Grade Eight finishes the second week of its anatomy block by learning about the five senses.

It was a lot of fun to watch the students lead each other around while blindfolded, and use mirrors and magnifying glasses to look into their eyes as they investigated the eye and sight.

Ms. Goodman provides an overview of the goals of this block and why, at this age, these studies are so important:

Anatomy in 8th Grade

The 8th Grade anatomy studies builds on the knowledge learned in 7th Grade physiology. The 8th Grader is often a student long in the limbs and fatigued; teachers often see students slouched forward, leaning heads on the desks, and sharing about how tired they are. This is juxtaposed with how quickly and enthusiastically students can bounce into being engaged and interested in lessons, wanting to focus on the details and root causes. In this way anatomy is the perfect subject for this grade, and it will challenge the students to find moments of uprightness and make explicit how we as humans interact with the world around us.

With this as our jumping off point, we delve into the five senses, understanding how they give us the ability to interact with the world in different ways. Through our senses we take in the outer world. Of special note is our studies of the ear and eye, as these two portals give us the most information about our world. The second part of our anatomy studies will focus on the muscles of the human body and their relationship to the bones, organs and movement of which we are capable. Finally, we will study the axial and appendicular skeletons and the students will be challenged to identify every bone in the body as well as understand their function. It is through the muscles and bones we give back to the world that we took in through our senses.