The Mystery Box

This year our Science/Social Studies schedule is a little different. Instead of the traditional A/B schedule we see A day for 4 1/2 weeks and then B day for 4 1/2 weeks. The philosophy is that if students see us everyday they will understand and retain the content better. Friday was the last day for B day before second quarter. We were done with all of the Earth's atmosphere content. I decided to dedicate the day to "spooky science". Next quarter's content is the human body. I cooked up some "body parts" and put them into three different shoe boxes. I had the kids stick their hand in the box through a small hole in the lid. I told them a story of a man who was last seen alive in his office. All that was found were these remains. The government wanted them to identify the body parts. They were not allowed to look at the body parts. Most did not ask why! They had to list the "body parts" they found and place them into the correct body system (I created a chart for this) It was a great pre-assessment to see what they already know about the human body systems. It was hilarious to see their faces as they stuck their hands in the box. There were some shrieks and squeels! I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it and are a little more excited about studying the human body next quarter! Twelve year olds are the best!

Here are the body parts!

Carrots=fingers
Tortillas=skin
Blanched tomato=heart
Spaghetti=veins
Grapes=eyes
Small beans=teeth
Marshmallows=pieces of intestines

I put most of the food in oil before hand so it was extra slimy!