Have You "Heart" About It???

Dissection is Amazing!

Hello Parents! I hope that you already know about the really exciting things we have been doing in the science classroom from your child! We have had so much fun! The week of April 29th we focused on the circulatory system. We tested our heart rates, studied the parts of the heart and how the heart muscle pumps oxygenated blood to every cell in our bodies. To apply our knowledge of the heart and circulatory system we had an obstacle course. We were the blood cells as they passed through the vena cava, atriums, ventricles, lungs and out the aorta to the rest of the body. Your children climbed through tunnels of the veins and arteries and jumped from chamber to chamber to illustrate the movement of blood through the circulatory system. This was so much fun! Mr. Hoover and I had the best day with every one of our students!

This week we dissected a frog to gain a better understanding of our own body systems. A frog is commonly used for dissection because we share so many of the same body systems. Frogs have a skeletal, nervous, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory and reproductive system. We share these systems and it was really exciting to actually observe these organs and organ systems to discover how they fit together in the chest cavity. The students were also amazed by the connective tissue. They were really surprised that the connective tissue was so thin and clear yet so strong! We found many fascinating foods in the stomach of the frogs. There were insects, a mouse or vole and lots of chyme (partially digested food). I spoke with the students about respecting the organism that we are dissecting. We talked about "unwrapping" the organism for learning and understanding, not slicing or tearing the tissue. I was so proud of every student for actually comprehending the true meaning of dissection. I had a classroom of students who were focused and engaged for the whole dissection process. Today I had a reflection on the frog dissection activity and I had a few students who stated that they were interested in becoming surgeons (I have goose bumps!).

I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to every seventh grade student at CSD! You handled this situation with dignity and maturity. I just love you all and appreciate how hard you work in the science classroom! I would also like to thank Mr. Hoover. Mr. Hoover and I have been co-teaching so Mrs. VonCanon, Ms. Kreit, and Ms. Alter can have intensive math and language arts instruction. Mr. Hoover was not excited about dissection at all and had limited experience with dissection but he rose to the occasion with a professionalism and humor! Thank you!