An Army of Skeletons found at Oak Hill Academy!

By: Ryan Clapp

Ok, Ok, you got me, there isn’t a REAL band of skeletons in the halls of one of the best private schools in New Jersey…. but it certainly looks that way!

The whole reason for doing this is not to scare away children, it’s not even for Halloween! Believe it or not, it’s actually done to learn!Every teacher you ask nowadays will tell you the best way to understand and retain information is to do, create or experience something in a different way than it’s been done before. For that reason, I decided to do this activity when teaching my 8th grade science class the Skeletal System.

Every teacher you ask nowadays will tell you the best way to understand and retain information is to do, create or experience something in a different way than it’s been done before. For that reason, I decided to do this activity when teaching my 8th grade science class the Skeletal System.

Now, instead of having my kids simply just label a picture of a skeleton, they must make the skeleton based off a trace of their own bodies! Looking at the skeleton this way helps the students in many ways:

• They get a better idea of where certain bones are found in their own body.
• The positioning of all of the bones makes more sense.
• Its extra practice for labeling all of the major bones of the skeletal system.
• This way is much more fun!

At Oak Hill Academy, Science is an experience, not just another class. Teachers here pride themselves on being different and trying to make every lesson as gripping and interesting as possible. Isn’t that the kind of class you’d like to be in?