays digital for quick access and weekly guidance.
4. Planning Your Week
Each mystery is divided into six weekly sessions, with an Optional Part 2 that allows families to extend the experience through additional research, projects, and the Forensic Showcase. Each session is designed to take approximately two to three hours, plus personal writing time. If you need to shorten or split the sessions, you absolutely can. This flexible format provides everything you need to create a memorable and educational experience.
Families who want to extend the experience or need additional instructional hours can use the Optional Part 2 at the end of each mystery:
• My Research Project (deeper investigations and research connected to the mystery)
• My Science Lab (hands-on experiments tied to the case)
These optional activities allow students to earn additional instructional hours while keeping the core curriculum streamlined and easy to follow. Across all four teen mysteries, students can complete a total of 92 optional projects.
5. Two Writing Paths (Students Choose Their Comfort Level)
Option A: Full Creative Writer
Students create their own version of the case, deciding:
- Who did it
- Why
- How
- And what happened behind the scenes
They must use the evidence and suspects from the mystery, but the plot is entirely up to them. This works wonderfully for enthusiastic and imaginative writers.
Option B: Guided Writer (Writing With Guardrails)
Reluctant or unsure writers can write alongside the main storyline. They gradually branch out with their own twists while still using the suspects and evidence, slowly gaining confidence.
This approach works beautifully for:
- reluctant writers
- anxious writers
- neurodivergent teens
- perfectionists who struggle to get started
6. How Writing Skills Build Across the Four Mysteries
Each mystery is designed to raise the level of writing sophistication:
- Mystery 1: Foundations—organizing ideas, using evidence, writing from a perspective
- Mystery 2: Plot development, pacing, motive, sequencing
- Mystery 3: Character voice, emotional depth, multi-thread plotting
- Mystery 4: Depth of detail, atmosphere-building, sensory tension, advanced word choice
We strongly recommend starting with Mystery 1 so that students develop skills gradually and feel confident as the mysteries progress.
Our Approach to Creative Writing
Our approach to creative writing is a little different from many traditional writing curricula. We spend years teaching our children the rules of writing, and those rules are important. But somewhere along the way, some students begin to believe that writing is more about avoiding mistakes than sharing ideas.
That's one of the ideas that shaped the Teen Series. Rather than teaching students about writing through isolated exercises, we wanted them to become writers by writing. As they investigate each mystery, they analyze evidence, think critically, make creative decisions, and build their own story from beginning to end.
The Teen Series is a complete, full-credit English course that develops creative writing through authentic storytelling. While its approach differs from many traditional grammar or composition programs, our goal is to help students experience the joy of writing because you can't improve a blank page.
7. The Science: What to Expect (How It Builds Across the Series)
The forensic science in Cactus Curricula is hands-on, accessible, and realistic. Students investigate each mystery using real methods with simple household materials. Because every lab ties directly into the plot, teens learn science through the investigation itself.
Across the four mysteries, scientific skills increase in depth and complexity, with a focus on forensics, chemistry, biology, ecology, and botany:
- Mystery 1: Entry-level forensic techniques and basic chemical testing
- Mystery 2: More chemistry, document examination, and analytical reasoning
- Mystery 3: Biological concepts, ecological evidence, and environmental forensics
- Mystery 4: Biochemistry, chromatography, botanical forensics, and pH toxicology
Each experiment is designed to be doable with household materials while still reflecting how real investigators analyze and interpret evidence.
Families who want to extend the experience or need additional instructional hours can use the Optional Part 2 at the end of each mystery:
• My Research Project (deeper investigations and research connected to the mystery)
• My Science Lab (hands-on experiments tied to the case)
These options allow students to earn additional science hours while the core curriculum stays streamlined and easy to follow.
8. How the License Works
Your license provides online access based on the edition you purchased. Solo Editions include 1 year of access, Solo Bundles include 18 months, Group Editions include 1 year, and the Group Bundle includes 2 years. Printable materials are yours to keep. This digital structure protects the curriculum while allowing us to provide updates at no additional cost.
9. What You Need to Know Before You Begin
- Start with Mystery 1
- Print student pages weekly from the Print Center
- Create a crime board or binder so students can visually track suspects, clues, and case details
- Follow the weekly structure for reading, labs, and writing
- Choose the writing path that best fits your student
- Science and writing both build across the series
- The Teacher’s Edition stays digital for fast navigation