Sponsored by JTM Concepts, INC.

"Innovative Solutions"

May 29, 2003 11:52 PM
By Robin J. Youngblood, Staff writer

ROCK ISLAND -- The expression on Steven Lee's face came as close to saying ``Eeewww'' as a 12-year-old boy can get.

Even teammate Marcus Morrissey, 13, made a few grossed-out grimaces as he cut open the frog stretched out on the dissection tray in front of the boys.

The frog's undersides were tough to cut through, but Marcus continued to seek out body parts. ``It's dead, but it's still nasty,'' he said.

As he opened the belly, a foul smell wafted out. Steven, whose face was next to the frog, grimaced. ``That has a bad odor,'' he said.

The boys were among 170 seventh-graders at Edison Junior High who spent the last weeks of school studying frogs. They'll read about them, discuss them, dissect about 120 of them, and finally, eat them.

Using flat razors, the students in Bill Greathouse's class carefully sliced opened the amphibians, peeled back their skins, and started looking for tiny lungs and femurs. Some sliced open stomachs to see what frogs eat, and found beetle remains.

Frogs can stay underwater for long periods of time with those tiny lungs, Mr. Greathouse told his class; that's because they can breathe through their skin.

The students didn't waste time getting down to business. Entering class, they retrieved their ``body bags'' from the day before and continued identifying parts, which takes about two days.

Mr. Greathouse, whose classes have been dissecting for more than 20 years, said it prepares the kids for high-school anatomy. He helped Washington Junior High set up a frog unit for its seventh-graders two years ago.

``In all these years, I've never had one student who didn't look forward to this,'' he said.

Ashton Darnell, 13, and Kasey Lashbrooke, 12, went gloveless, like many others in the class. They weren't too happy about having to touch the croaker cadavers, but the available surgical gloves were too big and cumbersome to wear.

``It makes noise when you cut into it,'' Kasey said.

To get a glimpse of the glottis, which acts like a human's diaphragm, the girls had to cut into the frog's jaw. ``It crunched,'' Kasey said.

When students finish dissecting, they'll move on to extra-credit projects that Mr. Greathouse said few pass up. Team members decide who gets to keep the frog's skin or skeleton, which will be coated with plastic. The end result is a plaque for students to take home -- a reminder of the class and what they learned, Mr. Greathouse said.

Both Ashton and Kasey want the bones, so they'll probably split their frog's remains for their plaques.

``It's cool to see a frog,'' Ashton said. ``It was interesting to see the parts.''

It's not all work and no play. Next week, students will get to taste fried frog legs, specially prepared by Mr. Greathouse. In addition to froggie treats, students can receive awards for the unit at the year-end assembly.

The Frogologist of the Year Award, a framed certificate and a T-shirt, are given to the student who earns the highest grade in the unit. The title of Certified Amphibian Surgical Specialist is given to teammates if all members earn an A.

Frogs are Mr. Greathouse's passion -- it's evident when walking into his classroom, covered with frog statues, frog pencils, frog drawings, and other mementos of the little green guys -- and he enjoys sharing it with his students.

``It's just really fun,'' Mr. Greathouse said. ``They're nice and respectful. The kids really buy into this.''

Staff writer Robin Youngblood can be reached at (309) 786-6441, ext. 257, or by e-mail at robiny@qconline.com.

Copyright 2002, Moline Dispatch Publishing Co.

The Rock Island Science & Technology Site
is brought to you by

"Innovative  Solutions"

Special Thanks to the Argus/Dispatch