Using Speidel’s suggestion, purchase six large inexpensive purses at a Goodwill store. In each purse place several unusual items that might generate discussion. You might include a want ad, an article from the newspaper on a recent crime, a map, a financial statement, a letter, a photograph, a paperback book, and so on.

          Divide the class into six small groups, give each group a purse full of objects, and ask them to speculate about the owner. After they have had time to discuss the contents and reach some tentative conclusions, have each group select a spokesperson to share how the specific details of the items enclosed led them to conclusions about the purse's owner.