Bones, of course, are useless on their own. They need muscles to help them stay together and move. You can let students know that muscles make up half the weight of our bodies. Students probably will associate muscles with strength. This part of the unit can really lend itself to lessons with a lot of movement and activity. This of course is very appropriate for a unit that is intended to help students learn to live healthier lives.
It is important that students understand how the muscles work with and support the skeletal system. Explain how muscles are stretchy, like elastics, and work in pairs to pull bones forward and back. Muscles help organs stay in place. Muscles need food high in protein as this is what they are. Proteins give us energy.
The following activities would be useful in examining how muscles work. It will show how varied their tasks are and why it so important to keep them healthy and strong to keep our bodies working properly.
-
· Move! Find as many different ways to use muscles and talk about all the ways we know of and discovered.
-
· Run, walk, skip, feel and journal how we use the same muscles in different ways.
-
· Use our face muscles to create different facial expressions. Use our bodies to convey different emotions. This will illustrate how our muscles help us to communicate.
-
· Define strength, endurance and flexibility. Talk about while all three are important. Try exercises that help with each one.
-
· Compare and contrast cubist art to real body shapes.