My Body - Lesson Plan

The lesson plan "My Body" is a comprehensive guide for educators to teach young pupils about the human body, its parts, and functions. The lesson encourages children to engage in a variety of activities, including asking questions, making observations, identifying and classifying body parts, and working collaboratively in teams. The objectives are clear: pupils should be able to identify body parts, write their names, and recognize which senses are associated with them. The lesson also lays the groundwork for future learning, linking to topics such as the senses, the heart, nutrition, and digestion that students will encounter from Year 1 to Year 6. Cross-curricular links are made with maths, English, and art, where pupils will count, write, and draw as part of their learning experience. Health and safety considerations are noted, especially when using scissors, and common misconceptions about body size and growth are addressed with factual corrections.

Activities within the lesson are varied and interactive. "Tall and Short" uses a roll of wallpaper and a measuring tape to compare pupils' heights with those of the tallest and shortest people ever recorded, promoting discussion about factors influencing height. In "Parts of the Body," pupils match body part names to their corresponding pictures and sentence clues, fostering recognition and vocabulary skills. The "Mystery Smells" activity challenges students to identify various odours using small, covered bottles, enhancing their sense of smell and descriptive language. The creative "Draw an Alien" task allows children to apply their knowledge of body parts and senses in an imaginative way. The lesson concludes with a plenary session where pupils reflect on what they've learned, focusing on the functions of different body parts such as the skin and thumbs. This lesson plan is a blend of scientific exploration and creative expression, designed to make learning about the human body an engaging and informative experience for young students.