Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
My muscles
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/muscles/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/muscles/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that muscles move bones by pulling.
- Know that muscles work in pairs because they can only pull.
- Name the biceps and triceps.
- Know that some muscles, like the heart, work by themselves.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: make a big smile and a frown. Which part of you moved? |
| 10 min | Read the text; point to biceps and triceps. |
| 15 min | Feel-your-muscles experiment and the model arm. |
| 5 min | Game: I choose, or all by itself? |
| 10 min | Quiz and worksheet. |
Materials for the experiment
- Your own arms
- A table to put your hand under
- Two strips of card and a split pin (for the teacher's model arm)
- A piece of string
Safety: Move slowly and gently, and only press on your own arm. Press up under the table only softly. Pupils with a hurt arm can watch the model arm and do the feeling part with the other arm, or be the helper.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Muscles push bones to straighten them. | Muscles can only pull; a second muscle pulls the other way. |
| Muscles are only in arms and legs. | Muscles are also in the face, the heart, the stomach and the blood vessels. |
| I have to think to make my heart beat. | The heart muscle works by itself. |
Worksheet answers
- Biceps on the front of the upper arm, triceps on the back.
- Biceps.
- No.
- For example: the heart, or the muscles in the stomach.
Quiz answers
- What does a muscle do to move a bone? It pulls. A muscle gets shorter and pulls on the bone.[1]
- Why do muscles work in pairs? Because a muscle can only pull. One muscle pulls one way and the other pulls back.[1][6]
- Which muscle bends your elbow? The biceps at the front. The biceps at the front of the upper arm bends the elbow.[1]
- Which muscle works all by itself, without you thinking? Your heart. The heart muscle works by itself.[1]
- What joins many muscles to bones? Tendons. Strong cords called tendons join muscles to bones.[1]
Going further
Add a second string to the back of the model arm. Now pull one string, then the other. Can you bend and straighten the arm?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Your Muscles (KidsHealth (Nemours Children's Health)): reliability Medium-high
- [5] Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 11.1 Interactions of Skeletal Muscles, Their Fascicle Arrangement, and Their Lever Systems (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [6] College Physics 2e, 9.6 Forces and Torques in Muscles and Joints (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/muscles/sources/
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