TEACHER INFORMATION SHEET
Place on display various samples of organisms:
Fungi and Mold, Bacterial cells, Microscopic slides of microbes, Leaf, bird bones, snake skin, any preserved specimens, a mirror
Magnifying loupes (ideally) or hand lens can be used at this point to introduce structure and function of plant and animal parts. The magic of the loupes, when correctly used is that only the magnified image is seen, so students' focus on what is usually not seen with the naked eye. Students are observing the structure of objects in a close and personal way.
While students are examining objects under 5X or 10X magnification, they should draw pictures of their actual observations under magnification. Then the teacher can ask " Look at this hidden image. What does the image remind you of? Stretch your imagination.." Students can begin to make analogies of what the magnified image reminds them of.
The analogies are then used to theorize on what the function of the plant or animal structures might be. Teacher can ask "Why is it shaped like that? What might be the function of the _______ on the leaf (or insect or stem or wing, etc.)" This focusing leads to new insights and questions. Students will come up with wonderful ideas for functions that they can then research to verify. Students and teacher can decide on the best way to pool the information to get a complete picture of all observations.
Embedded Assessment: Have students do a short research paper on "What is the function of your anatomy sample?"