Suncoast Credit Union

With this equipment, Immokalee Middle School teachers and students will be able to conduct a hands-on exploration of the anatomy and physiology of a frog, which has body systems very similar to our own human body systems. The students will gain a memorable experience, which they can then relate to body systems lessons in the classroom.

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Frogs, Frogs, Frogs

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School:
Immokalee Middle 
Subject:
Science 
Teacher:
Karen Sydney 
Students Impacted:
550 
Grade:
Date:
September 5, 2018

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

 

Suncoast Credit Union - $1,314.45

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Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 550

Over 500 7th grade students from Immokalee Middle School enjoyed the hands-on dissection experience thanks to Champions For Learning.  The dissection of frogs helped students learn about the body systems, which is a required standard in Collier County Schools.  Dissections are a fun and interacting way of learning but comes with a price tag.

Interactive learning & having fun is the best combination for any 7th grader.  Just ask any student of Mrs. Sydney’s Life Science class.   Thanks to your generosity, students were able to receive new supplies including gloves, aprons, frog model, dissection tools, frogs and a microscope to view tissue.  These students benefited by exploring another side of science they’ve never seen before.  I am grateful that I had the opportunity to introduce this technique for my students at such an early age.  Hopefully, this will peak their interest in science and who knows maybe some will become doctors, veterinarians or scientists. 

 

Sincerely,

Karen Sydney

Immokalee Middle School

 

PS The students absolutely LOVED it!

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Original Grant Overview

Goal

With this equipment, Immokalee Middle School teachers and students will be able to conduct a hands-on exploration of the anatomy and physiology of a frog, which has body systems very similar to our own human body systems. The students will gain a memorable experience, which they can then relate to body systems lessons in the classroom.  

 

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 observe its’ body systems.

Teachers will also be able to utilize the safety equipment in other lab activities throughout the year and re-use the dissection utensils 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

90 frogs
Class set of dissection tools
60 pairs of googles
60 laboratory aprons
12 boxes of gloves 

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 90 frogs $534.45
2 Class set of dissection tools $150.00
3 60 pairs of goggles $189.00
4 60 laboratory aprons $381.00
5 12 boxes of gloves $60.00
  Total: $1,314.45

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union