Last Friday one of our teachers' assistants came up to me very excited before school. She had noticed a freshly killed Coyote on the side of the road on her way to school. Naturally I jumped in my car and sped down the hill to pick it up. 
As the science teacher (as well as 4th/5th grade teacher) at a small rural K-8 I like to do as much hands-on teaching as possible. After lunch we started the dissection. My 4th and 5th graders were the first group to see what's inside a Coyote, they actually did better than the older kids with the blood/guts/smell.
We were able to identify the heart, lungs, trachea, kidneys, liver, pancreas, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, and a few other bits and pieces. The last thing I did was remove the head, which is now sitting out behind my barn. After the maggots do their job I plan to clean up the skull.
One of the funniest parts was when the superintendent of our school district showed up for a surprise visit - it was his first time visiting our school this year, and his timing couldn't have been better.
Life can be pretty interesting at our little country school.
As the science teacher (as well as 4th/5th grade teacher) at a small rural K-8 I like to do as much hands-on teaching as possible. After lunch we started the dissection. My 4th and 5th graders were the first group to see what's inside a Coyote, they actually did better than the older kids with the blood/guts/smell.
We were able to identify the heart, lungs, trachea, kidneys, liver, pancreas, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, and a few other bits and pieces. The last thing I did was remove the head, which is now sitting out behind my barn. After the maggots do their job I plan to clean up the skull.
One of the funniest parts was when the superintendent of our school district showed up for a surprise visit - it was his first time visiting our school this year, and his timing couldn't have been better.
Life can be pretty interesting at our little country school.
I didn't even think of it. 
