Since State testing is over and we have covered all the State's curriculum, I let my students vote on the next science unit. I really wanted to teach anatomy, so I have been planting that seed in their mind all year all. Good thing it won, because the second place was the ocean and I don't know a lot about it (I probably would just fly Karl out to teach it). We started learning all the muscles and then how the heart and lungs work. We video taped our process drama production of an oxygen molcule's travel through the heart. To end the unit, I went to the slaughter house and bought sheep heart and lungs for the kids to dissect. Mike came in to help with the dissection and talk about career options if you like anatomy. Here are the pictures of the dissection.
I consider it a success when no one vomits, though by the end half the class was in the hall from queesiness. We had to quickly disinfect the whole room afterwards because we were having a pizza party from the janitor (yes, on the same desk that we dissected a bloody heart).
