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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDGqkMHPDqE

Key Question: What are the main bones in your body and their functions?

Description: Many of my students love Crash Course videos. They're like a modern day Bill Nye the Science Guy. This video is both informative and fun.

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The Skeletal System: Crash Course Anatomy & Physiology #19

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https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/bones.html

Key Question: What is the purpose of your skeleton?

Description: This website is great as it has information for kids, teens, educators, and parents. There is also a "play aloud" feature for students who have trouble reading longer paragraphs. The information could also be used to create lessons or worksheets.

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Every single person has a skeleton made up of many bones. These bones give your body structure, let you move in many ways, protect your internal organs, and more.

It's time to look at all your bones - the adult human body has 206 of them!

Bones

Our bones give our bodies shape, and support and protect our organs and systems.

Click through this slideshow to learn more about bones.

What Are Bones Made Of?

If you've ever seen a real skeleton or fossil in a museum, you might think that all bones are dead. Although bones in museums are dry, hard, or crumbly, the bones in your body are different. The bones that make up your skeleton are all very much alive, growing and changing all the time like other parts of your body.

Almost every bone in your body is made of the same materials:

The outer surface of bone is called the periosteum (say: pare-ee-OSS-tee-um). It's a thin, dense membrane that contains nerves and blood vessels that nourish the bone.

The next layer is made up of compact bone. This part is smooth and very hard. It's the part you see when you look at a skeleton.

Within the compact bone are many layers of cancellous (say: KAN-sell-us) bone, which looks a bit like a sponge. Cancellous bone is not quite as hard as compact bone, but it is still very strong.

In many bones, the cancellous bone protects the innermost part of the bone, the bone marrow (say: MAIR-oh). Bone marrow is sort of like a thick jelly, and its job is to make blood cells.

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How Do Bones Grow?

When you were a baby, you had tiny hands, tiny feet, and tiny everything! Slowly, as you grew older, everything became a bit bigger, including your bones.

A baby's body has about 300 bones at birth. These eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have. Some of a baby's bones are made entirely of a special material called cartilage (say: KAR-tel-ij). Other bones in a baby are partly made of cartilage. This cartilage is soft and flexible. During childhood, as you are growing, the cartilage grows and is slowly replaced by bone, with help from calcium.

By the time you are about 25, this process will be complete. After this happens, there can be no more growth - the bones are as big as they will ever be. All of these bones make up a skeleton that is both very strong and very light.

What Does the Spine Do?

Your spine is one part of the skeleton that's easy to check out: Reach around to the center of your back and you'll feel its bumps under your fingers.

The spine lets you twist and bend, and it holds your body upright. It also protects the spinal cord, a large bundle of nerves that sends information from your brain to the rest of your body. The spine is special because it isn't made of one or even two bones: It's made of 33 bones in all! These bones are called vertebrae (say: VER-tuh-bray) and each one is shaped like a ring.

There are different types of vertebrae in the spine and each does a different kind of job:

The first seven vertebrae at the top are called the cervical (say: SIR-vih-kul) vertebrae. These bones are in the back of your neck, just below your brain, and they support your head and neck. Your head is pretty heavy, so it's lucky to have help from the cervical vertebrae!

Below the cervical vertebrae are the thoracic (say: thuh-RAS-ik) vertebrae, and there are 12 in all. These guys anchor your ribs in place. Below the thoracic vertebrae are five lumbar (say: LUM-bar) vertebrae. Beneath the lumbar vertebrae is the sacrum (say: SAY-krum), which is made up of five vertebrae that are fused together to form one single bone.

Finally, all the way at the bottom of the spine is the coccyx (say: COK-siks), which is one bone made of four fused vertebrae. The bottom sections of the spine are important when it comes to bearing weight and giving you a good center of gravity. So when you pick up a heavy backpack, the lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx give you the power. When you dance, skip, and even walk, these parts help keep you balanced.

In between each vertebra (the name for just one of the vertebrae) are small disks made of cartilage. These disks keep the vertebrae from rubbing against one another, and they also act as your spine's natural shock absorbers. When you jump in the air, or twist while slamming a dunk, the disks give your vertebrae the cushioning they need.

What Do the Ribs Do?

Your heart, lungs, and liver are all very important, and luckily you've got ribs to keep them safe. Ribs act like a cage of bones around your chest. It's easy to feel the bottom of this cage by running your fingers along the sides and front of your body, a few inches below your heart. If you breathe in deeply, you can easily feel your ribs right in the front of your body, too. Some thin kids can even see a few of their ribs right through their skin.

Your ribs come in pairs, and the left and right sides of each pair are exactly the same. Most people have 12 pairs of ribs, but some people are born with one or more extra ribs, and some people might have one pair less.

All 12 pairs of ribs attach in the back to the spine, where they are held in place by the thoracic vertebrae. The first seven pairs of ribs attach in the front to the sternum (say: STUR-num), a strong bone in the center of your chest that holds those ribs in place. The remaining sets of ribs don't attach to the sternum directly. The next three pairs are held on with cartilage to the ribs above them.

The very last two sets of ribs are called floating ribs because they aren't connected to the sternum or the ribs above them. But don't worry, these ribs can't ever float away. Like the rest of the ribs, they are securely attached to the spine in the back.

What Does the Skull Do?

Your skull protects the most important part of all, the brain. You can feel your skull by pushing on your head, especially in the back a few inches above your neck. The skull is actually made up of different bones. Some of these bones protect your brain, whereas others make up the structure of your face. If you touch beneath your eyes, you can feel the ridge of the bone that forms the hole where your eye sits.

And although you can't see it, the smallest bone in your whole body is in your head, too. The stirrup bone behind your eardrum is only .1 to .13 inches (2.5 to 3.3 millimeters) long! Want to know something else? Your lower jawbone is the only bone in your head you can move. It opens and closes to let you talk and chew food.

Your skull is pretty cool, but it's changed since you were a baby. All babies are born with spaces between the bones in their skulls. This allows the bones to move, close up, and even overlap as the baby goes through the birth canal. As the baby grows, the space between the bones slowly closes up and disappears, and special joints called sutures (say: SOO-churs) connect the bones.

What Do the Bones In the Arm Do?

As you sit and type at the keyboard, while you swing on a swing, even when you pick up your lunch, you're using the bones in your fingers, hand, wrist, and arm.

Each arm is attached to a shoulder blade or scapula (say: SKA-pyuh-luh), a large triangular bone on the upper back corner of each side of the ribcage. The arm is made up of three bones: the humerus (say: HYOO-muh-rus), which is above your elbow, and the radius (say: RAY-dee-us) and ulna (say: UL-nuh), which are below the elbow.

Each of these bones is wider at the ends and skinnier in the middle, to help give it strength where it meets another bone. At the end of the radius and ulna are eight smaller bones that make up your wrist. Although these bones are small, they can really move! Twist your wrist around or wave and you'll see how the wrist can move.

What Do the Bones in the Hand Do?

The center part of your hand is made up of five separate bones. Each finger on your hand has three bones, except for your thumb, which has two. So between your wrists, hands, and all your fingers, you've got a grand total of 54 bones - all ready to help you grasp things, write your name, pick up the phone, or throw a softball!

What Do the Leg Bones Do?

Sure, your arm, wrist, hand, and finger bones are great for picking up the phone, but how are you supposed to run to answer it? Well, with the bones of the legs and feet!

Your legs are attached to a circular group of bones called your pelvis. The pelvis is a bowl-shaped structure that supports the spine. It is made up of the two large hip bones in front, and behind are the sacrum and the coccyx. The pelvis acts as a tough ring of protection around parts of the digestive system, parts of the urinary system, and parts of the reproductive system.

Your leg bones are very large and strong to help support the weight of your body. The bone that goes from your pelvis to your knee is called the femur (say: FEE-mur), and it's the longest bone in your body. At the knee, there's a triangular-shaped bone called the patella (say: puh-TEL-luh), or kneecap, that protects the knee joint. Below the knee are two other leg bones: the tibia (say: TIH-bee-uh) and the fibula (say: FIH-byuh-luh). Just like the three bones in the arm, the three bones in the leg are wider at the ends than in the middle to give them strength.

The ankle is a bit different from the wrist; it is where the lower leg bones connect to a large bone in the foot called the talus (say: TAL-iss). Next to the talus are six other bones. But the main part of the foot is similar to the hand, with five bones. Each toe has three tiny bones, except for your big toe, which has just two. This brings the bone total in both feet and ankles to 52!

Most people don't use their toes and feet for grabbing stuff or writing, but they do use them for two very important things: standing and walking. Without all the bones of the foot working together, it would be impossible to balance properly. The bones in the feet are arranged so the foot is almost flat and a bit wide, to help you stay upright. So the next time you're walking, be sure to look down and thank those toes!

What Do Joints Do?

The place where two bones meet is called a joint. Some joints move and others don't.

Fixed joints are fixed in place and don't move at all. Your skull has some of these joints (called sutures, remember?), which close up the bones of the skull in a young person's head. One of these joints is called the parieto-temporal (say: par-EYE-ih-toh TEM-puh-rul) suture - it's the one that runs along the side of the skull.

Moving joints are the ones that let you ride your bike, eat cereal, and play a video game - the ones that allow you to twist, bend, and move different parts of your body. Some moving joints, like the ones in your spine, move only a little. Other joints move a lot. One of the main types of moving joints is called a hinge joint. Your elbows and knees each have hinge joints, which let you bend and then straighten your arms and legs. These joints are like the hinges on a door. Just as most doors can only open one way, you can only bend your arms and legs in one direction. You also have many smaller hinge joints in your fingers and toes.

Another important type of moving joint is the ball and socket joint. You can find these joints at your shoulders and hips. They are made up of the round end of one bone fitting into a small cup-like area of another bone. Ball and socket joints allow for lots of movement in every direction. Make sure you've got lots of room, and try swinging your arms all over the place.

Have you ever seen someone put oil on a hinge to make it work easier or stop squeaking? Well, your joints come with their own special fluid called synovial fluid (say: SIH-no-vee-ul) that helps them move freely. Bones are held together at the joints by ligaments (say: LIH-guh-mints), which are like very strong rubber bands.

How Can I Take Care My Bones?

Your bones help you out every day so make sure you take care of them. Here are some tips:

Protect those skull bones (and your brain inside!) by wearing a helmet for bike riding and other sports. When you use a skateboard, in-line skates, or a scooter, be sure to add wrist supports and elbow and knee pads. Your bones in these places will thank you if you have a fall!

If you play sports like football, soccer, lacrosse, or ice hockey, always wear all the right equipment. And never play on a trampoline. Many kids end up with broken bones from jumping on them. Broken bones can eventually heal, but it takes a long time and isn't much fun while you wait.

Strengthen your skeleton by drinking milk and eating other dairy products (like low-fat cheese or frozen yogurt). They all contain calcium, which helps bones harden and become strong.

Be active! Another way to strengthen your bones is through exercise like running, jumping, dancing, and playing sports.

Take these steps to be good to your bones, and they will treat you right!

Date reviewed: January 2023

More on this topic
For Kids

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Where would you be without your bones? Learn more about the skeletal system in this article for kids.

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https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/human-lung-simulator/

Key Question: How do we breath? How do your lungs and diaphragm work together?

Description: Science World describes how to create a simple lung model in the classroom using a pop bottle, straws, and balloons. This is a great group to do individually or in small groups.

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Students make a model of the human lung with a pop bottle, straw, and balloons.

"Winds will blow from high to low" applies even during breathing!

When we breathe in, the volume of the chest cavity is increased. Since there is more space available, the air pressure in the chest cavity and lungs is reduced, creating a low-pressure system in your body. The air outside your body immediately rushes in to equalize the lower pressure, flowing in through the nose or mouth into the lungs.

When we breathe out, the chest cavity contracts, increasing the air pressure in the lungs. The high-pressure air in the lungs rushes out of the nose and mouth to equalize the low-pressure zone of air around the body.

When the students pull the balloon diaphragm downwards they increase the volume of the model lung and therefore decrease the pressure inside. This causes the surrounding air to rush into the lung (going from high to low pressure), making the balloon lung inflate. The air in the balloon is trying to "fill in" the low-pressure zone inside the bottle. This mimics inhalation.

When the balloon diaphragm is pushed upwards, the volume of the bottle decreases, increasing the air pressure in the bottle. This causes the air in the bottle to push against the balloon, forcing the air out of it (high pressure air in the bottle wants to fill the low-pressure area outside). This mimics exhalation.

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Students make a model of the human lung with a pop bottle, straw, and balloons. "Winds will blow from high to low" applies even during breathing! When we breathe in, the volume of the chest cavity is increased. Since there is more space available, the air pressure in the chest cavity and lungs is reduced, [...]

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Classroom Activities on the Respiratory System

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Classroom Activities on the Respiratory System

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https://www.education.com/lesson-plan/respiratory-system/?gclid=CjwKCAjwj42UBhAAEiwACIhADs_tJyj0705wtgfRbYkLVMzhc1rgPF8CLgy__iqTQyGbWGxLfYymKBoCfVAQAvD_BwE

Key Question: How does the respiratory system interact with other systems? What are its key functions?

Description: This free lesson plan includes detailed instructions on teaching students about the respiratory system.  It also includes worksheets, such as a crossword and several fill-in-the-blank diagrams.

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Students will be able to identify the parts of the respiratory system. Students will be able to describe the functions of each part of the respiratory system.

Tell your students that today they will learn about the respiratory system.

Display a poster and divide it into two columns, with the first column labeled with know and the second column labeled with learned.

Ask your students what they know about the respiratory system. Write the information in the first column.

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Breathe In, Breathe Out: The Respiratory System | Lesson Plan | Education.com

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Students will be able to identify the parts of the respiratory system. Students will be able to describe the functions of each part of the respiratory system. Tell your students that today they will learn about the respiratory system.

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https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/activities/heart-model-heart-stem/

Key Question: How does blood flow throughout the heart?

Description: This website includes step-by-step instructions for building a model of the heart pumping blood using bottles, straws, and water. It allows students to visualize the path of blood flow. This can be paired with a diagram of a heart to further enhance their understanding.

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February is Heart Month which means it is the perfect time to bring some heart science to your lessons. In this activity we built a functioning and unique heart model out of items we had around the house. It was a great biology lesson and lab that tied in perfectly to our discussions about how the heart functions and heart health.

Despite having lots of discussions about "mommy's bad heart", we've done very little in formal lessons on the heart. It is my plan to do some virtual heart dissections, but I wanted something more hands-on to start. So for heart month this year we decided to do some fun heart STEM activities.

Whenever we talk about the heart the kids immediately run and pull out their stethoscope. They love listening to their heart, the dog's heart, my heart. Then they run and jump and get all excited before listening again.

Heart Model Video

Check out this video of our heart model. If you can't see the video, please turn off your adblockers as they also block our video feed.

Heart Unit Studies and Printables

Unlock this free printable for STEAM Powered Family members!

For this lesson we recorded our heart beats (you can grab our heart science activity pack by joining STEAM Powered Family below).

Want to dive in deeper and turn this into a fantastic unit study on the heart? Purchase our complete Heart Model Activity Pack from our Shop or Teachers Paying Teachers. The heart activity pack comes with a full classroom license to use with all your students.

We tried feeling our heart beat on our wrists and at our throat, but the easiest for the kids was to use the stethoscope.

Using a stop watch we counted our heart beats for 10 seconds. Then we did a little math and had the kids multiply their answer by 6 to get their heart beats per minute. For my youngest, who is just learning multiplication, we found it easier to count heart beats for 6 seconds and multiply by 10.

The kids had fun trying different activities from yoga and meditation to slow their heart rate, to running and jumping to speed up their hearts.

Next we talked about the parts of the heart and how blood flows through the parts of the heart, plus lungs and body. We discussed how the heart works like the engine for our body pumping blood constantly to keep our organs functioning. We also discussed what is broken in my heart. For me it's a circuit issue, where the electrical impulses that control the beating of my heart misfire. At some point I may require a pacemaker, so we talked about how I might get an engine to keep my engine going!

Finally it was time to put our engineering hats on and design a working model of the heart.

To build our heart model we used:
3 x Pop bottles (710 mL) with caps, labels removed.
4 x Bendy straws
3 Cups of water
Food colouring
Tape
Modeling clay or play dough
Drill (or other sharp pokey for making holes in the caps)

You will need 2 bottle caps for this experiment. Keep the third one as a back up. In the first cap drill two holes that are the same size. You want the holes to be just big enough for the straws to slide through. In the second cap drill one hole that is straw sized. The second should be smaller. If you drill both straw sized (like we did), you can use some modeling clay to make the second hole a little smaller.

In a pitcher, mix your water and food colouring to create your "red blood". The exact amount of water is not important.

Take two straws, stretch and bend them to create a 90 degree angle. Slide one straw into the other straw (pinch one to make it smaller so it slides in), then tape up the join. Repeat with the second set of straws.

Place your three bottles on the table. Fill the first two with your water to about 80% full. Leave the third one empty.

On the first bottle place the cap with one straw hole and one small hole. On the middle bottle place the cap with two straw holes. Leave the third bottle without a cap.

Carefully slide the straws through the bottle caps. Place clay or play dough around the straw bases on the middle bottle to make an airtight seal with the bottle cap. You are now ready to put your heart model to work!

In this simple model the first bottle is the atrium of the heart, the second bottle is the ventricle, and the third bottle represents either the lungs or body. Our fingers function as the valves of the heart.

To make your human heart models work, squeeze the middle bottle only. Start by pinching the straw between the atrium and ventricle bottle. Squeeze the middle bottle and watch your "blood" squirt out into the body.

Keeping the middle bottle "squeezed" move your fingers and pinch the straw between the ventricle and body. Now release the middle bottle and watch your blood move from the atrium into the ventricle.

Repeat, repeat, repeat to pump blood from the atrium, into the ventricle then out to the body!

Once your blood in the atrium gets too low, you can take blood from the "body" and add it back into the atrium. Then start again.

Your heart rate is how fast your heart beats. We measure this as beats per minute. The easiest way to do this is to count how many times your heart beats in ten seconds, then multiply the number by 6 (60 seconds in a minute) to get your heart rate.

Heart rate is affected by many things. It varies by person, but also each person experiences variations in their heart rate every day. Many things can affect heart rate including age, health, activity, caffeine, sugar and more.

In our heart model we are exploring how blood flows in one direction through the heart chambers. We have four chambers in our heart, the right and left atrium, and left and right ventricle. Blood will flow in only one direction, it travels from the right side of the heart, to the left side of the heart. Specifically blood travels from the body into the heart, to the lungs to be oxygenated, back into the heart, then back out into the body.

The valves of our heart are important for ensuring this one way blood flow.

The human heart has four valves: aortic valve, pulmonary valve, tricuspid valve and mitral valve.

The tricuspid and mitral are located between the atrium and ventricle. The aortic and pulmonary valves control blood flow out of the ventricles into the arteries. When you pinch the straw between the first two bottles, you are mimicking the tricupsid or mitral valves. When you pinch the second straw you are mimicking the aortic or pulmonary valves.

Watch carefully as you do the work of the valves as you pinch the straws. What happens to the liquid in the straws?

Learn more about Heart Anatomy

Visit our shop to explore this printable mini less on on human heart anatomy, plus many other human body systems printables.

From models, to books, kits and puzzles, there are lots of fun ways to bring even more excitement to your heart lessons.

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Build A Functioning Heart Model - Genius Heart STEM Activity & Printable

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Build a Heart Model - STEM activity about heart rates and how blood flows through the body. Engineer a functioning model of a beating heart.

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Key Question: Why is the heart important for survival? Can you describe how it works?

Description: This simple and visually-appealing video is a great way to introduce students to the main components of the heart and how it keeps them alive.

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How Your Heart Works? - The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz

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https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/digestive-system-lab/

Key Question: How does the digestive system work from start to finish? Can you visualize it through an experiment?

Description: This is an extremely fun experiment that I have done with my class before. It allows students to be hands-on with their learning and gain a better understanding of how we digest snd excrete food.

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Teaching the Digestive System by "Making Poop" with Your Students - Science Journal for Kids and Teens

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A memorable hands-on classroom activity to teach the human digestive system at elementary, middle and lower high school level.

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Digestive System Videos, Worksheets, and Diagrams 

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Digestive System Videos, Worksheets, and Diagrams 

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https://www.stem.org.uk/resources/elibrary/resource/36133/digestive-system#&gid=undefined&pid=1

Key Question: Why is the digestive system important to our survival? How does it interact with the other body systems?

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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today.

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http://www.tenalpscommunicate.com/clients/siemens/humanbodyOnline/

Key Question: What are the main features of the digestive, circulatory, and skeletal system?

Description: This interactive website allows students to use technology to explore these three body systems. They can read about the different parts, watch videos demonstrating their functions, and even play a game at the end.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eu1bbOy5xw

Key Question: What are the twelve body systems, and are they connected to each other?

Description: This fun and catchy video is a great way to get students excited to learn about the human body. You could also print off the lyrics and have students do an activity with them.

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Basic structures and functions of body systems:

digestive

musculo-skeletal

respiratory

circulatory

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Big Idea: Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.

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Big Idea: Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.