Letitia Hankel and Lindsey Gunderson

Science Lesson

1. Background:

A.Grade Level: Second

B. Duration: 1 hour

C. Lesson Title: Backbones of the human body

D. Student understandings

What concepts and/or skills will students understand/construct as a result of this lesson?

Students will gain an understanding of the basic parts of the backbone which includes:

  • intervertebral discs, (discs)
  • Spinal cord
  • Vertebrae
  • Backbone

Students will obtain knowledge of the purpose of the backbone:

  • Supports the head and trunk of body
  • Allows you to bend and twist
  • Protects the spinal cord or cord that connects messages from brain to all over your body
  • Discs or cartlidged discs, absorb shock and cushion vertebrae
  • Altogether prevent shock to head when you walk or run

What is the central science question guiding this lesson?

How does the backbone give the human body the ability to move?

What benchmarks in the NSES is the lesson focus intended to address?

Content Standard C: Life Science

  • Characteristics of organisms
  • Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example humans have distinct body structures for walking, holding, seeing and talking. (NSES page 129)

Content Standard A

  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Evidence, models, and explanation

2. Materials

 30 Pipe cleaners

Uncooked wagon wheel pasta (handful for each student)

Candy gelatin rings (“ ”)

Lifesavers (“ ”)

Round sponges with hole in center (“ ”)

Skeleton model

Smart board

Internet

3. Instructional Method: The Five E’s

Background Information

Also known as your backbone, your spine is a strong, flexible column of ring-like bones that runs from your scull to your pelvis. It holds your head and your body upright and allows you to bend and twist your body. It also offers protection to your spinal cord – a large bundle of nerves that runs through the cavity in the center of your spine that relays messages between your brain and the rest of your body. Sandwiched between your vertebrae are pads of tough, fibrous cartilage called invertabral discs that cushion your vertebrae and absorb shock. These discs, together with the curved S-shape of your spine, prevent shock to your head when you walk or run. (BBC, Skeleton – Spine).

Engage/Elicit: What strategy will you use to help students reveal and reflect on what they know about a science concept and focus their attention?

Have students move away from desks and each other an arm’s length apart.

Give students movement prompts

What part of your body makes it so you can move like this? e. g. Backbone, (record answers)

Have students feel their own backbone.

What do you feel? e. g. bumps (record answers)

Explore: What problem will students be presented with that is open-ended and encourages students to pursue a range of strategies, yet specific enough to provide some direction? The activities used should provide a basis for students to question their current ideas relative to lesson’s topic and form a framework for developing new science ideas.

Have students look at model skeleton and make observations about the backbone. Teacher writes these on the board.

Break class up into pairs

Give them materials

Have them create a backbone that is flexible enough for movement

Have each pair share with class and explain why they choose to use the materials they did.

Explain: Here the teacher gathers information from the students and uses this to explore the main concept of the lesson and develops a scientific understanding of the concept under investigation.

Have class choose which model they think best represents a backbone and explain why.

Show video on smart board and give explanations and ask questions

  • First video (Backbone): point out vertebrae, spinal cord and discs
  • Second video (Vertebrae): Ask, “Why are the vertebrae there?” Explain how vertebrae protect spinal cord.
  • Third video (Moving Spine Joints): How come the vertebrae don’t break when the spine moves? What are the discs for? Explain the importance of the discs.

Have class choose again which model they think is best. Would the same model be best, or a different one?

Expand: It is important that students engage in several explorations or “reinforcers” to strengthen and broaden student’s science understanding.

Have them, as a class, “think, pair, share”, what they think would happen if they didn’t have a backbone. How would we move around? Would we slither, roll, or float? What would our bodies look like?

Discuss that not only humans have backbones, but all mammals have backbones.

Evaluate: Students are challenged with a new task that can be solved with information obtained during the previous phase of the lesson. Ideally, this should have a direct relationship to the everyday lives of the students. Remember this should not be an activity that introduces a new concept, nor should it merely be a discussion of how to apply the concepts learned to real-life. Students must USE what they have learned to solve some sort of problem that you present.

Has any body ever told you not to dive into the shallow end of the pool?

Why do you think that is?

Why might that person be in a wheel chair now? Draw a picture and label parts.

Assessment: How will you confirm students’ science understanding? What evidence will you use?

Students labeled parts correctly with vocabulary words

Students answer that the spinal cord was damaged.

4. References

BBC, Science & Nature: Human Body& Mind. (n.d.) Skeleton – Spine. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from

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