Use The Muscular System Coloring Book To Create Rich Coordinated Lessons

In this day and age, it can be difficult for public school teachers to find effective ways of imparting true wisdom. The reason for this is that public schools have become so test oriented that teachers often feel they must focus on having their students memorize test answers rather than teaching conceptual learning and true critical thinking.

Time is limited, and school funding is often dependent upon successful test results. In this article, we will share some brainstorming ideas regarding the value of working in coordination with other teachers and using unusual and creative materials and methods as a means of saving classroom time and amplifying the depth and amount of knowledge imparted. Read on to learn more.

Incorporate The Muscular System Coloring Book In PE, Art, Writing, Science And Music Lessons

This well-designed coloring book is an excellent teaching tool in many ways. It is a book that provides in-depth learning of the entire muscular system of the human body by presenting three different unlabeled views of each and every muscle, along with a labeled overview. The unlabeled views are large, clear and uncluttered. They are appropriate for use by students from the fifth or sixth grade level onward.

Because the book contains images of every muscle in the human body, it is easy to see that with a little creativity it could be used as an excellent support material for physical education, biology, reproductive education and many aspects of other types of learning. Because of this, this very affordable teaching tool can be drawn upon year after year from late elementary school throughout junior high and high school. Your only limitation in using this valuable resource is your own level of creativity and imagination.

Depending upon the size of your class, assign images from the coloring book to individual students or to groups. If it is possible, work in coordination with your school's art teacher to complete the coloring aspect of this lesson. It can also be very valuable to enlist your students’ biology or science teacher in this activity.

* Have the students label the images and then color. Have individual students or groups present their colored images to the class and explain the purpose and functioning of the muscle or muscle group they have been assigned.

* Have individuals or groups create a brief quiz consisting of fill in the blank questions to use as a follow-up to their presentation.

* Play a game in which the leader of the game calls out the name of a muscle and participants move that muscle. Correct those who respond by moving the wrong muscle and repeat the activity until all participants are responding correctly.

* Play a game in which the leader points to different muscles and participants call out the name of the muscle.

* Have students write descriptions of their favorite sport activity in terms of the muscles used. Have each student read his or her description aloud to the class. Classmates can then guess what sport is being described. See if you can work in conjunction with your students writing instructor for this aspect of the learning experience.

* Have each student create a dance step and provide written instructions using muscular system terminology. Students can then work together to perform the described dance steps and put them together to create a complete dance. See if you can work in conjunction with your school's music department for this aspect of the lesson.

It’s easy to see that by coordinating with teachers of other subjects, you can get more "bang for your buck" from a single resource. Remember not to be too much of a perfectionist or too demanding in terms of artistic results. It is important that students enjoy the time they spend coloring the images and that they feel free to express some creativity. This will not hurt their learning experience. In fact it will enhance it.

It's easy to see that the Muscular System Coloring Book can be adapted for use in many different types of classes. The key to making this an effective support material and all-around learning tool is coordination with other teachers in your school system. It's a good idea to get together with other instructors at the beginning of the semester or during workshops and brainstorm about ways in which you can coordinate your lessons.

When you coordinate your efforts, you can take advantage of incorporating a wide variety of types of learning. For example:

1. Physical exercise employed in both PE and dance encourage muscle memory and help your students incorporate knowledge deeply.

2. Auditory learners will benefit from classroom presentations and music incorporated throughout dance lessons, PE lessons and art classes.

3. Tactile learners will benefit from the act of coloring and creating classroom displays.

4. Visual learners will benefit both from coloring and from viewing clear presentations of the muscular system.

Remember that the act of learning is a process of connecting information we already know with new information. This process promotes solid memory and complete understanding. These are the components that make up good test results in the final analysis. Students who truly and completely understand their subject matter can successfully answer questions about it even if those questions are unexpected.

When you join forces with other instructors, your students will learn far more than simply the structure and function of the components of the muscular system. They will also gain powerful and important critical thinking and social skills. When you work in close coordination with other educators in your school system, you can get the most value from the limited time you have. More importantly, you can impart true learning to your charges rather than simply feeding them information to be regurgitated.