FROG DISSECTION MANUAL
--- a content rich, teacher written self-paced guide
suitable for middle and high school students

by Keith Wilhelmi

 Bullfrogs Recommended 

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Why dissect a frog?Purchasing the Guide 

WAIT!! PLEASE DON'T PURCHASE THIS GUIDE VIA THIS SITE, SINCE I PRODUCED A REVISED VERSION IN DECEMBER (2020).

THE NEW VERSION IS SOLD VIA 'TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS.' Within the 'Teachers Pay Teachers' site, simply search "Keith Wilhelmi."

THIS WEBSITE SHOULD STILL HELP YOU TO DECIDE IF THIS GUIDE IS A GOOD FIT FOR YOUR PROGRAM. THE DIAGRAMS HAVE NOT CHANGED AND THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES (detailed instructions for a self-paced experience; small paragraphs) REMAIN THE SAME. HOWEVER, I HAVE IMPROVED THE WORDING OF A FEW OF THE STEPS, AND I HAVE ADDED A FEW MORE LINKS TO THE HUMAN BODY.

Middle and high school science teachers, are you hesitant to incorporate (or continue using) a frog dissection unit? Do any of the following statements reflect your feelings?

"I’m not really that comfortable with the dissecting steps and anatomical parts and functions!"

"It’s just too exhausting an activity -- so many detailed steps to describe and supervise!"

"It’s too tough to keep all of the students happy. Some students are rarin' to move on, while others need constant guidance!"

"I’m not sure the students even make the connections between the frog and the human!"

I’m betting that my guide will change your feelings about this very powerful unit. The steps are so detailed and the illustrations so clear that students - working in small teams - will enjoy teaching themselves. The connections between the frog and the human anatomy and physiology are continually pointed out. YOUR time will be spent hearing students "ooh and aaah" (and "ugh" a few times) - and enjoying guiding individuals.

In 2020, I retired after 42.5 years of teaching Life Science to middle school students, but I always considered the frog dissection unit as one of my favorites. Over 20 years ago, I decided that walking entire classes through this activity - step by step - was just too exhausting, so I put the first version of this self-paced guide on paper. This "final version" is the result of years of noting the stumbling blocks and revising the instructions.

In summer of 2005, I decided that the weakest link was the illustrations that I'd been using, so I produced my own drawings. Convinced that my efforts would be of use to others (and to try to help me address some unexpected medical expenses) I copyrighted my work and began licensing my guide to other teachers. I am happy to report that the feedback from purchasers has been overwhelmingly positive.

Since 2005, I have revised the guide several times, based on my annual observations of students' work. I've also added several suggestions based on my discovery of the significant advantages of bullfrogs over grass frogs. (See "Bullfrogs Recommended".)

I think you'll be impressed with the level of detail – forty-three sheets of text and fourteen sheets of large frog illustrations! Your students will be able to read and follow the exact steps for each stage of dissection. Along the way they’ll learn about the anatomy and physiology of the key frog organs and the corresponding human organs. For easier reading, the text pages consist primarily of short paragraphs which are separated by blank lines. For a small number of the more challenging terms, I created a "pronunciation guide" after the word: e.g. cloaca (klo ā kuh).

You’ll note that my frog illustrations (and their labels) are BIG. I created these after years of struggling with difficult-to-interpret diagrams from other sources.

Whether you are a veteran life science teacher looking to get more out of the frog dissection activity, a new teacher looking to manage your workload while inspiring your students, or someone teaching outside your area of expertise and perhaps needing a bit of help yourself, I'm confident you'll find "Keith Wilhelmi's Self-Paced Frog Dissection Guide" to be well worth the money!

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