Straw Bones, More Ribs Please

On Monday, I split the Tracks into 4 groups to conduct research using a jigsaw cooperative learning format. Each group was assigned a book to review, document and present. The idea is that the smaller groups would become the experts on a different part of the human body and then would report back to the larger group about their subject. In this way, they would become experts on all the different topics, including Guts, Bones, Lungs, and Blood.

It worked beautifully. I certainly learned a lot and I was amazed at how many facts they presented and then retained, ready to present back to our expert from the National Museum of Health and Medicine who visited the next day.

One of the things we learned was that the human body has 12 pairs of ribs. I pointed out that the straw skeletons would certainly need more ribs! Every single one. So, on Wednesday, we added first internal organs using string and pipe cleaners for the intestines (the children really liked those intestines) and left-over Chris Martin Corcoran postcards for the organs. Then finally, they added an exact count of 12 straw ribs.

I have a bunch of surgical gauze pads someone gave me. Don't you think those should be painted red and wrapped as muscle tissue around these little critters? That would be cool.