Ready to bring your anatomy labs to life without turning your classroom into chaos central? Dissections can be a total win for teaching comparative anatomy to middle and high schoolers. They are always blown away when they realize how closely animals’ parts mirror ours… wait, frogs have lungs, too?!? If the idea of dissection makes you nervous, this year’s the year to give it a shot – either with real specimens or virtual options. Here’s 5 dissection day best practices sure to make your dissection days smooth, smart, and yes—stress-free:
Prep Like a Pro
Start a few days early with an IOS 3-D paper model to help students get comfy with the anatomy and dissection process before the real deal. The student-friendly reading helps your kiddos learn the structure and function of each organ. Then, break out the colored pencils, scissors and glue sticks. IOS models use a consistent color key across systems to help students see how organs relate to each other, so comparative anatomy has never been so easy. Have students get to work coloring and cutting out everything they’ll see in the organism in question. Assemble as a class and throw in some follow-up questions. The model doubles as both a learning tool and a practice dissection—less stress for everyone before and during dissection day, especially first-timers. Personally, I consider this a dissection ay best practice and never let students dissect until their models were complete.
Set Expectations
The day before dissection day, spend some time reviewing by showing specimen photos or videos, demonstrating the proper use of tools, and going over lab safety rules. Share a classroom horror story (like the kid who thought pretending to eat part of a sheep eye specimen was hilarious) – and let it highlight exactly why lab behavior matters.
At the beginning of the year and even before each dissection, consider having students sign a safety/behavior contract, and remind them that dissection is a privilege, not a right. Anyone who acts out can be moved to another assignment – and nobody wants that. Here’s a perfect lab safety contract (printed two per page) for dissection days that’s all yours to download:
Teacher Tip: Frame safety rules with a little humor. Kids will remember—and respect—them more.
Quiz, Then Team Up
Another dissection day best practice is to wrap up your prep day with a quick quiz covering dissection and lab safety, and toss in some questions about the organism’s classification. Use your quiz results to create balanced groups of leaders and kiddos that need a little support – depending on your class size, stick to 6-7 groups total or the chaos will grow exponentially.
Dissect in Phases (for Your Sanity)
Just. Don’t. Don’t try to cram the entire dissection into one block (unless you somehow have a two-hour block of time). Split your dissection into two days – avoid scalpels if possible – just scissors, pins, probes, and forceps.
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Day One: Focus on the external anatomy. One life-saving technique is to have a checklist to help guide students in identifying and keeping track of external features, as well as having their models or notes handy. Once they’re ready, come by and verbally quiz them, asking each student to identify something. If they are struggling, let them “phone a friend” and ask a group mate for assistance. Initial their checklist and let them move on with their exploration. Wrap up with cleanup and store specimens in plastic bags.
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Day Two: Stick with the same groups. Start with a quick safety reminder, then move into internal anatomy. Use the same flow—explore, quiz, cleanup, store.
Why it Works: Students learn more deeply, and you keep control of the pace. Breaking it up gives students more time to digest (pun intended!) what they’re learning, and gives you less mayhem to juggle at once, and the verbal quizzes take the pressure off of the kids to know everything right then and there, while still allowing you to make informal assessments of their learning experience.
Test in Style—On Your Terms
The best advice for lab practical days is to keep the specimen that the kids dissected (if they didn’t destroy them). Create stations around the room, keep specimen moist with damp paper towels, and clearly pin internal and external parts for identification. Add some 3-D paper models into your station rotations as a way to test your students on their assignment as well. Some helpful differentiation ideas and best practices:
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Offer a multiple-choice or word-bank format for students who need support.
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Challenge advanced learners with short-answer questions.
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Rotate groups through stations every couple of minutes- keeps the pace snappy and the focus sharp.
What If Students Can’t (or Don’t Want to) Dissect?
In my first year of teaching, I had a student who refused to dissect, and I think it’s important to respect the fact that not every student is comfortable with dissection… that’s okay. Be prepared with alternative options that provide a similar learning experience like:
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Virtual dissection tools
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A detailed 3D model like a paper dissection model from Inside Out
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A step-by-step video walk-through
This ensures all students learn the anatomy—even if they’re not hands-on with a specimen.
Classroom Management Hacks That Save Your Sanity
Dissections are messy, no way around it. But you can minimize the chaos with a few simple systems:
- Have a set method for completing dissection. Using a dissection exploration template like the one below will surely keep your dissections on track.
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Pre-label cleanup stations and assign jobs (wiper, sprayer, bag-sealer).
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Have a dedicated “specimen trash” bin.
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Stock each station with extra gloves and paper towels so you’re not running around like crazy.
- Keep a stock of hair-ties for your students with long hair.
- Laminate checklists so that they can be reused and wiped between classes – saves on paper!
Your future self will thank you…
Make It Memorable with Reflection
A great way to wrap up your dissection is to ask students to pause and reflect. A quick 5–10 minute activity will help to make the experience stick:
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Have them sketch one organ and label it.
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Ask: “What’s one similarity you noticed between this specimen and humans?”
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Or try: “What surprised you most about this dissection?”
These little reflections turn a hands-on activity into a true learning moment.
Things will get a little messy, and that’s totally normal! The goal isn’t a picture-perfect dissection, it’s bringing those dissection day best practices to your classroom and giving your students a chance to explore, ask questions, and see the incredible connections between themselves and the organisms they are exploring. Lean into the chaos—it’s all part of the magic. Your students will remember the experience, and you’ll walk away knowing you turned what could’ve been mayhem into a memorable learning adventure.
