HUMAN BODY: PUSHING THE LIMITS. Strength. Teacher's Guide .... http://books
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HUMAN BODY: PUSHING THE LIMITS Strength Teacher’s Guide Grade Level: 6–12
Curriculum Focus: Science
Running Time: 43 minutes
Program Description The human body is engineered for strength, power, and endurance. Awe-inspiring stories of an injured hiker who lifted a 1,200-pound boulder off his chest and a police officer who was able to outrun a raging firestorm illustrate the amazing capacities of our bones and muscles. The program highlights the importance of adrenaline in triggering life-saving bodily reactions during emergencies, while the story of a swimmer crossing the English Channel considers how the body converts carbohydrates and fat into energy.
Learning Objectives After viewing the program and participating in discussion, students will be able to: · Understand some of the scientific concepts regarding the brain and its functions; · Develop an appreciation of “how we know” what we know about the brain; · Understand an organism and its environments; · Understand the interdependence of organisms; · Understand biological evolution.
Classroom Connections Have you ever really thought about your knee—how it works, how much you need it; how much you depend on it without even thinking? Make a list of actions you do that require use of your knee, and discuss with the class whether you could accomplish any of the acts on your list without your using your knee. The program discusses dance and football as ways we stretch our bodies beyond their limits. Think about how your hobbies or activities stretch the body—soccer, sculpting, swimming, singing, dancing, etc. Explain how your hobby or activity stretches your body to its limits.
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Classroom Activities Have students discuss the different types of muscles explored in the program. Using the library and other classroom materials, allow students to read and explore the composition of muscles and how they help with movement. Students can answer these questions along their way: · · ·
What are the three types of muscles? What is the difference between your face muscles and other muscles in your body? What are four major muscles found in the body and where are they located?
Have students make flash cards of the names of the bones or muscle groups in the body. Allow them to work in groups and quiz each other. After the students have had time to review all their material, test their skills with “Simon Says.” When playing this version of “Simon Says,” be sure to use all the names of the bones and muscle groups rather than the common “touch your head, knees, toes,” etc.
Target Vocabulary* adrenalin - a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, affecting functions such as circulation and muscular action ATP - phosphorylated nucleotide C10H16N5O13P3 composed of adenosine and three phosphate groups that supplies energy for many biochemical cellular processes by undergoing enzymatic hydrolysis especially to ADP—called also adenosine triphosphate calcium - a silver-white bivalent metallic element that is an alkaline earth metal, occurs only in combination, and is an essential constituent of most plants and animals carbohydrate - any of various neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (as sugars, starches, and celluloses) most of which are formed by green plants and which constitute a major class of animal foods cartilage - a usually translucent somewhat elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of vertebrate embryos and except for a small number of structures (as some joints, respiratory passages, and the external ear) is replaced by bone during ossification in the higher vertebrates collagen - an insoluble fibrous protein of vertebrates that is the chief constituent of the fibrils of connective tissue (as in skin and tendons) and of the organic substance of bones and yields gelatin and glue on prolonged heating with water Page 2 Published by Discovery Education. © 2008. All rights reserved.
glucose - an optically active sugar C6H12O6 that has an aldehydic carbonyl group; especially: the sweet colorless soluble dextrorotatory form that occurs widely in nature and is the usual form in which carbohydrate is assimilated by animals ligament - a tough band of tissue that serves to connect the articular extremities of bones or to support or retain an organ in place and is usually composed of coarse bundles of dense white fibrous tissue parallel or closely interlaced, pliant, and flexible, but not extensible muscle - a body tissue consisting of long cells that contract when stimulated and produce motion phosphorous - a nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs widely especially as phosphates skeleton - a usually rigid supportive or protective structure or framework of an organism; especially: the bony or more or less cartilaginous framework supporting the soft tissues and protecting the internal organs of a vertebrate *By permission. From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ©2008 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (www.MerriamWebster.com).
Academic Standards National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K–12 to promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site: http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content. This guide addresses the following standards: · Science as inquiry · Life science
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