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Pre-K through Grade 2
Grade 3 through Grade 6
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Grade Levels Grades 3 through 6
Estimated Teaching Time 60
to 90 minutes
Interdisciplinary Connections
- Working cooperatively (Social Skills)
- Cutting and pasting (Art)
- Building spatial reasoning skills (Art, Math)
Objectives
Students will learn the structures and functions of the skin.
What Students Do
Students will figure out what different parts of the skin do by
labeling a crosssection of human skin and by piecing together a
jigsaw puzzle featuring the structures of the human skin.
Materials Required
Advanced Preparation
- Duplicate blackline masters
2.4A and 2.4B PDF, one per student. You may want to consider
making enlarged copies of these sheets.
- Duplicate blackline masters
2.4C and 2.4D PDF. Both of these blackline masters have two
parts, which need to be duplicated on separate sheets. This will
give you a total of four different puzzle-piece sheets. Half of
your students will get the two parts of blackline
master 2.4C PDF; the other half will get the two parts of
blackline master 2.4D PDF.
The current size of the finished puzzle is 8" x 10".
You may want to consider making enlarged copies of the puzzle
sheets to end up with a larger, poster-size illustration.
- Cut oranges into eight cross-sections.
Suggested Sequence
- Pass out cross-sections of orange so that each student gets
a piece with skin and pulp. Explain to them what a cross-section
is. Have them hold it up and show you that they have understood.
Consider having them diagram the cross-section before allowing
them to eat it. (NOTE: Have students sanitize their hands before
handling food.)
- Pass out the cross-section worksheets (blackline
master 2.4A PDF). Explain that this diagram is magnified.
Real skin is only one to two millimeters thick.
- Hand out the skin functions call-out sheets (blackline
master 2.4B PDF). Have students cut out the descriptions and
try to match up which function goes with which part of the skin.
Suggest that they color code different parts using light crayon
or pencil.
- After students have pieced together the worksheets, generate
a list of things skin does for them.
- For the jigsaw challenge, take away the first two worksheets.
Divide the class into teams. Give partner A one half of the puzzle
(copies of blackline master
2.4C PDF, Parts 1 and 2) and partner B the other half (copies
of blackline master 2.4D PDF,
Parts 1 and 2). Have them cut out their respective pieces. Then,
as a team, have them assemble the jigsaw using both their puzzle
skills and their knowledge of skin.
Check for Understanding
Ask the following questions:
- How does your skin help to keep you warm? How does it help to cool
you down?
- What is the fat under your skin for?
- What would happen if your sebaceous glands stopped working so well
(as happens to many older people)?
- Why is it useful to be able to feel pain?
Extensions
- Make a bulletin board of a really big skin diagram from construction
paper, with wool, pins and index cards to show the structures and their
functions in the students’ own words.
- For a more difficult challenge, use the second set of call-outs
provided on blackline master
2.4B PDF, where students must fill in the name of the skin
part based on the printed description, before matching call-outs
to the diagram.
Words to Share
- Cross-section
- Dermis
- Epidermis
- Hair erector muscle
- Hair follicle
- Sebaceous gland
- Sensory nerve
- Skin blood vessel
- Subcutaneous layer
- Sweat pore
- Sweat gland
- Urea
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