Apologia: Biology Module 12 Arthropods

These Biology posts are a means of reviewing and planning my class for this coming school year with my Co-op class.  Look for posts this fall with more details once class resumes.  Arthropods are part of my animal unit with more comparative morphology and dissections.  De. Wile lists the crayfish dissection as optional.  My kids do a traditional dissection series: earthworm, clam, grasshopper, crayfish, starfish, perch, and frog.  If funds permit, we also dissect a fetal pig.  Home Training Tools Intermediate Kit has seven specimens, lab packets, and tools.  The animal set is very reasonable.  I order lab materials for the school year in the fall in order to divide the costs among the .co-op families.  Three or four children can share each specimen to contain costs.  For this module, I recommend both the crayfish and grasshopper dissections.

Experiment 12.1, Insect Classification pairs well with dichotomous key activities like this classification key or the Alaskan sea life activity, or this classic.  Let me leave you another video!