Body Tissues Worksheet with a Twist!
There is nothing I find students more resistant about learning than the fundamentals. They just don’t seem fun. I think one reason is because we tend to lecture at them before we do anything else. That is why I introduce my human body tissues lesson with this fun body tissues activity to get them up, moving, and thinking right away. I have a free body tissues worksheet to go along with this activity. This is part of my series on fun ways to teach anatomy.
My body tissues activity set up
I want to start by getting them interested. Keep in mind that you will always have resistant learners. The more you do low stakes activities like this the more participation you will get, but you might still have a lot of whining or pouting. That is okay. I find a lot of students feel like they are going to be “tricked” so it is a process to gain their trust.
I have four boxes in the front of the room that are labeled. Sometimes I have the labels facing the students and sometimes I have them facing away. It depends on the group.
I give each person a card with a body structure on it. It is important that these structures are predominately one tissue type.
Building a little anticipation
I show the labels on the boxes and we start talking about what they know about each of these tissue types. I act as a scribe at the beginning.
Then I might start editing so I make sure they get the big picture I want them to have about each tissue type. This is NOT the time for details. This is like building the closet to put the clothes in. The closet is the basic category and the clothes are like the details we will add later on.
“Get on your feet”
Have the students place their card in what they think is the correct category. No one will know which card was placed in which box. You could also give the cards to groups and have them discuss in small groups prior to categorizing. You want every student involved.
Debriefing As a Habit
I think debriefing is so essential. We are crunched for time and often assume that students connect the dots between the activity and the learning objective and my experience is that when left to their own devices they often miss the mark.
Trust me, I know keeping kids on the learning train can be as tricky as herding cats, so this debriefing is our secret weapon. It helps reinforce key concepts and ensures that students have a clear understanding of what they’ve learned. After completing the tissue identification activity, it’s important to bring the students back together for a debrief.
Use the Body Tissues Worksheet
Start by asking the whole group what they thought about this introduction to tissues. You know, the good, the bad, and the tissue-tastic! Give a quick recap of the essential tissue takeaways. Think of it as the highlight reel. Remember this is a big overview (think closet not clothes). This is not when you are going through the details. They may need to write or change the notes they originally took down.
Now start pulling the cards and decide based on the tissue descriptions if it is in the correct place and if not, what would be the correct place.
Have them put the structures in the right tissue category on the worksheet or notes.
So there you have it, folks! Debriefing made fun and engaging.
Grab the FREE Body Tissues Worksheet for this Activity
I’ve whipped up a FREE resource just for me. It’s packed with labels, cards, and a worksheet. Grab that download as a free gift for subscribing to my email list below:
