West Liberty-Salem Local School District

Mrs. Smith’s high school Zoology class is studying the anatomy of pigs and wrapped up the unit with a pig dissection.  Dissections take place in Zoology and Biology in order to view the internal structure of the particular animal they are studying.  Pigs, because of their likeness to the human anatomy, is always a very interesting project.  Students get to touch, see and explore the various organs of the body.  Seeing these organs work within the body of a single animal can help them understand how they work in many other animals, and in the case of the pig, human comparisons are made. Dissections don’t always go as planned, however two faired well during the process and allowed for a cross grade level teaching opportunity!  Elementary classes and our MRDD class took a field trip to the HS science wing to learn how pigs and human anatomy are alike and how they are different!  These cross grade teaching opportunities give students the opportunity to solidify their knowledge in the subject by accurately describing the parts of the dissection process, and the anatomy of the subject they are working on.  The students loved interacting with the older kids, asking questions, and found the dissection pretty cool!  Students not only learned about the anatomy and human/pig similarities but they learned why dissection is important to help humans and animals live long, healthy lives.  Thanks to Mrs. Smith and Zoology for a fun in-school field trip today!