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Eagle Crest Students Practice STEAM Curriculum in Shark Dissection

Students from Eagle Crest Charter Academy’s SOAR class recently participated in a hands-on science lesson that focused on shark dissection. SOAR, or Student of Outstanding Academic Rigor, is an accelerated learning program that offers project-based learning modules for students in second- through sixth-grade.

Fifth- and sixth-grade students dived in to learn about the dissection of dogfish sharks. Prior to the dissection lesson, students learned about different body systems and types of sharks.

“The best part about this was that the students got to put on surgical gowns and gloves to really act the part,” said Kourtney Wolters, sixth-grade teacher at Eagle Crest. “While dissecting, they got to work with surgical tools, such as scalpels, forceps, probes, scissors, and more.”

On the day of the dissection, Tim Aldrich, a registered nurse from Holland Hospital, joined the class to assist in the dissection. Aldrich’s daughter, an Eagle Crest student, was also able to partake in the dissection.

Leading up to the dissection, students learned about dogfish sharks through a variety of STEAM stations. Activities included forming a 3D shark model, researching information about a specific shark species, creating a shark model out of cucumbers, and much more.

The day prior to the dissection, the class went through an online mock dissection that showed pictures and displayed information about how to locate and identify various shark body parts.

Eagle Crest ordered the sharks through a company called Carolina Biological Supply Company located in North Carolina, a leading supplier of science-related teaching materials.

About Eagle Crest Charter Academy
Eagle Crest Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Holland, Michigan, serving students in Young 5s through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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