Students start the fourth quarter off with independent investigations of one body system found in humans. They identify the parts of that system, the function of the system, and how the system interacts with the rest of the body. The project concludes with students presenting their research to the class and the class collaboratively designing a quiz to hold themselves accountable for all of the knowledge presented. From there, we launch into an investigation of “upstream problem identification”, the practice of deliberately distinguishing symptoms from the problem. This leads us to the final unit of the 6th grade, a study of human ailments and their pharmaceutical and natural remedies. Students choose a patient from a list of “mystery patients” and their symptoms. They go through the process of identifying the root cause of the symptoms and searching for treatment options for that particular ailment. Students present their findings to the rest of the class who put themselves in the shoes of each patient and chose a treatment option from the list the “doctor” prescribed. As a culminating activity that merged many concepts and topics of study from the year, 6th graders dissect a cow eye and analyze it as a system composed of many parts working together to achieve an incredible function.