8. Students should be able to identify the major bones on the human body. Also, students should know the basic composition of bone structure, have a basic understanding of how bones develop, and should also be able to identify foods and activities conducive to the development of healthy bones.

9. Students should attain a basic understanding of what clues the human skeleton can give about a person regarding age, sex, race, and stature.

Concepts to be learned and applied.

• Identifying major bones.

• Learning bone composition, and relating that to development.

• Identifying exercises that help or impede bone development.

• Learn how a science can infer age, sex, race, and stature from skeletal remains.

Epiphyseal plates- At either end of long bones, where growth takes place.

Haversian canals- In the compact bone, small channel containing blood vessels that nourish osteocytes.

osteocytes- Embedded in collagen, osteocytes are responsible for making bones hard.

periosteum -Protective membrane that covers bone.

Pre-reading lecture outline

I. Introduce the major bones of the human body (page 662, Fig 41.1)

A. Long bones

1. Ex. Femur and humourous

2. Provide major support

3. Strongest muscles are attached

B. Short bones

1. Ex. Carples, tarsal, and phalanges.

2. Provide for dexterity.

3. Make walking more of a fluid motion

C. Flat bones

1. Ex. Cranium and Sternum

2. Provide protection due to high surface area

II. Composition

A. Periosteum (outer layer)

1. Protective membrane surrounding bone

2. Connects the bones to muscles

B. Osteocytes (2nd layer)

1. Embedded in protein fibers called collagen

2. Composed of calcium and phosphorus

C. Haversian canals (inner layer)

1. Located in the shaft

D. Epiphyseal plates

1. Separates end from shaft

2. As plates move, you grow

Bones which each student should be able to identify on the human body: cranium (skull), mandible, clavicle, scapula, sternum, humourous, radius, ulna, pelvis, carpal, metacarpals, phalanges, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsal, metatarsals, and phalanges. (pg. 662 of text)

Post lecture and vocabulary activity

Have the students go to the following website: http://gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/bio/181/BIOBK/BioBookMUSSKEL.html.

After they skim the information, have them draw a bone and its cells while on the diagram they should label the following: Haversian canals, periosteum, osteocytes, and epiphyseal plates. The students can use their text, the notes, and the website to make the diagram.

Pre-reading activities

You are about to read an article about bones called Exercise Builds Bigger Bones. Read the statements below, then predict whether or not the author would agree or disagree.

1. If you use a muscle on one arm more that muscle on the other, then the arm that is used more will have a bigger bone.

2. Bones are not brittle; they bend before they snap.

3. Exercises that put stress on your bones and ligaments cause the kinds of structural changes that reinforce the bones and make them stronger.

4. Swimming is more beneficial to developing stronger bones than running or walking.

5. Weightlifting should be encouraged at all ages because it will strengthen the growth plates at the end of the bones.

6. Calcium fortified orange-juice has as much calcium as a cup of milk.

Before reading the second article the teacher should write these three questions on the board. Give them about ten minutes to answer the questions. After doing that, have the students share their responses with the rest of the class.

1. Why is it important to scientists to study skeletal remains?

2. What information can a scientist learn about somebody’s skeleton? How so?

3. Which do you think is easier to determine from a skeleton, age or sex? Why?

Reading activity for the article "Exercise makes bigger bones"

I have identified the three main points of the article, now you fill in the table, and identify the theme.

Theme:

Now have the students skim through the article and answer the following questions:

1. Using context clues what do you think elasticity means? What is responsible for this in your bones?

2. What can happen when bone cells die faster than they are replaced?

4. List one activity that is helpful, and one that is harmful to the development of bones. Then briefly tell why.

5. Why are your epiphyseal plates more susceptible during adolescence than adulthood?

6. Which of the following does the author list as a bad activity for a person not fully grown: swimming, arm curls, squats, or running.

Now read pages 249-252 from the book The Human Skeleton, and answer the following questions while you read:

1. What information can be drawn from skeletal remains?

2. Make up a sentence using the word seriation.

3. What region of a skeleton is a good indicator of sex?

4. Teeth can be a good age indicator, why? When are teeth no longer a good indicator?

5. The author mentioned the epiphysis, what has happened to the person when all epiphyses are fused?

6. After what event does the determination of sex become easier?

7. What does racial admixture mean?

8. What does the author mean by metric and non-metric traits?

9. What does the author mean by the last sentence on page 251?

Now have the students go back to the predictions they made.

Post- reading activities

Read the statements below, write whether it is true or false, then write a sentence or two supporting your answer.

1. If you use a muscle on one arm more the same muscle on the other, then the arm that is used more will have a bigger bone.

2. Bones are not brittle, they bend before they snap.

3. Exercises that put stress on your bones and ligaments cause the kinds of structural changes that reinforce the bones and makes them stronger.

4. Swimming is more beneficial to developing stronger bones than running or walking.

5. Weightlifting should be encouraged at all ages because it will strengthen the growth plates at the end of the bones.

6. Calcium fortified orange-juice has as much calcium as a cup of milk.

Now imagine that you and a friend are on an archeological dig, and you find two skeletons. Your partner makes the statements below. To each statement say whether you agree or disagree, and write a sentence or two from the passage that supports your argument.

1. "The best way to tell if the skeleton is a male or female would be to look at the rib cage."

2. "From a persons skeleton, it is almost impossible to determine the sex of an individual until age 17."

3. "It is easier to determine if a person was white, than it is to tell if they were black."

4. "It is harder to determine the age of an infant than the age of a skeleton over 50."

5. "Scientists have better fossil records of females than males."

Post-reading activity

Your Name_______________________

Your Partner’s Name____________________

1. Find a partner, and get a measuring stick. Measure and record your partner's height and ulna, have your partner do the same for you.

2. Go to the index on page 279 of The Human Skeleton, find the length of your ulna on the index, and reference that with the corresponding height. This is your theoretical height. Do this for your partner.

4. Perform the following calculation to find the Percent Error:

|actual height-theoretical height|/actual height x 100

4. Add the two percent errors, divide by two this will give you the Average Percent Error.

your actual height_________(mm) your partner’s actual height_________(mm)

length of your ulna_________(mm) length of your partner’s ulna________(mm)

your theoretical height_______(mm) your partner’s theoretical height_______(mm)

Average Percent Error____________%

Unit assessment.

After completing this quiz, students should come up to the front of the room to identify eight bones, from the bones we studied, randomly selected by the teacher.

1. What are two elements attributed to bone strength?
2. Name an exercise that is bad for bone development.

Squats, clean and jerk, power clean- will stunt the growth of epiphyseal plates.

3. For what are the following parts responsible: Haversian canals, osteocytes, and Periosteum.

4. What are epiphyseal plates? What type of bones do not have epiphyseal plates?

5. Let’s say you find a skeleton, and you think that person died before 10 years of age, what would be the best indicator? After what event does determining sex become easier?

Key to reading activity for Article 1

I have identified the three main points of the article, now you fill in the table, and identify the theme.

Bone development	Exercise & Good habits	Bone Problems
Bone cells die and are replaced simultaneously. This is called remodeling.	Running is better than swimming	Osteoporosis occurs when bone cells die faster than repaired.
When skeleton undergoes strain, brain tells body to form bitter bones	Limit weight lifting to 40 min. regiments, with plenty of rest.	Brittle bones occur when they are inactive
Collagen allows bones to bend w/out snapping	Avoid using free weights	Weightlifting can damage epiphyseal plates if not done properly.
Bones are better fit for weightlifting after puberty	Eat foods with a lot of calcium.



Theme: Healthy lifestyle choices such as exercising and eating a sufficient amount of calcium will help the body to build bigger and stronger bones.

 

Now have the students skim through the article and answer the following questions:

1. Using context clues what do you think elasticity means? What is responsible for this in your bones? Elasticity means to bend not break.. Collagen.

2. What can happen when bone cells die faster than they are replaced? You might get osteoporosis.

3. List one activity that is helpful, and one that is harmful to the development of bones. Then briefly tell why.

Helpful- running or doing yardwork. These add stress to the bones causing the body to provide a more fortified structure.

Harmful- Exercises that put stress on the epiphyseal plate can be harmful.

6. Why are your epiphyseal plates more susceptible during adolescence than adulthood?

Epiphyseal plates are growth plates. These plates are not fused until after puberty, and if a growth plate is injured, the bone will not grow properly.

7. Which of the following does the author list as a bad activity for a person not fully grown: swimming, arm curls, squats, or running.

Squats.

Now read Article 2, and answer the following questions while you read:

1. What information can be drawn from skeletal remains? Approximate age and height. Sex and race can sometimes be determined.

2. Make up a sentence using the word seriation.

Alphabetical order is a type of seriation. The definition is to put something in order.

3. What region of a skeleton is a good indicator of sex? The pelvic region.

4. Teeth are a good age indicator, why? When are they no longer a good indicator? Teeth can show the relative age of an individual as they develop. When wisdom teeth are completely in, age is harder to determine.

5. The author mentioned the epiphysis, what has happened to the person when all epiphyses are fused? The person is done growing.

6. After what event does the determination of sex become easier? Puberty

7. What does racial admixture mean? The mixing of two or more races

8. What does the author mean by metric and non-metric traits? Traits that can be measured are metric traits. Eye color is a non metric trait.

9. What does the author mean by the last sentence on page 251? Race can be determined just by knowing who lived in the area at the time of death.

Unit assessment

After completing this quiz, students should come up to the front of the room to identify eight bones randomly selected by the teacher.

1. What are two elements attributed to bone strength? Calcium and Phosphorus.

2. Name an exercise that is bad for bone development.

Squats, clean and jerk, power clean- will stunt the growth of epiphyseal plates.

3. For what are the following parts responsible: Haversian canals, osteocytes, and Periosteum.

Haversian canals- Channel red blood cells to osteocytes.

Osteocytes- responsible for bone density.

Periosteum- Covers bones and connects them to muscles.

4. What are epiphyseal plates? What type of bones do not have epiphyseal plates?

Flat bones do not have them. They are the growth plates.

5. Let’s say you find a skeleton, and you think that person died before 10 years of age, what would be the best indicator? After what event does determining sex become easier? Why? Look at their dentition. After puberty.

Approximate Duration: 4 days.

Day 1- Introduction of vocabulary words, short lecture, and internet activity.

Day 2- Pre-reading activities, reading, and reading activities.

Day 3- Reading and reading activities continued, and post reading activity.

Day 4- Short lab and unit assessment.

References

Globus, Sheila (1996). Exercise builds bigger bones. Current Health II, 43, 25-28.

Goodman H. D., Graham, L. E., Emmel, T.C., & Shechter, Y. (1991). Biology today: annotated teachers addition. Austin TX: Holt.

Shipman, P., Walker, A., & Bichell, D. (1985). The human skeleton. MA: Harvard Press.