3rd Grade Squid Dissection Lab Experience
Written by: Mrs. Brazile, 3rd Grade Teacher
The best part of being a teacher is thinking of creative ways for students to access their learning in engaging and fun ways. When a child makes connections between an experience and what they read and write about, it makes an indelible impression on their brains. By creating these hands-on engagement events for the students, the curriculum’s content becomes real, fun, and memorable.
These activities are not only student-centered, but also family-centered. One of our core values at CHES is being part of the community, so when we come up with these experiences for our students, we always have our beloved community in mind, inviting families of all different backgrounds to come together in meaningful ways to engage with their child and have an opportunity to impact their learning in the most positive way.
When I first arrived at CHES five years ago, we started a new reading and writing curriculum, Wit and Wisdom. The content was and still is complex, dense, thought-provoking, and challenging. There are still new discoveries and understanding of the WHY behind the curriculum, and my colleagues and I often have our A-ha! moments - even years later. Our job was to rise to the challenge and help our students become confident within this rigorous curriculum.
The first module in 3rd grade is The Ocean. We read about how the ocean can bring people together, and analyze art inspired by it’s mysterious beauty and haunting terror. We learn about it’s vastness and the creatures that live within it. We explore and study Dr. Clyde Roper’s passion for learning all that he could about the mysterious “sea-monster,” the giant squid. And it was during that first year, where I had a glimmer of an idea to make the ocean real for the students in front of me, especially for those students who have never experienced the ocean before. So on a whim, I ordered a lab-grade squid off of Amazon, along with a dissection kit. I decided I was going to learn how to dissect a squid in front of my students. I shared this idea with my grade-level colleagues and they thought it would be a great experience for all the students to see. Luckily, one of my teammates knew how to dissect a squid and did all the dirty work. The students were equal parts captivated and horrified, watching the dissection unfold on the projected television screen.
Thus launching a 3rd grade tradition of squid dissection.
The following two years, we were able to outsource the dissection to the Adventure Science Center who had a great outreach program to teach students how to dissect food-grade squid. Students were able to learn about the squid’s anatomy, just like what they read in Dr. Roper’s book. They learned about respecting the animal and learned about how dissection is an aid to discoveries in the field of science. Fortunately, the in-house learning experiences were always provided for by generous funding from the CHES PTA mini-grants.
But then, during the 2024-2025 school year, I discovered that the outreach program was no longer offered. By that time, through word of mouth, all incoming third-graders knew that this was their year they could dissect squid. There had to be a solution to this problem. It didn’t take me too long to discover that I could purchase squid dissection kits from Carolina Biological Supply for a fraction of the price from the outreach program. I broached my colleagues with the idea that we could teach students how to dissect squids ourselves, and was countered with an even better idea, “Let’s see if parents want to volunteer and be a part of their child’s learning.” So I reached out to parents to garner interest, and when I saw that they were ready, willing, and able, I contacted the CHES PTA to help with purchasing the dissection kits. The event was a success! We had parents showing off their medical skills as nurses, doctors, veterinarians, and biochemists. We had parents who had no knowledge of dissecting jump into the experience and learn together with their children and others. The community buy-in was tremendous, the children’s smiles were infectious. The learning had become real and meaningful.
So naturally, the 3rd Grade Squid Dissection event evolved into its final iteration that it is today, a fun learning experience for both students and parents alike. With the continued support and generosity of the community and the PTA’s mini-grants, this third grade tradition will continue on for many years to come.