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Hands-on Muscle lesson

October 13, 2013 Ticia 7 Comments

In our science lessons, we’ve been studying all about anatomy. In addition to learning about muscles through exercise, we also explored what muscles look like.  We’ve looked at joints and how they work (which apparently I need to track down and post that one…..).

observation lesson observe muscles under magnification

Now to look at the actual muscle tissue.  We’ve explored chicken muscles before, but they don’t clearly show the muscle cell bundles, but steak works pretty darn well, and after you have a nice dinner.  Flank steak would have worked better, but they didn’t have it at the store at the time.

Supplies needed for a hands-on muscle lesson:

Steak (I bought some thin-cut sirloin, but flank steak works best), magnifying glass, paper (wait I like these notebooks), pencil, colored pencils, soap and water

Procedure for a hands-on muscle lesson:

observingmuscletissuelesson

The first step in any observation is using your sense.  So we drew and wrote about what we saw, how it felt, and what we smelled.

handsonmusclelesson
poor timing when this picture happened

The kids all agreed it felt weird to touch.  This led to a short lesson on washing hands after handling raw meat.  Always a good point to reinforce with kids.

usingamagnifyingglasstoobservemuscles

Next, we broke out our magnifying glass, I’d give you a recommendation on one, but sadly this one is out of production.  I’ve had it and used it for 10 years, and now it’s no more.  Waaaaahhhhhh.

Future Ticia 2022 has found a similar magnifying glass, but it also has a light you could turn on.

After observing both ways, here’s what we came up with.

musclecellobservationslesson

All in all the kids declared this to be a great hands-on muscle lesson.  “And Mommy, now I want some steak.”  Well, child, that would be why we only used a small part of the steak, so the rest could be used for dinner.

For more hands-on muscle lessons:

  • Learning about muscles through exercise
  • Experimenting with flexibility
  • How do muscles work?
  • Learning about muscles
  • Or follow my Anatomy pinterest board
observation lesson, observing muscles anatomy science

science 3rd grade, anatomy

Comments

  1. Phyllis at All Things Beautiful says

    October 13, 2013 at 8:07 am

    That is a great lesson. I love the observation skills involved.

    Reply
  2. Natalie says

    October 13, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    This is an awesome idea – and I love your magnifying glass!

    Reply
  3. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    October 13, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    Luckily I saw that magnifying glass a couple years ago on your blog and snatched one up before they quit making it!

    Great lesson, too!

    Reply
  4. Claire says

    October 14, 2013 at 6:53 am

    I’m having trouble linking up. I think it must be my computer because I don’t seem to be able to link up at Phyllis’ either. I’ll try again later (it won’t let me crop)
    Great lesson as always!

    Reply
  5. Claire says

    October 14, 2013 at 6:54 am

    Oh, look, it’s linked!! Ignore above comment, I don’t know what’s going on!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 365 Days Hands-On Homeschool  Activities says:
    February 15, 2019 at 11:27 am

    […] aid: how to treat a broken boneWhy are our bones strong?Color Sudoku (Logic Game)Frogs & ToadsHands on muscles lessonWhat food has starches in it?Play Stomachion Like ArchimedesAmoeba CakeLearning about blood […]

    Reply
  2. 100+ Screen Free Activities for Homeschoolers - Thinking Kids says:
    September 22, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    […] Study muscles in a real, hands-on way. […]

    Reply

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Ticia Adventures in Mommydom Hi, I'm Ticia! This is the adventures of my family in life and learning. Follow along with us as we share our adventures. We're having a lot of fun and learning as we go.

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