Inside of Me

All systems are GO! Discover human anatomy from the inside out with these see-through illustrated diagrams of the human body.

• 1.

  On the outside, our bodies look pretty simple: face, skin, and hair. But inside, WOW! So many systems work together to keep us alive and healthy. What questions come to mind when you look in a mirror? Why can we stand up? Where does the blood go? How do muscles work?

• 2.

  Look at a model of the insides of a human body. Discover the many systems that work together! One way to imagine how the systems are all packed inside of you is to show them in layers.

• 3.

  From your research, draw the outline of a human body on acetate with Crayola® Washable Window Markers. Fill the whole sheet so you have plenty of space to draw. To make corrections, just wipe the color off with a damp paper towel, dry, and draw again.

• 4.

  What systems will you illustrate? Organs, bones, blood? Use as many layers of acetate as you need. For each body system, place another piece of acetate on top of the outline. On the first layer, diagram bones of the human skeleton so they fit inside the outline. Set it aside.

• 5.

  Put another sheet of acetate on top of the outline. Draw the main arteries (red oxygen rich) and veins (blue with carbon dioxide). Remember the pumper (heart). Set it aside.

• 6.

  On other sheets, draw the thick bundles of muscle fibers, your internal organs, the brain, or other layers of body parts. Set the sheets aside.

• 7.

  Now transform your outline into a portrait of your outside—the skin on your body, which is an organ, too.

• 8.

  Layer the acetate sheets on top of each other. Punch a hole at the top. Use a brass paper fastener to hold the layers together.

Benefits

• Students identify the systems of the human body and their functions.
• Students illustrate the systems to understand where they function in the body.
• Students layer these systems to comprehend the depth and dimension of the human body.

Adaptations

• Research information about your digestive tract. Figure out the lengths of each part (esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines) and cut and tape together a length of paper or tissue paper for each organ. Trace your body. Try to fit the digestive tra
• Develop a skit with your classmates. Represent the numerous systems of your bodies. Voice your requests of the brain to get a sense of the brain’s complex role in body functions.
• To assess children’s learning, ask them to draw the systems without using any references and to label the parts on each layer.