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! 

Body Systems: Skeletal System: Bone Model

I was inspired by the edible bone models I've come across, to create a non-edible bone model I could keep in the classroom for use year after year, and pull out at a moment's notice.  The supplies are readily available at hardware stores and craft stores.  I hope you find it useful. 

You'll need:
~10" foam pipe insulation
~10" 1 1/2" PVC pipe
Model Magic clay
red yarn
fabric pieces

Begin with the length of foam pipe insulation to use as the spongy bone.  Split the insulation open to reveal the hollow tube in the center, perfect for holding the bone marrow. 

Roll the clay into a snake that fits the center of the pipe insulation.  While you're rolling the clay, embed a length of red yarn in the clay to represent a blood vessel traveling through the marrow.

Slide the completed spongy bone and marrow into the length of PVC pipe.  This is the compact bone. 

Use the fabric to create a tube into which the PVC pipe can slide.  This is the membrane covering the bone. 

I added a few pieces of Velcro, to attach the blood vessels. 

And finally, wrap the outside of the fabric with additional lengths of red yarn - more blood vessels.  (I should add some blue yarn as well....)

I'm really quite pleased with my model.  It can be taken apart and put back together again and again and I think it will be quite useful in the classroom.

Because you usually have to buy 10' lengths of PVC that you have to cut yourself, some of you might be turned off by this project.  I've got extra materials from making my own, as well as easy access to additional supplies, and a willingness to make up some additional models.  If you're interested in purchasing a pre-made model (or several), send me an email and we can discuss the details.

Body Systems: Skeletal System: Edible Bone Model

Do you know what your bones are made up of?  They contain two types of bone tissue: compact bone and spongy bone, bone marrow, and a thin covering.  Blood vessels continuously carry blood to and from the bones. 

If you'd like to make it easier for your students to remember the components of bones as well as their properties, consider having them make an edible model of a bone. 

Pretend that the red yarn is Twizzlers Pull & Peel strings.  I forgot to get them at the grocery store, but had everything else and didn't want to hold things up, so I substituted.

To make your bone model, you'll need:
tortilla
lady fingers
sugar wafers
strawberry jam
Twizzlers Pull & Peel

Place the tortilla on a plate. 

Open the lady fingers and place them along the center of the tortilla.

Spread the lady fingers with the jam.

Lay the licorice down the middle of the lady fingers. 

Sandwich the lady fingers together.  Place the sugar wafers along the sides of the lady fingers.

Wrap the whole thing in the tortilla.

Wrap another piece of licorice around the tortilla.

Your model is complete!  But, before you eat it, make sure you note what each part represents:

Licorice strings are blood vessels.
Strawberry jam is the bone marrow.
Lady fingers are the spongy bone.
Sugar wafers are the compact bone.
The tortilla is the membrane covering the bone.

One version of this activity can be found here, but I first learned about it elsewhere.  I have no idea what the original source is.

Body Systems: Skeletal System: Why You Need Calcium

For this demonstration, you'll need a clean chicken bone* (a drumstick works best) and a large jar filled with vinegar.  You'll also want some way to close the jar, either a lid or some plastic wrap.

Observe the bone, try to bend it (but don't actually do so, you want to keep it in one piece).

Place the bone in the vinegar and cover the jar.

Remove the bone from the vinegar every day for about a week.  Observe and test for flexibility.


Over the course of the week, the bone will become more and more flexible, taking on a rubber-like feel by the end.  The vinegar (acetic acid) breaks down the calcium deposits in the bone, allowing you the opportunity to observe the importance of calcium in maintaining bone strength.

**The next time you have chicken or turkey, you may want to clean the bones and stick them in a resealable bag in the freezer, so you have them when you need one.

Body Systems: Skeletal System: Pasta Skeleton

Skeletons are a common sight around Halloween, and as such, I thought I'd spend a week sharing skeleton/skeletal system/bone activities and lessons you can do with your students.  They're perfect for Halloween mini-lessons or any time your curriculum brings you to those topics. 

First up, pasta skeletons!

The great variety of shapes of pasta in which pasta comes make it a fun (and inexpensive) medium with which to create. 

Provide your students with an assortment of pasta shapes and black construction paper and let them create a skeleton, being sure to include the bones you've required them to learn. 

Another possibility, have them create a more detailed model of one part of the body.  While searching for something else, I found this document, which includes an activity in which students create a model of the bones in the hand using varying sizes of tube-shaped pasta.

Body Systems: Skeletal System: Simon Says

I learned of this idea from one of my workshop participants and I think it's a fun one.

After your students have learned the names of the bones, play a game of Simon Says.

Pair off your students and call out commands such as "Simon says touch your humerus to your partner's femur." 

It well help solidify your students knowledge of the bones, as well as provide some good laughs for everyone.