You can discuss the importance of having healthy bones with your students. Healthy bones are dense and strong. You can do an activity to show them unhealthy bones. Have the children take chicken bones (cleaned) and soak them in vinegar for a few days. Keep some chicken bones aside so that they can compare and contrast the ones soaked in vinegar with the ones that were not. You can make a chart for them to record the differences.
This mobile requires some serious cutting--sometimes best done ahead of time by the teacher. Take an 81/2 by 11 typeing paper and fold it hotdog style two times until it is about two inches wide. Make alternating cuts from the folded sides about 1/16" apart. Cut to within about 1/16" from the other side. The effect in the beginning is to fringe one side and then turn the piece around and fringe in between the cuts you originally made. You will need to cut two sheets of paper in this way. Next, unfold both of the papers. One paper becomes the body (with slashes going horizontal) and the other paper is cut on the folds to become arms, legs. Teacher must provide a pattern (either tag templates or copies on construction paper or other sturdy paper) of a head with neck and shoulders 8" wide, bony hands, and bony feet. Glue the slit body to the shoulders, arms & legs to the body, and then attach hands and feet. Punch hold in top of skeleton head and hang as a mobile. These hang out longer and longer the more days they are up. The trick of a really pretty one is in cutting the oposing slits on that original paper evenly and thinly and as close to the other edge as possible. When I taught K, I cut all the "accordian paper", but I let my 4th graders do it themselves. I hope my instructions are clearer than mud.
I just started a unit on the body. I have a skeleton the kids just put together. I call him Mr. Funny Bones. There is not 206 individual bones. There are the ribs, head, 2 arm bone pieces. and the hands,pelvis, and 2 leg bones with the feet attached. I have a small human body skeleton that I brought in so they can see the actual bones. We are discussing the basic things about the body. My students have always enjoyed this unit especially at Halloween time. It seems to fit right in.
We break it down into systems--skeletal system, circulatory system, etc. For the skeletal system, one thing I do to show how important joints are, is to tape popsicle sticks to the fingers of the children's dominant hand so they can't bend their fingers. Then we TRY to complete some of our routine tasks, like putting their names on their papers, sharpening pencils, tying shoes, etc. They love it, but also get very tired and frustrated after about 5 minutes. They are always grateful to remove the sticks and be able to bend those fingers! I have also played bingo with the names of the bones. The kids love to hear me call out phalanges! That word just cracks them up!
When I teach about the heart, I give them a stress ball to squeeze with one hand, as we try to squeeze the actual number of times their heart beats in a minute. Then we try it with the heartbeats of other animals. Try the hummingbird!!
I am the Science Assistant for a private school and I work with grades PreK-Fifth. An interesting approach that lets them look at bones is to do it with owl pellets. These are obtainable from many science supply companies, including Carolina. They have no smell, and the children love to dissect them and see what they find. Carolina also sends an identification chart so you can tell what you are looking at.
You can listen to the song "Dry Bones" to grab the attention of your students at the beginning of your skeletal system lesson. School House Science Rock also has "Them Not So Dry Bones video." The students love to sing along with this.
The pasta skeleton that I made with my class was easily constructed with a few different types of pasta and dried beans glued to a piece of black construction paper.
Remember to arrange the skeleton on the paper before you glue!!!
Wagon wheel - head
spaghetti- fingers and toes
tiny tubes like ditalini or lentils for the backbone
long tubes (ziti) collarbone
Long spirals for arms and legs
small shells or white beans for the kneecaps, wrists and ankles.
Lima beans for the hips
Have fun! I hope this helps!
Joy
Show your student the Magic School Bus video-The Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles. This video shows how the muscles and bones work together.
HI, I ALSO WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THE HUMAN BODY UNIT PLEASE!! AT THE BEGINNING OF SCHOOL, I TEACH A SKELETON OR MUSCLE WORD EVERY DAY OR SO. I DO THIS BY-- INSTEAD OF BRAGGING ON MY CHILD. AND TELLING THEM TO PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK, I TELL THE PAT THEIR PATELLA(THEIR KNEECAP). THEY LOVE THIS AND CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE. I HAVE A SKELETON UP WHERE THE BONES ARE LABLED WITH LETTERS. WHEN TEACHING SOME OF THE MUSCLES, I CALL IT THE MUSCLE BOOGIE . WE LEARN THE NAMES USING A SILLY SENT .( STEPHANIE DANCED THE BOOGIE GO GO STANDING QUITELY IN PLACE) OF COURSE THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH WORD STANDS FOR THE FIRST LETTER OF THE NAME OF A MUSCLE. AGAIN, WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS. GOOD LUCK.
I'm all about Melissa & Doug floor puzzles right now. The pieces are extremely thick and durable with an easy-clean surface. They're about $10.00 each, and very handy for free time activities. I have one with the skeletal and circulatory systems (100 pieces) and one with the solar system (48 pieces). My 6th graders love them!
View Thread