Posted Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Hands-On Science in Middle School
Frog dissection in seventh grade science give students an opportunity to learn new skills and overcome fears.

Seventh grade students Brandon Armstrong and Trent Ahern dissect a frog during science lab. Students learned to identify frog organs including the heart, liver, lungs, and diaphragm. They determined whether the frog was male or female by the size of the thumb (large thumb is a male). They also learned that frogs have four chambers in the heart, two atria and two ventricles. This hands-on experiment follows a chapter study on amphibians and reptiles. About eighty percent of the students overcame their fears and performed the dissection; remaining students were given an alternative assignment.