Adventures in Science: Froguts and Bouncy Castles

Engagement in learning is a huge theme in Through a Different Lens.  How do we help kids understand big ideas and really want to explore those ideas in a meaningful way?  How do we hook them so that they become intrigued and begin to ask their own deep questions?

Here are a couple of 'hooks' into learning that some grade 6 teachers at KVR tried for the last two units in science in the Renewed Curriculum.

Fun with  “Froguts”:  A story of virtual dissection

One of the big ideas in the renewed curriculum for grade 6 science is "Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce and interact with their environment."  Students are expected to know the structures and functions of body systems. 

As an introduction to this unit, grade 6 teacher Pam Rutten and learning support teacher Janice Moase  co-taught a number of lessons to hook the kids into this new unit.  They worked Dr. Elizabeth Ormandy from the Animals and Science Policy Institute that is “dedicated to providing education on ethics and alternatives to animals in research”.

Over two days the students used a virtual dissection app on ipads called “Froguts” and were able to dissect a frog.  Dr. Ormandy from UBC, worked with the students through skype to learn how the frogs body systems help it survive.  She used the app to teach  the students about the reproductive system of male and female frogs.  The two sessions were interactive and the kids got to ask Dr. Ormandy questions.

This was a great introduction to the big unit on body systems.  The kids were able to speak with an expert, learn about the ethical treatment of animals in science, and dissect a virtual frog. With the app they learned how to pin the frog, use a scalpel, and remove parts so that they could see other parts.  Half the class dissected a female frog and half the class dissected a male frog and then they compared the systems.

Dr. Ormandy co-planned the lessons with Pam and Janice; and then talked to the students about ethics and science; humane alternatives to dissection, and guided them through the dissection itself.  

App: $6.00 for the app through iTunes
Dr. Ormandy is available and wants  to work with teachers.

For more info. Website: animalsinscience.org

Forces In Motion

To introduce the big ideas in science 6 the teachers put together a station approach in the gym.   Big Idea:  "Newton’s three laws of motion describe the relationship between force and motion".  
Students are expected to know "the 3 laws of motion, and effects of balanced and unbalanced forces in daily life, also... acceleration, equal and opposite reaction, force of gravity"  

The stations included:  trampoline, bouncy castle, long boards, teeter totter (made by the tech ed teacher), ball throwing, running up and down stairs (bleachers), tightrope, balance beam, skippet.

The students were split into groups and went to various stations with their clipboards to explore the movement and investigate what was causing the it.


As the unit progressed the teachers constantly referred back to the stations.  Where did you experience friction?  or acceleration?  The vocabulary was always explored in context of their experience in the gym… fulcrum, force gravity, momentum, compression.

Hard to tell who is having more fun… the teachers or the students.