Bones, Bones, and More Bones
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Juliette Walker Crown Community Academy
2128 S. St. Louis
Chicago IL. 60623
This lesson is designed for primary grade levels 2-3, although it can be
adapted for intermediate and upper grade levels.
Students will be able to describe the functions of bones in the human body.
Students will be able to describe the make up of a bone.
Students will be able to recognize that hollow bones have more strength.
Students will comprehend that the depletion of calcium in bones causes them
to become weak.
Students will be able to describe what the backbone is made up of.
ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2
Pictures of Bones Paper
Examples of Bones Tape
Pictures of Joints Paper Plates
Clay Measuring cups
ACTIVITY 3 ACTIVITY 4
4 Chicken Leg Bones Empty Thread Spools (assorted sizes)
Vinegar String, Scissors
Containers (4jars) Tape, Balloons
Ruler, Hole Puncher
The skeletal system of the human body is made up of bones. These bones
make up the body's shape and protect the internal delicate body parts. An
adult person has about 206 bones in his/her body. The number of bones in a
person's body varies from person to person. This is due to the discrepancies
in the number of little bones in the hands and feet. The bones in the human
body are distributed in this way: skull=29, spine=26, ribs and breastbone=25
shoulders, arms, and hands=64, pelvis, legs and feet=62. The central support
system for the body is the spine. The spine is made up of 26 linked
bones called vertebrae.
ACTIVITY 1 "BONE MAKEUP"
1) Teacher will show students a picture of a bone pointing out the
various parts of the bone, and reviewing important vocabulary.
2) Students will create a clay model of the bone, labeling the parts
3) Teacher will introduce the four joints of the human body.
4) The teacher will demonstrate the movements of the joints.
5) Teacher will provide examples of each joint.
6) Students will match up joints with examples.
ACTIVITY 2 "HOLLOW STRENGTH"
1) Students will roll up a sheet of paper (8 1/2 x 11) about 1 in wide
into a cylinder. They will make 3 of these (paper bones).
2) Students will stand the bones up on their ends, placing a paper plate
on top of the bones.
3) Teacher will ask students to tell what is happening - the hollow rolls
will support the plate.
4) Students will begin to add weights (wooden blocks) to the plate.
5) Students will count how many blocks the plate can hold before it
collapses the bones.
6) Students will roll 3 more sheets of paper as tightly as they can so
that there is no hollow section.
7) Students will stand these "bones" up as before placing the same plate
on top of them.
8) Students will place weights on top of the plate until they collapse.
9) Students will deduce what happened. Teacher will explain that hollow
bones were able to support more weight. Teacher will also explain that
having a hollow center gave the bones a better design and made them
stronger. Teacher will continue explaining that the large bones in our
body are also hollow, which makes them strong so they can support more
weight, but light, so it takes less energy to move them.
ACTIVITY 3 "DEBONING"
1) In cooperative learning groups, students will observe chicken legs
soaked in vinegar in jars.
2) Students will observe bones that have not been placed in vinegar.
3) Students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences
of the sets of bones.
4) Students will deduce that the bones that were placed in vinegar were
weaker and more flexible.
5) The teacher will explain that the vinegar contains an acid which dis-
solves the calcium phosphate in the bones. Without calcium bones will
lose their hardness and will become weaker.
ACTIVITY 4 "GET A BACKBONE"
1) Students will get the following material: 2 large, 2 medium, and 2
small empty thread spools, 1 pencil, scissors, ruler, hole puncher,
string, and tape.
2) Students will draw 5 circles on the cardboard by tracing the base of
2 large, 2 medium, and 1 small spools of thread.
3) Students will cut the circles out and will punch holes through the
center of them.
4) Students will cut an 18in (45cm) length of string.
5) Students will began threading the spools of thread together beginning
with the largest spools, taping the string to the bottom of the largest
spool (cardboard circles of corresponding sides will be threaded
between each pair of spools).
6) Students will blow up a balloon and will place it on top of the model.
7) Students will stand the column of spools on the table (largest on
the bottom) and push top spools about 2 inches to the side.
8) Teacher will explain that the small spools at the top represent the
cervical vertebrae, the medium spools represent the thoracic vertebrae
and the larger bottom spools represent the lumbar vertebrae. The
teacher will also explain that because the vertebrae, like the spools,
are not permanently attached together the human body can bend and lean
in different directions. Between each pair of vertebrae is a disk of
cartilage that acts as a shock absorber, just as the cardboard circle
between the spools keeps them from knocking together. Without this
flexible disc the vertebrae would grind together and the body would
be able to twist, turn, or bend the torso without pain and damage.
1) Students will color and label the parts of a bone on a ditto sheet.
2) Students will match the joints of the body with examples that
represent their movements.
1) Students will observe both models of the bones and will record
1) Students will observe, and compare/contrast the bones using a Venn
1) After making model, students will label the three regions of the back.
2) Students will be able to explain how the spine moves.