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Hi All, I am looking for some ideas to incorporate in a 6th grade classroom that would allow some hands on activities for the skeletal and muscular systems. I have found some fun videos and songs and am still searching for hands on ideas. Thanks so much!!

Try looking at the October 2001 issue of Science Scope. The whole issue is about skeletons!! You can access it through "Learning Resources & Opportunities/NSTA Journal Articles" in the blue strip at the top of the Learning Center page.

Believe it or not, my kids Schoolhouse Rock songs. Dem Bones is a great song to being the unit with :-) Also, SIng-a-long Science by Warren Phillips has some great songs. I also have my students make a bone from paper mache. Gets a bit messy, but its worth it

Flinn has a great activity called Rubber Bones. It's the old chicken bones in vinegar lab with some extension. This is great for explaining the material of which bones are made. I have also found some great ideas for simple anatomy/physio activities that require the minimal amount of supplies from the book Anatomy Academy (Loose in the Lab) and from the Bill Nye the Science Guy website http://www.billnye.com/for-kids-teachers/home-demos/. I also like the http://www.anatomyarcade.com/ website. They have lots of fun anatomy related games and puzzles.

How about dissecting chicken wings so that students can compare human arm with the wing? Students can see muscle pairs, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones. They can observe all types of connective tissues and pull on different muscles to see the wing move.

Monica,

What about using trade books to help students understand how their muscles work? NSTA's Science and Children Teaching Through Trade Books: Move My Body gives several ideas.

Here is a nice presentation on your body's receptor systems

Receptor Systems

I also likes the joint project A group project to be assigned to students so that they may study a single joint in-depth. Each group is assigned a common problem or affliction that affects a synovial joint. The students will learn the bones, musculature, and other structures of the joint as well as learn about the etiology and pathophysiology of the common problem/affliction assigned.

Attachments

AP1_joint_project.docx (0.04 Mb)

Here are some possible resources NASA Human Research Program web site with an interactive look at "How Astronauts Are Affected By Space Exploration." http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/HRP_Feature/ These two maybe High School: Human Body Maps is an interactive display of a female or male body. You select the body system which is then displayed on the body. As you scroll over the different parts they are labeled and there is an option to see that part graphic enlarged along with additional information. http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/ BioDigital Human, is a 3-D interactive display of a female or male body systems as well as a selection called 'Condition's where different ailments are displayed, or at least their location. This web site requires a free registration or you could log in using Facebook for example. https://www.biodigitalhuman.com/

Thank you for posting the NASA link about how space exploration affects the human body. I was looking for that particular link recently without much success.

Excellent suggestions to help with my lessons this week. We did the chicken dissection with 7th graders, one would be surprised at how exciting it was for them to work with regular chicken wings! I am going to the Humans in Space resource next!

I know this is very old but Bill Nye had some great interactive activities. If you could refer to him that would work!

Men’s noses are, on average, 10 percent bigger than women’s (at least for populations of European descent). This can be pretty easily observed. The fascinating part is why.

Researchers now say schnoz size relates to a person’s physique, and the energy required to maintain it. As explained on Phys.org,
Males in general have more lean muscle mass, which requires more oxygen for muscle tissue growth and maintenance. Larger noses mean more oxygen can be breathed in and transported in the blood to supply the muscle.

Concerning the skeletal system . After introducing the names of bones and importance of the skeletal system , I played school rock songs about bones it was very engaging and wrapped everything up also at the end of the session we did a very fun activity were I allowed the students to draw an outline for their bodies using chalk then they started drawing their skeletal system inside their body outline . The pictures are attached bellow

Attachments

2013-11-03_13.35.43.jpg (1.06 Mb)