No Series: Demonstrating Biology: It Takes Guts

Demonstrating Biology: It Takes Guts

Lesson Objective: Use harvested pig entrails to demonstrate digestion
Grades 9-12 / Science / Hands-On Lab
14 MIN

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

  1. What did the teacher do to prepare for this lesson?
  2. How did the teacher honor the various sensitivities of his students regarding the use of real animal organs?
  3. What do you notice about the students' reactions?

5 Comments

  • Private message to Rachel Brownlee Kurita
  1. The teacher sources a pig’s entire digestive system frozen in order to teach his children about the system. He and another teacher clean the organs with a hose in the garden. To store the entrails, they seal it with a clean towel in an airtight plastic box in the fridge. 

  2. To honor the student’s sensitivities about use of real animal organs, he discusses the school’s policy to never use animals that were killed only for this purpose. He also makes sure to be aware if a student may not take part for religious reasons. 

  3. At first, the student’s reactions look disgusted and squeamish, but their interest grows as the teacher reviews each part and shows them the physical qualities of the tissues that they have learned about it theory. By the end, the students have taken it in stride and feel grateful to have had an ‘inside look’.

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  • Private message to Mason Lemons

This is a great demonstration of proper health standards of using specimens in lab. Using fresh entrails rather than pickled specimens allowed the kids a way to get the most natural look at the body and organs. It was great to see a dynamic yet precise instructor narrate the course material in a way that was understandable to the students. 

Recommended (0)
  • Private message to Ire Kruse
Very well presented, detailed enough for students to understand. Will attempt this into my schedule.
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  • Private message to Andrew Degsi
Love it! The whole digestive demonstration accompanied with detailed description and endoscopy images is a wonder to behold.
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  • Private message to Karin Ceralde
Wonderful demonstration of the digestive system using pig entrails. I plan to attempt to obtain a similar sample to use in my classroom from a sausage factory. Thank you for such a terrific overview. Love how students clapped at the end of your lesson.
Recommended (0)

External Resource Materials

Transcripts

  • Summary

    Dr Nigel Collins at Kings Charles 1 School wows his Year 9 class when he uses a pig's entrails to

    Summary

    Dr Nigel Collins at Kings Charles 1 School wows his Year 9 class when he uses a pig's entrails to demonstrate the digestive system.
    Nigel explains that once he receives the entrails, from the abattoir, hygienic handling and storage is of paramount importance. It's a lot of work for lab technician, Kathy Deakin, but it's worth it as the pupils really appreciate the opportunity to see real guts.
    Before any demonstration Nigel is aware of the sensitivities and religious issues around exposing animal organs and reassures his pupils that the animal was not killed for demonstration purposes.
    Once everything is prepared he shows the digestive system in detail from one end to the other. He enlists the help of some volunteers and also enhances his lesson by using endoscopy images obtained from the Royal Free Hospital in London.
    It is with great regret that we learned that Dr Nigel Collins, the presenter of this program, passed away after the program was completed. We continue to broadcast the program with the kind permission of his family.