Body Systems: Skeletal System: Skeleton Race

Assembling a skeleton relay races are regularly used as Halloween party games, but adding a few extra requirements can turn it into a great review lesson.

Ideally you'd use pieces from snap-together skeletons, but if you don't have those on hand, find an appropriate skeleton to print.  Searching "printable skeleton" will give you a plethora of options, many of which are in pieces that need to be assembled.  Pick one that has appropriate detail for your age group and prepare the pieces.

Divide the class into teams.  The smaller the teams, the more practice each student will get, but it will require more skeletons. 

Each team will need a bowl of skeleton pieces, placed on the front table/teacher's desk.  Each team will work at a separate table/desk.  At that desk they'll need a piece of paper on which to assemble their skeleton and a glue stick.

The first person for each team approaches their bowl of bones and chooses one.  The student studies the bone and has to correctly name the bone before he/she can take it back to the team for assembly.  Once the bone has been brought back to the table, another team member can go retrieve a bone. 

If a student cannot correctly identify the bone they have chosen, it is returned the bowl and the student returns to the team.  The team has to wait out a 15 second penalty before sending the next team member forward. 

Once all the bones have been collected, the students glue the skeleton together.  First team with a correctly assembled skeleton wins!