This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
I currently teach high school Biology and Anatomy/Physiology. My plan is to have students dissect pigs in order to understand how organ systems work together. Many students are hungering to use their hands in class and dissections are a tradition in every Biology class.
I work at a charter school in LA.
Many of my students come from all over Los Angeles. This includes East LA, South Central, and some are even from Northern LA. The students I work with, though a handful, are incredible. They are inquisitive and love to use their hands. The students come from a diversity of backgrounds, many with families that are below the poverty line.
My Project
We will be dissecting the fetal pigs to illustrate how organ systems work in the body. After the Biology classes have dissected the pigs, my Anatomy and Physiology class will further dissect the organs to connect it to the many units we have covered this year. In other words, these pigs will serve two purposes in my classes! First, to show organ systems to the Bio kids, then to show individual organs to the Anat/Phys students. We already have trays and I have to replace some of the tools but we have a lot of materials already. We are simply just missing the pigs themselves!
Many of us got to dissect something in high school.
My students, no matter their circumstance, deserve to as well! For some of the more apathetic students, this may be the thing that sticks with them the most about Biology. For the students who are unsure of what they want to do, this may give them the extra hands-on experience they might need to fuel that desire to study science. If nothing else, this activity will help students understand organ systems better, to help them in this class.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Ferguson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
