Action Figures and the Human Body

These teachers did something I thought was really cool. They used action figures to demonstrate how the human body moves. They asked their students, “In what ways does your action figure... See More

These teachers did something I thought was really cool. They used action figures to demonstrate how the human body moves. They asked their students, “In what ways does your action figure move?” The teachers made a chart with all the ways the students found their toys could move. The students found that their action figures could twist, bend, and spin. The teachers explained the three different types of joints: ball and socket, hinge, and sliding joints. They played a game in which the students would go outside and the teachers asked them to name a sliding, hinge, or ball and socket joint. Then the teachers would have the students practice moving their bodies with that joint. At the end of the lesson, the teachers concluded with their KWL chart that they had used at the beginning. Finally, they played another game where the teachers would call out the names of one of the joints: ball and socket, hinge, or sliding joint. After a joint was called out, a student would call out a body part that fit that category. I thought this lesson was effective and creative, and it definitely gives me some creative ways to teach about joints.

Great Article for teacher anatomy

This is a great article for ANatomy

Using Action Figures to Introduce Joints

I did not expect to find this lesson plan to be as relevant as it is. I thought it might be a “cute” introduction to the skeletal system, but it actually works quite well to introduce diffe... See More

I did not expect to find this lesson plan to be as relevant as it is. I thought it might be a “cute” introduction to the skeletal system, but it actually works quite well to introduce different types of joint movements, and to provide an engaging entry point into asking more questions (like “What is being double-jointed?”) and to identifying joints in our bodies that function like those in the action figures.

New Approach to Body Parts

This article gives a 5E lesson on parts of the body such as joints and uses action figures to help students visualize the actions. There are also a couple of games for students to participate in.