The IPC unit

For the IPC unit 'Express Yourself' in Grade 4 we have been learning about emotions, feeling, interactions with others etc. There is a science component as part of this unit where we look at the structure of the human body and some of its functions. In particular we focused on the heart and some of its functions. To help our students understand the heart better, we offered them the opportunity to participate in a cow and sheep heart dissection with our secondary science teacher Mrs Sonia Gonzalez. The lab activity allowed students to see how the heart functions within a real organism.

The students were so engaged as they worked through the lesson. They began by learning about the function of the heart, and how it is a muscle that never gets tired. They started their dissections by cutting down the length of the heart to separate it into two halves. They observed the difference in the thickness of both sides of the heart to determine which was the left ventricle and which was the right.

They continued by exploring different elements, and asking questions as they explored further. Some of the elements the students were curious about included: fat, muscle tissue in the middle of the heart, the size difference between the sheep and cow’s heart and the veins on the outside of the heart.

A big thank you again for the specialist support from the secondary school, in particular Ms Demi and Mrs Gonzalez.