Unit Aim or Outcome:
For students to have a knowledge of the human body.
Science:
LT S2.3 Identifies and describes the function of living things and ways in which living things interact with other living things and their environment
identifies and describes the structure of living things.
English:
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
explains how visual and written grammar work together
participates in class discussions
presents to the class about the different parts of their system
obtains information from a variety of factual scientific texts on the human body
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
listens to spoken presentations and responds appropriately
RS2.5 Reads independently a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.
reads a range of scientific texts on the human body
Lesson Outcome:
To develop the students' understanding about how scientific diagrams should be labelled.
Resources:
for each pair - 1 passage (written text) of the digestive system
for each pair - 1 envelope containing different images of the main organs that make up a newborn's digestive system
for each pair - 1 envelope containing different terms of the main organs that make up a newborn's digestive system
smartboard
butcher's paper
pens and paper, ruler
cardboard images of the main organs that make the systems of the body (respiratory, central nervous system, etc).
various scientific texts (with many visuals) on the human body
students' previous drawings of the human body (see Lesson 1)
Lesson Outline
Introduction (5min):
Assign students into pairs.
Have students read the following passage:
'The digestive system of a newborn is different to the digestive system of the adult body. The stomach and the intestine are reduced, while the liver is proportionally much more developed.'
In their pairs, students draw what they believe the digestive system of a newborn looks like. Each pair then compares their drawing with another pair.
As a class, students discuss the challenges they had in interpreting the passage. For example, the language, the lack of knowledge, etc.
Have the students brainstorm ideas that they have about the strategies that can be implemented to support the reader in interpreting the passage.
Teaching strategy/LearningActivity:
Students will ……
Activity 1A (10min)
Students match the images of the organs that make up a newborn's digestive system with the names of the organs.
At the end of the activity, students discuss the challenges that they had experienced in completing the activity. Then continue to discuss the reasons why some of the images were easier to define than the others. For example, their prior knowledge that intestines are usually drawn with folds (bulbous segments) or that the liver is usually portrayed in a maroon colour.
Students compare their drawing to that of the scientific drawing shown by the teacher.
Teacher will…
Each pair is given two envelopes with cards that have been mixed. The first envelope contains different images of different organs that belong to the digestive system of a newborn. NOTE: DO NOT TELL THE STUDENTS IT IS OF A DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF A NEWBORN. The second envelope contains the names of the organs. In their pairs, ask the students to match the images with the names of the organs.
Go through the answers with the students to the activity by showing them a fully constructed image of the digestive system of a newborn (without the labels).
Explain to the class that the organs the students had just seen were that of a digestive system of a newborn baby.
Activity 1B (10min)
Students discuss how the passage and the visual work together to support one another.
In their groups, students study the visuals and diagrams of their texts on the human body provided by the teacher. As a class, students share what common features they have noticed about the visuals presented in the factual texts that focus on the human body.
For example,
labelling
detailed images that show the texture of the body
colour coded
title for each image
Ask the class how does their passage and the visuals work together.
Show the class where the passage and the visual comes from.
(ie. textbook - Lazzetti, G & Rigutti, E. (2007) Human Anatomy. China: Taj Books International LLP)
Explain to the class that most often, in scientific texts, one will find the images and written text supporting one another or either adding additional information which allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the topics.
Assign the students into groups and pass around a number of information books on the human body to the class.
Activity 2 (15min)
Have each group study the human body drawing that they had done in their groups in the previous lesson. Ask the students to write down what they can do to improve the drawing such that may be deemed as more visually scientific.
For example, the need to use a ruler to draw a line when labelling the body parts.
As a class, students look at the digestive system (of an adult). Students label the life-size image (either on cardboard or on the smartboard) by naming the organs - taking care to label in scientific manner. That is, to use one straight line pointing to the organ and then writing the name of the organ next to the line and the lines never overlap one another.
Students then colour code the organs such that they are as close to the real colour of the organs, after the class has looked at a variety of texts studying how the digestive system is visually portrayed.
Students create an appropriate title for the image.
Explain to the class that for a person who has no knowledge of a body system, identifying the different parts that make up a human body can be extremely difficult, especially when there are many parts to a whole. This is why factual texts, particularly on the human body, would detail its drawings with labels, colour codes to classify different elements and details to portray texture, shape and colour for a realistic approach.
It must be noted to the students that:
the labelling in scientific diagrams only use straight lines and the lines never overlap.
colour codes are used when showing the different structures and functions of a body part.
Concluding strategy (20min):
Assign each group a system that is part of the body, with the respective outline of the organs and a butcher's paper with an outline of the human body. The students must, using various resource books, align the organs together on the outline of the human body. The students must then make the system as visually scientific as possible. At the end, the students can present their diagrams to the class and telling the class what they have learnt. The teacher may wish to display the diagrams around the class.
Assessment:
Listen to the responses given by students about how visual and written texts work together.
Determine whether the students are able to understand the different types of labelling used in scientific drawings by observing and listening to what the students say they can improve to make their diagram of the human body (from the previous lesson) more scientific
Study the diagrams created by students to determine whether they understand the correct way to label scientifc diagrams of the human body
Observe whether the students are able to work collaboratively
Any special considerations or contingency plans:
Group/ pair up students with special needs or language difficulties with more capable students to promote peer assistance.
Self-reflection:
Were students engaged throughout the lesson/tasks?
Did the tasks cater for students'' abilities?
Did the students understand the purpose of the activity?
Were the indicators/goals/outcomes achieved?
Was each part of the lesson completed in the allocated time frames?
How could this lesson improve/ what issues or misconceptions need to be addressed?
EXPLORING THE HUMAN BODY
Science & Technology
Stage 2, Year 4
2 of 10
Scientific Labelling
For students to have a knowledge of the human body.
Science:
English:
To develop the students' understanding about how scientific diagrams should be labelled.
Assign students into pairs.
Have students read the following passage:
'The digestive system of a newborn is different to the digestive system of the adult body. The stomach and the intestine are reduced, while the liver is proportionally much more developed.'
In their pairs, students draw what they believe the digestive system of a newborn looks like. Each pair then compares their drawing with another pair.
As a class, students discuss the challenges they had in interpreting the passage. For example, the language, the lack of knowledge, etc.
Have the students brainstorm ideas that they have about the strategies that can be implemented to support the reader in interpreting the passage.
Activity 1A (10min)
Students match the images of the organs that make up a newborn's digestive system with the names of the organs.
At the end of the activity, students discuss the challenges that they had experienced in completing the activity. Then continue to discuss the reasons why some of the images were easier to define than the others. For example, their prior knowledge that intestines are usually drawn with folds (bulbous segments) or that the liver is usually portrayed in a maroon colour.
Students compare their drawing to that of the scientific drawing shown by the teacher.
Each pair is given two envelopes with cards that have been mixed. The first envelope contains different images of different organs that belong to the digestive system of a newborn. NOTE: DO NOT TELL THE STUDENTS IT IS OF A DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF A NEWBORN. The second envelope contains the names of the organs. In their pairs, ask the students to match the images with the names of the organs.
Go through the answers with the students to the activity by showing them a fully constructed image of the digestive system of a newborn (without the labels).
Explain to the class that the organs the students had just seen were that of a digestive system of a newborn baby.
Students discuss how the passage and the visual work together to support one another.
In their groups, students study the visuals and diagrams of their texts on the human body provided by the teacher. As a class, students share what common features they have noticed about the visuals presented in the factual texts that focus on the human body.
For example,
Show the class where the passage and the visual comes from.
(ie. textbook - Lazzetti, G & Rigutti, E. (2007) Human Anatomy. China: Taj Books International LLP)
Explain to the class that most often, in scientific texts, one will find the images and written text supporting one another or either adding additional information which allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the topics.
Assign the students into groups and pass around a number of information books on the human body to the class.
Have each group study the human body drawing that they had done in their groups in the previous lesson. Ask the students to write down what they can do to improve the drawing such that may be deemed as more visually scientific.
For example, the need to use a ruler to draw a line when labelling the body parts.
As a class, students look at the digestive system (of an adult). Students label the life-size image (either on cardboard or on the smartboard) by naming the organs - taking care to label in scientific manner. That is, to use one straight line pointing to the organ and then writing the name of the organ next to the line and the lines never overlap one another.
Students then colour code the organs such that they are as close to the real colour of the organs, after the class has looked at a variety of texts studying how the digestive system is visually portrayed.
Students create an appropriate title for the image.
It must be noted to the students that:
Assign each group a system that is part of the body, with the respective outline of the organs and a butcher's paper with an outline of the human body. The students must, using various resource books, align the organs together on the outline of the human body. The students must then make the system as visually scientific as possible. At the end, the students can present their diagrams to the class and telling the class what they have learnt. The teacher may wish to display the diagrams around the class.