Skeleton Lesson Plan: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Skeleton Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Skeleton, and supports the standard of describing the structure and function of the muscular and skeletal system. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display an image of a skeleton, like this one from the movie (timestamp: 0:44):

Ask students:

• What do you notice?
• Why might the skeletal system be important to survival?
• How do you think the skeletal system supports other body systems? 

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read the description on the Skeleton topic page.
• Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
• Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “Sickness and Health,” or “Quirky Stuff.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.
  

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Skeleton Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic. 

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about skeletons while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie: Produce a commercial advertising the importance of the skeletal system. In your commercial, answer this question: How does the skeleton provide protection and enable movement?
• Make-a-Map: Create a concept map identifying and describing each part of a human skeleton. 
• Creative Coding: Code a game where players determine whether information about the skeleton is true or false. 

More to Explore 

All About Bird Anatomy Game: Players build a bird from the inside out to learn about bird anatomy in this interactive game.

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of skeletons with these topics: Joints and Vertebrates. 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas. 
• Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.