Year 3 Science Animals incl. Humans - Block 3AH - Keeping Healthy
Session 3: Skeletons and BonesScience curriculum area: Animals Including Humans / ii. identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement
Teaching Objectives / · Understand that not all animals have an internal skeleton and that the presence of this is an important feature in classifying them
· Know that a skeleton is needed for support, protection and movement
Other Curriculum areas / Design and Technology
i. build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users (a puppet with strings)
Teaching Objectives / · Learn and communicate knowledge of the skeleton through the construction of a string puppet with moving joints
Key Vocabulary vertebrate, invertebrate, bone, skeleton, skull, ribcage, pelvis, femur
Resources
A glove puppet, an old clean animal bone, plastic gloves for handling the bone safely, a printout of the game sheet for each client group, pens, pencils, a piece of string (about 3m), card printouts of the skeleton puppet template, stiff black card (an A4 sheet per puppet), soft white art crayons or white oil pastels, scissors, 8 split pins per skeleton, several lumps of Plasticine or sticky tack, 1m of strong thread per skeleton, 2 garden sticks per skeleton (40 -50cm is ideal), masking tape. / Weblinks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/ztfnvcw Film on human skeleton with skeletons of other animals shown; http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zmj8q6f Film clip on invertebrate with exoskeletons; https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dem%20bones You tube clip of Dem bones with lyrics –perfect for your skeletons to dance to – Consider downloading ahead of session to avoid unsuitable adverts.
Whole Class: Welcome back everyone to the next session of the Personal Trainers Research Group. Today we will be thinking about bones and skeletons because our clients have a number of questions needing scientific knowledge in this area. Later we shall build a skeleton puppet that we can use to explain scientific knowledge to our clients. Can anyone tell us what a skeleton is? Take a few suggestions. Yes, a skeleton is made up of many bones. Show your real bone and suggest that chn take a closer look at this themselves later in the session (using plastic gloves to handle). What are bones like? They are strong, light and rigid (they don’t bend). Your skeleton is the rigid frame inside that holds your body up. If you didn’t have a skeleton, you would be like this glove puppet – just a soft heap on the floor. But with something rigid inside (your hand) it can hold itself up (demonstrate). Do all animals have a skeleton inside? No. Many animals do not, like worms, jellyfish and flies. All animals can be divided into 2 groups: Vertebrates – animals with a backbone and Invertebrates – animals without a backbone. Now let’s play the team game – “Vertebrate or Invertebrate?” We will play in our client groups. Give out a game sheet to each group. Show the Game PowerPoint. Congratulate all the chn on their knowledge and clap the winning team. You may have noticed that whole groups of animals can be classified as vertebrates or invertebrates, e.g. birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and typical fish are all …. Vertebrates. Which groups are Invertebrates? … All insects, shell creatures like snails and shellfish, soft bodied creatures like jellyfish, squid, slugs and worms. Now let’s find out even more about skeletons by watching the 2 weblink film clips. Now let’s test our knowledge by playing another game. It’s called 5 lives! Lay a piece of string on the carpet at a right angle to the whiteboard (in the centre). Show the Session 3 PowerPoint. Clap all those still standing at the end of the game and congratulate the class on their growing knowledge and understanding of skeletons and bones. Now it’s time to make our own skeleton puppets!
Task: The puppets could be made by chn individually or in 2s and 3s within each client group (This will take less time as the work will be shared out and each puppet can be controlled by 1, 2 or 3 chn). Show the Task PowerPoint which gives detailed instructions on how to make the puppets. Work through the slides. Chn who finish more quickly than others could work on their dance moves! These skeletons would make a super display and could even be used in a presentation/ show. Why not showcase yours on the Hamilton blog?
Plenary / The Dance of the Skeletons – Warm up the puppets (and reinforce scientific vocab) by asking chn to get their skeleton to point to various parts on another skeleton (work in puppet pairs and take turns to point), include: skull, femur, rib cage, pelvis, vertebrae (spine), hinge joint, ball and socket joint, and a bone that protects an organ. Now we are warmed up, let’s dance! Play “Dem Bones” –see weblink or other skeleton music and dance all the puppets on the tabletops.
Outcomes / Children will
· Play a game that involves the classification of animals as vertebrates and Invertebrates
· Play another game called 5 Lives that will increase chn’s knowledge of skeletons and bones whilst having fun
· Make a skeleton string puppet that has moving joints
· Reinforce knowledge by naming parts and functions on the puppets
· Puppeteer a skeleton dance
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.