Part 2 in the CKLA Amplify Knowledge series is Unit 2, The Human Body!

My 1st graders always enjoy CKLA's Human Body unit every year. They have so many questions about how their bodies work, and this unit does a great job of helping them understand the way each body system functions.

Human Body x-rays are a favorite for my first graders!

It cover 5 systems: skeletal, circulatory, digestive, muscular, and nervous system. These are the activities I used to help to enhance their understanding of each system. We used some throughout, and again at the end of the unit to celebrate all they have learned!

Gallery

I love using the image cards that come with the unit to create a gallery that spans the entire domain. My students love discussing all the things they have learned so far during snack!

I have noticed my students using the proper terms more often thanks to these displays. It is also very helpful for my EL students!

The gallery is also beneficial to my early writers when we start creating their own book for the unit.

Human Body Book

As we move through the unit, they make their own body system book, using the workbook page to draw, and write about each system.

I put the pictures from the unit on the screen to help with their illustrations.

We write a sentence each day to create a paragraph about the body systems and how they work together.

They can use the sentence form the chart we wrote together to help, or write on their own.

It includes writing templates and organizers for healthy eating, the body systems, the 5 keys to health, and writing prompts.

One of my goals this year is to increase their retention of the amazing vocabulary words covered in each domain.

To help with this I am going to use these slides, and introduce the daily words with them each day.

Each slide has a definition, context sentence and image for each word in the unit.

I'm going to display them on the ClearTouch daily. I will also create a Knowledge vocabulary wall for the most important words, using the black and white posters.

Click here for a closer look at this resource.

Mystery Science Bones Experiment

I love using Mystery Science's experiment: Why Do Our Skeletons Have So Many Bones? The step by step directions in Mystery Science videos are perfect for first graders.

We watched the whole thing through once, they headed to their seats to follow the steps.

They did an excellent job following the steps, and using the vegetable oil too.

a closeup of one of my 1st graders final result

They came out so great, that we kept them up through Halloween.

They looked great when the sun shined through them. They really enjoyed this activity, and I will definitely use it again every year!

we hung them on the window for Halloween and they looked great!

X-Rays

I've had Roylco's human bones x-ray set since I taught Kindergarten - and now they fit perfectly into our Skeletal system study!

I love how each x-ray also highlights where the bone is found in the body.

My students have always loved using them on the light table - or even just putting them on our windows!

This year's class also liked to reconstruct the x-rays on the floor, so they could build the entire body!

arranging the x-rays into a human body formation

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Play Food Sort

After we studied the digestive system, we focused on the food pyramid.

I love having them sort the play food, using green and red trays to sort the play food. I like this set because it has a mix of healthy and non healthy foods, which we focus on during the unit.

using play food to sort healthy vs non healthy

We did this on the healthy food lesson day. They each had to choose a food, explain where it fits on the pyramid, and then put it in the correct color tray.

sorting play food onto colored trays, red for unhealthy and green for healthy

They enjoyed it so much that we did it during the celebration too!

Books

Here are some of the favorite body system books my first graders love exploring throughout the unit.

Knowledge Encyclopedia Human Body

DK Find Out! Human Body

My Amazing Body Machine

Eyewitness Human Body

Glitter Germs

No study of the human body is complete without talking about germs! We reviewed hand washing, and how important it is. They had already tried the pepper/soap experiment, so we went with glitter hands instead!

They covered their hands with vaseline, then sprinkled them with plastic free glitter. I use the plastic free, since we wash it straight down the drain after.

First they tried to rinse it, which of course doesn't work. Then, they add soap, and they were amazed at how quickly it disappeared!

Marshmallow Heartbeat Experiment

This is an easy prep, all you. need are marshmallows and toothpicks. I didn't manage to get any pictures, but we used this video for the activity.

This was a lot of fun, because it gave them a chance to jump around in order to raise their heartbeat.

I loved the visual, because a lot of students struggled with finding their pulse in their wrist during our circulatory lesson. However, the movement of the toothpick was easy to see after they had jogged in place, or done 25 jumping jacks!

Healthy Foods Feast

What is a celebration, without snacks? Several of my families sent in their child's favorite healthy snack to celebrate!

For vegetables we had broccoli, carrots, celery, tomatoes and cauliflower. For fruits, a variety of berries, watermelons, apples, and oranges. Then, some yogurts, crackers and pretzels!