Fourth graders learn animal anatomy through owl pellets

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Elementary school is often a time for students to learn more about the world and the animals in it. Fourth graders in Ridgefield School District dissect owl pellets to learn more about ecosystems, owl digestive systems, and animal anatomy including how bird and rodent bones fit together.

Ridgefield School District receives the pellet dissection experiment as part of a Full Option Science System (FOSS) Kit from Educational Service District 112. The pellets are sanitized by the ESD 112 science staff members who boil the pellets in special chemicals to ensure the pellets are safe for students to handle.

“When owls kill their prey, they eat the entire animal whole,” explained Karen Moses, a fourth grade teacher at South Ridge Elementary School. “Owls regurgitate pellets containing all the bones, feather, and fur that their digestive systems cannot process.”

Before dissecting their pellets, students answered questions about animal anatomy as well as what types of foods owls eat. Students listed the steps they would take to dissect the pellets including pulling the fur out and placing it on one plate with the bones placed on a second plate.

“Analyzing the bones to attempt to identify the prey is the learning objective for this project,” said Moses.

In teams of two, students opened an owl pellet and separated bones from the other material. While students performed the dissection, they made observations of the pellet and their own scientific process. Throughout the experiment, students take notes in their science journals by describing the owl pellets including size, shape, texture, and color.

“A few kids are squeamish at first, but they all eventually work with their pellets after seeing their classmates do it,” said Moses. “It feels weird touching bones and fur that have been in an owl’s stomach acid,” said Chisom Okafor, a fourth grade student in Moses’ class. “It’s really nice knowing the pellets are sanitized before we get them.”



Students use rodent and bird bone diagrams to identify the different bones found in the pellet.

“Taking off all the fur and seeing the bones was so much fun,” said Carter Dewitz, a fourth grader in Moses’ class. “I’m used to seeing this kind of thing because I live near coyotes, but doing it hands-on was great.”

All of Ridgefield’s fourth graders perform the owl pellet dissection each year as part of their science unit.

“Hearing the learning come from their observations and seeing them utilizing the scientific method is so fulfilling,” said Moses. “Using the scientific method begins at this basic level in fourth grade and then builds with each following grade level.”

The FOSS concepts of using active learning and hands-on experiments started at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley for students in grades K-8. Throughout the school year, fourth graders use other FOSS kits including investigating human anatomy; electricity and magnetism; and rocks and minerals.

“The FOSS kits are great teaching tools,” said Moses. “I learn more teaching with these kits than I ever learned when I was a fourth grade student myself.”