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Anastasia—Dead or Alive
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Before watching, tell the students that this program
investigates the story of a woman who claims to be a lost
princess and the attempts to prove or disprove her claim.
Explain that some of the arguments focus on observations of Anna
Anderson's behavior and other arguments are based on data
collected through empirical tests. Have the students create two
columns on a sheet of notebook paper, the first column for
observations of behavior and the second for data based on
scientific studies. As they hear each argument during the
program, have the students make notes in the appropriate column.
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Tell students that when someone questions Anna Anderson's
identity in the program she responds, "Can you really tell me
who you are?" Ask students what evidence they would use to prove
their identity and list their ideas on the board. Then cross out
all the evidence that Anna Anderson didn't have. Now ask
students how they would prove their identity.
After Watching
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Ask students if they think the woman known as Anna Anderson was
Princess Anastasia, and to support their arguments with
information from the notes they made while viewing.
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For approximately 60 years, people involved in the Anastasia
case were unable to prove the identity of Anna Anderson beyond a
reasonable doubt. After DNA analysis was performed, many
investigators cited the results of those tests as conclusive
evidence about Anna Anderson's identity. How did the results of
the DNA tests affect students' opinions about whether Anna
Anderson could have been Anastasia Romanov? What effect does the
DNA evidence have on the validity of other tests and arguments
used to support Anna Anderson's claim? What are students'
opinions about the use of DNA evidence to prove the identity of
an individual? Under what circumstances would they accept such
evidence? Under what circumstances would they doubt the validity
of DNA evidence?
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