How to Teach Students the Bones of the Human Body
Most young kids are naturally interested in learning about the human body and don't need to be coerced into engaging in educational activities regarding the human body and its anatomy. Teaching kids about the bones of the human body can be done in many ways using quizzes, puzzles, trivia and even songs. The most effective way to teach kids about the bones of the human body is to employ illustrations, diagrams and hands-on activities. No matter how you do it, there's 206 bones in the human body, so don't waste any time.
Instructions
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Show the students a full-size skeleton. If you don't have a skeleton available for classroom use try to take the kids to a museum where they will be able to see one. There's no better way to begin to understand the bones of the human body than to see them physically manifested. This allows the students to examine how the bones look and fit together. Ideally the skeleton will be made for hands-on use and the students will be able to touch and move the bones.
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Intersperse the instruction about human bones with fun trivia. There are countless interesting and memorable facts about human bones that will keep the students involved in the lesson and the learning process. For example, the smallest bone in the human body is called the Stirrup, is located in the inner ear, and is only one-tenth of an inch long.
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Print a blank diagram of the bones of the human body and have the students label as many as they can. Then allow them to work together in completing the labeling process. To make this even more interactive you can have the students cut out the bones from a randomly-organized diagram and then have them piece the bones together in their correct form.
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Play games and sing songs that involve the bones of the human body. The most well-known of these is the "Hokey Pokey," which goes through a number of the bones in the human body and discusses what they are connected to. See resources section of this article for full song and lyrics of the "Hokey Pokey."
You can also play a human bones version of the popular "pin the tail on the donkey" game in which students are given a bone and expected to tack it onto the correct place of a skeleton hanging from a wall or other board.
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Quiz the students on the bones of the human body and assess what areas of the skeleton need more attention. Adjust your lesson plans to accommodate these needs.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit skeleton image by Wingnut Designs from Fotolia.com
