Bone Composition
| Objective: | to
explain that bones are hard on the outside and have a soft spongy center
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| Student Information: | Your
bones hold you up. They give your body its shape. Bones are very strong
and hard on the outside in order to support your body. On the inside, bones
have a spongy layer around the marrow to make them lighter and movement.
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| Materials: |
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| Procedures: | Students
will work in pairs, filling one tube with rocks and the other with sponges,
taping the ends of the tubes. Students will make comparisons of the two
"bones" in terms of strength and mass.
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| Assessment: | Journal
Entry
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Major Bones of the Body
| Objective: | to identify and locate the
major bones of the human body
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| Student Information: | When you are born, you have
about 300 bones. As you grow, some of these bones grow or fuse together.
When you are an adult you will have 206 bones.
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| Materials: |
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| Procedures: | 1. Students will review
and label main bones on skeleton handout. Bones identified include skull
(cranium), jaw, clavicle, sternum, rib cage, rib, spine, humerus, radius,
ulna, pelvis, carpals, metacarpals, phalanges, femur, patella, fibula,
tibia, tarsals, and metatarsals.
2. Students will stick pieces of tape to the outside of the trashbags to form spine, clavicles, sternum, ribcage, and pelvis. They will use tape on clothing to represent bones in arms and legs. 3. The students will learn
song "Dem Bones" and use "costumes" (including skull masks) to perform
song and dance.
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| Assessment: | 1. Completed skeleton costume/model.
2. Journal Entry
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Jazzy Joints
| Objective: | to identify and name
the joints that connect bones
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| Materials: |
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| Procedures:
Student Information: |
1. Bring a floppy
rag doll to class and explain that without bones, humans would look like
this. Explain that without joints--points where two or more rigid bones
are joined together by muscles and tendons--humans could not bend, swivel,
curl, pivot, and point.
2. Show children the joint examples. Let them handle the joints to become familiar with the range of motion of each one. Begin with the hinge joint and ask the children to describe the motion. Have the students give examples of hinge joints that they have seen on machines and around their houses. Repeat the discussion using the universal and ball-and-socket joints. 3. Have students move
some of the major bones in their own bodies, such as the tibia (shinbone),
the patella (kneecap), the femur (thighbone), and the mandible (jawbone).
While touching each bone, have them move that part of the body so they
can locate the nearest joint to the part they are touching. Have the students
describe how they are able to move the joint (up and down, around in a
circle, side to side and up and down, and so on), and in doing so, to identify
which type of joint they believe they have discovered. Except for the ankle
and wrist joints (which are gliding joints, complex combinations of the
ball-and-socket and hinge joints), any joints the students locate can be
categorized as either a hinge joint, a universal joint, or a ball-and-socket
joint.
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| Assessment: | 1. Journal Entry
In cooperative groups, list the joints evident in the body and label each as a hinge joint, a universal joint, or a ball-and-socket joint. 2. Visual Chart
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| Source: | "Jazzy Joints" (Integrated Theme Units - Scholastic, Inc., 1993) |
Living Bones
| Objectives: |
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| Student Information: | A bone may
not look like alive, but it is made of living cells. Some of these cells
are the hard outer coating of the bone. Inside, the bone cells are soft
like a sponge. You can break a bone. The bone hurts and will swell near
the break. The skin often bruises. A doctor will line up the broken bone
so it can heal straight. It is the cells that strengthen and heal the break.
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| Materials: | diagram of a bone (showing
the inside of the bone), x-rays showing broken bones, safety equipment
(bicycle helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, football shoulder pads, etc.)
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| Procedures: | Ask if anyone in the class
has ever had a broken bone. Discuss how the accidents happened, their experiences
at the hospital, time in a cast, how the incident changed what they could
do. Show the x-rays. Discuss which bone might be shown in the x-ray and
the trauma to the bone. Show the safety equipment and discuss which bone(s)
it protects.
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| Assessment: | Safety Posters (In cooperative
groups, have the students show children engaged in activities and wearing
the proper safety equipment. Include a safety rule or comment on each poster.)
Journal Entry (Creative Writing - Write the story of a person who breaks
his or her leg. Tell how the accident happens and how this event changes
this person's daily life.)
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| Sources: | Frank Schaffer Publications,
FS-3150
Human Body/Integrated Theme Units, Scholastic, Inc. 1993 |
Skeletal System
| Objective: | to measure various objects
using non-standard units of the human body
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| Student Information: | Long before there were rulers,
people could measure things:
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| Procedures: | 1. Use your own cubit
to find some measures in the classroom. Work with a partner.
2. On a piece of paper, draw a line to show the size of your span. 3. How many friends standing side by side fit in your fathom? 4. How many paces
is it from the classroom door to your seat?
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| Assessment: | Journal Entry
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| Source: | Integrated Theme Units, Scholastic, Inc., 1993 |
Measuring Your Skeleton
| Objective: | to relate the topics of
measurement and the skeletal system to their lives by using measuring tapes
to find the lengths of different body parts
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| Materials: |
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| Procedures:
Student Information: |
1. Review the recording
sheet with the whole group, clarifying what it means to measure your arm
(include the hand or not?), leg, etc.
2. Review the similarities and difference between measuring with a ruler and measuring with a tape. 3. Demonstrate measuring a body part on a partner and answer any questions. 4. The students then measure
each other and record the lengths on their sheets.
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| Assessment: | As a whole group, ask students
questions that lead them to compare the measurements of their different
body parts. Encourage use of words like "long", "longer", and "longest".
Journal Entry
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Pretzel Skeletons
| Preparation: | Parent volunteers are helpful
for this activity. This activity should come after students are familiar
with the human skeleton and the names of some of its parts. Divide students
into groups (6-8 in each)
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| Materials: |
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| Recipe: | 1 Package dry yeast, dissolved
in cold water
4 cups flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt water Mix yeast mixture and 3 cups
of flour. Slowly add about 1 more cup of flour until the mixture can be
kneaded. Take turns kneading it on a floured counter top or table. Sculpt
like clay into a skeleton. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes
one skeleton.
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| Procedures:
Student Information: |
1. Explain to the children
that they will be using their measuring skills to make pretzel dough. Review
the type of measuring involved in cooking. Be sure to include the idea
of leveling off measuring cups and spoons!
2. Remind the children of the proper way to work in a group-- they will need to divide up the work and give everyone a job. (Assign jobs if necessary.) 3. Read through the ingredients and directions as whole group and answer any questions. Tell the children that they will be responsible for naming at least five of the bones in their skeleton when it is completed. 4. Students make dough with
their group (adults helping when necessary) and form the parts of the skeleton,
combining parts to make the final project. While the skeletons cook, everyone
cleans up!
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| Assessment: | When students are finished,
they point out and name at least five of the bones that they represented.
Review the parts together and then eat! |
Remember
to add the bones to one leg of your paper bodies!
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Questions/Comments
