Teacher sheet · Ages 10–11 · about 45–50 minutes
Bones: shapes, insides and growing
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/skeleton/ages-10-11/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/skeleton/ages-10-11/print/
Learning aims
- Describe the axial and appendicular skeleton and the jobs of the skeleton.
- Classify bones by shape.
- Describe the inside of a long bone and the two materials in bone.
- Carry out a fair test with repeats and a mean.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: how many bones can you feel in your hand? |
| 10 min | Read the text; sort the class's ideas into the five jobs. |
| 20 min | Paper-bone fair test in groups. |
| 5 min | Game: Sort the bones by shape. |
| 5 min | Quiz. |
Materials for the experiment
- Several sheets of A4 paper (all the same kind)
- Sticky tape
- A square of stiff card (about 20 cm × 20 cm)
- A pile of books of similar size
- Ruler
Safety: Add books gently and keep hands, faces and feet clear of the pile in case it falls. Use books that are not too heavy, and stack them on a table, not up high.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Bones are solid all the way through. | Long bones have a hollow middle filled with marrow, and lighter spongy bone inside. |
| Bones only hold us up. | They also protect organs, help us move, store minerals and make blood cells. |
| Bones stop changing once you stop growing. | Bone is removed and rebuilt throughout life; bone mass peaks by the mid- to late 20s. |
Worksheet answers
- Support, movement, protection, storing minerals (and fat), making blood cells.
- Compact bone as the thick outer wall, spongy bone inside, marrow in the hollow middle.
- Usually the tube. The same material holds much more as a tube, so a tube-shaped bone can be strong without being solid and heavy.
- Their bodies are building more bone than they remove; calcium is a building material for bone and activity helps build it.
Quiz answers
- How many bones are in the axial skeleton? 80. The axial skeleton (skull, backbone, ribs, breastbone) has 80 bones.[1]
- Where are blood cells made? In the red marrow. Red marrow inside some bones makes blood cells.[2]
- Which kind of bone is the kneecap? Sesamoid. The kneecap is a sesamoid bone that sits inside a tendon.[3]
- What does collagen do in bone? Makes it a little flexible, so it is not brittle. Collagen gives flexibility; the mineral gives hardness.[4]
- Where do long bones grow longer? At the growth plates. Growth plates of cartilage near the ends let long bones lengthen.[5]
- In the paper-bone test, which must stay the same to be fair? The kind and amount of paper. Only the shape is changed; the paper is kept the same.[4]
Going further
Repeat the test with tubes of different widths, all from the same size sheet. Does the width change the result?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Divisions of the Skeleton (SEER Training Modules, National Cancer Institute (NIH, USA)): reliability High
- [2] Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 6.1 The Functions of the Skeletal System (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 6.2 Bone Classification (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [4] Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 6.3 Bone Structure (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [5] Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 6.4 Bone Formation and Development (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [6] Kids and Their Bones: A Guide for Parents (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH, USA)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/skeleton/sources/
Privacy: the lesson pages have no ads, no tracking and no cookies. Quiz answers and game scores stay in the pupil's browser. A short video for each age is coming.