Frog Dissection

Virtual frog dissection class for grade 10. The presentation I gave at the beginning definitely helped to get them interested. I showed them some frog diversity slides including The Goliath Frog (size of a small dog) and the smallest frog (smaller than the end of your finger). The students were also engaged in discussion about cutaneous respiration when I showed them an image of The Borneo Flat Headed Frog which has no lungs and breathes 100% cutaneously. I showed the class an image of a frozen frog and we discussed the natural antifreeze that keeps their tissues from being damaged during winter hibernation (not all species freeze). The students were fascinated by this. During virtual dissection discuss how the eyes can be retracted into the mouth to aide swallowing as this may not be discussed in the software you are using. Important to emphasize that because frogs skin is thin and permeable they are very susceptible to toxins such as pesticides and act as environmental sentinels. Many species are endangered because of this.