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Goal

The Goal of this grant is to provide students the opportunity to conduct hands on explorations of the anatomy and physiology of a frog, a chicken wing and an owl pellet. Frogs have a body system very similar to our own human body system. The students will gain a memorable experience, which they can then relate to body systems lessons in the classroom. Students will also be able to gain a better understanding of ecosystems and food webs by examining owl pellets. 

Category

Other -  

What will be done with my students

As students are learning in science, they often have trouble visualizing the concepts and tapping into prior knowledge which helps them make connections with new information they are learning.

With this equipment, every student at Immokalee Middle School will have the opportunity to participate in a group frog dissection and have a first-hand, real-world experience with anatomy and physiology. Students will follow teacher instruction and lab book directions to complete the dissection of a frog, and a chicken wing and observe its body systems. Students will also dissect an owl pellet to observe the diet of an owl, gain a better understanding of predator prey relationships and food webs.

Teachers will also be able to utilize the equipment in other lab activities throughout the year and re-use the dissection pans for years to come as well.
 

Benefits to my students

According to the University of Albany report, What Works in Middle School Science, hands-on experiments and experiences are vital to student learning. The report states, Hands down, hands-on stands out as the most popular approach to teaching middle school science students and is seen as directly connected to reinforcing that science can be fun and relevant to their lives. Hands-on activities are viewed as particularly effective for English Language Learners (ELLs) and special needs students in that they provide pathways other than lecture to sometimes abstract ideas. Balancing lecture with plenty of purposeful hands-on activity in middle school science is a way to both prepare students for more advanced science and still communicate the increasingly complex ideas.

As Immokalee Middle School has both a very high ELL and special need student population, this type of classroom activity is particularly impactful with our students. There have been other types of activities suggested in place of dissection, but time and again, many factors have shown that dissection has virtual explorations beat when it comes down to the science and techniques they are using in order to gather information.

Edulabs states, Many teachers believe the reality conveyed by dissection cannot be matched by alternatives. Virtual simulations cannot showcase abnormalities or variations from one specimen to the next. It would seem that overly perfect alternatives cannot compete with the biological surprises of real specimens and the learning opportunities they provide. From manipulating sharp instruments to employing delicate hand-eye co-ordination, the reality of physically dissecting a specimen can also develop fine motor skills.

There is no doubt that a frog dissection experience will increase student engagement, learning, and understanding of scientific concepts.

 

Budget Narrative

Grant money will be spent to buy frogs, owl pellets and chicken wings for dissection. I will purchase tools and matts for dissection. 

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