2005 Merit Winner
Lesson Plan
Brian Woodrome
Kirk Elementary School
Houston, Texas
Lesson Overview
Each year my students are excited to learn about the basic human
anatomy and physiology in my classroom rendition of "Kirk Medical
School." The medical students are divided into six teams that are
assigned a specific body system to study - skeletal, muscular,
digestive, respiratory, circulatory, or nervous system. Their goal
is to become experts on that particular system and conduct a
detailed presentation for their classmates so that all the students
gain a fundamental understanding of every system.
Each presentation must include a title; a hand-drawn, life-size
poster of the body system with the pertinent labeled parts;
additional diagrams and a 3D model; a hand signal that conveys the
major parts and function; a health/disease component; and a related
medical field component. At the end of the presentations, the
life-size posters and informational poster boards are hung in a
school hallway for exhibition. Students of other classes are
invited to pass through the "Medical Exhibition Hall," while the
medical students briefly present their research simultaneously in
conversational format.
During the unit, the class also collects basic first-aid
supplies for donation to a third-world community in Honduras,
Central America. In collaboration with the language arts teacher,
each student also writes an expository paper about his or her
system. At the end of the unit, students take a final medical exam
that demonstrates their knowledge and application of the skills
they have learned. Finally, each student is awarded a certificate
of graduation from Kirk Medical School with his or her picture on
it in a classroom ceremony.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this project the students will be able
to:
- Identify the major organ systems of the human body,
- Recognize the basic function of each organ individually and
each body system as a whole,
- Explain how the body systems interact and work together to
support human life,
- Describe specific ways to care for each system to maintain
optimal health,
- Identify some common diseases that negatively affect each
system,
- Build a 3D model of a body system,
- Use computers and online resources to research information
and obtain medical diagrams,
- Become familiar with medical professions that are related to
each body system,
- Positively impact the health of other people in an
underprivileged community, and
- Cite sources for research.
Materials Used
- Computers for access to kid-safe online resources;
- Certificates of graduation with picture of each student (see
www.kidscerts.com for all kinds of free ones);
- Textbooks, library books, kid-safe Web sites
(www.brainpop.com), and online encyclopedias and dictionaries in
English and Spanish (www.worldbookonline.com);
- A student-decorated box to collect basic first-aid medical
supplies for donation;
- General art supplies including poster board, construction
paper, glue, tape, scissors, modeling clay, markers, and colored
pencils; and
- Different colors of butcher paper for each life-size body
system poster. I assign each system a color for brain-based
learning and easy recognition: skeletal (black, bones colored in
white), muscular (white, muscles in red), digestive (green),
respiratory (blue), circulatory (red), and nervous system
(yellow).
Methods of Implementation
For classroom atmosphere, I hang up a "Kirk Medical School" sign
and dress like a doctor with a lab coat each day that I teach and
facilitate the students' work on their projects. On the first day
of medical school, I have a plastic 3D model of various body parts
displayed to grab their interest. During the initial portion of
each class day (20 minutes), I offer a brief presentation of a
different body system as a way of modeling what the students will
do before their classmates.
We use the textbook, watch BrainPOP movies, and view other
multimedia images that correspond to each system. We discuss how
the decisions that we make about our diet and exercise and how
human habits (both good and bad) affect our body systems. I also
mention some common diseases that give the students direction for
the health/disease component for their independent study. In this
way, students are introduced to the other systems and make
meaningful connections concerning how the systems interact. Then,
students collaboratively work on their projects for the remainder
of the class (40 minutes).
First Stage
Welcome the class to medical school and begin with a KWL chart by
small group. The KWL chart answers the questions: What do you
already know (K)? What do you want (W) to know/learn? What have you
already learned (L)? Then explain how many of their questions are
going to be answered as they work on their projects. (Save these
charts! Hand them out at the end to compare.)
Give the students the big picture concerning the whole unit.
Explain the projects that the medical students will present and
when each component is due or how long the class will work on each
component. Next, assign each group of students (two to four) a
specific body system, and let them begin. I let two students
work on the life-size poster. One student traces the other's
outline on the paper, and they use drawings from the text that are
age-appropriate to guide their own drawing and labeling of the
parts.
Two other students begin researching how to properly care for
that system and any diseases related to it. In addition, they look
up other diagrams or drawings to print for the poster team to use.
The poster team will research related medical fields. Most students
want to present all their research on posterboards with
construction paper backgrounds. All will work on the 3D model,
develop the hand signal, and write the expository paper about their
system. In this way, it is as if each group has a puzzle piece that
the others need, thus building interdependence among the members.
Any students having relatives who work in a medical field may
invite them to speak in class.
Second Stage
During the lessons I teach, I mention some of the common diseases
associated with the various systems and how some people suffer from
such infirmities due to a lack of knowledge and proper medical
supplies. I share information about a community in Honduras that
needs supplies. The students are excited to help provide basic
medical/hygiene supplies such as Band-Aids, toothbrushes, gauze,
and Ace bandages for donation. We send the supplies with a medical
mission that visits each year.
Next, the students deliver their presentations. I stagger the
presentations in this way: The group presenting the system that I
teach first, for example the skeletal system, presents first. This
means that student group also gets priority on the computers for
its research for the first two days, and we continue in like manner
with the other groups. Every student must share in the
presentation, explain how he or she contributed to the group, and
cite sources. The presentations usually take no longer than 10
minutes.
Final Stage
Upon completing all the presentations, the life-size posters with
any informational poster boards, drawings, or models are hung or
displayed in a designated school hallway for exhibition. Adding a
sign saying "Medical Exhibition Hall" or similar is good. Arrange
for the students to present their research and learning to other
students who pass through the hallway. The less formal
conversational format seems to be best.
Finally, I administer a teacher-made test through which the
students demonstrate their knowledge and application of the skills
they have learned. Afterwards, students earn a certificate of
graduation from Kirk Medical School, awarded in a classroom
ceremony.
Evaluation Tools
Each group is graded on its presentation using a rubric that
includes the following criteria:
- Appropriate title and hand signal (5 points);
- Life-size poster graded for accuracy, labeled parts,
attention to detail (25 points);
- Additional diagrams or drawings (10 points);
- 3D model (25 points);
- Health/disease component (15 points);
- Medical field component (15 points); and
- Creativity points (0 to 5 points). I look for students' work
that goes "above and beyond" that shows considerable time and
effort applied. This category motivates my students to excel,
because not all groups earn these special points.
Each student is graded individually on his or her expository
paper, based upon the content and customary writing mechanics. Each
student also is graded individually on the final medical exam.
Effectiveness
Young students are very curious about what is inside their
bodies, even from an early age. This unit especially motivates my
students because their intrinsic interest is channeled and
expressed in activities that engage them in active learning at both
the concrete and abstract levels of thinking.
The varied activities appeal to students' individual interests
and cater to their different learning styles. Furthermore, the
collaborative, small-group setting allows students with special
learning needs and language needs to feel comfortable and yet take
risks in the learning process.
The exposure the kids get to the medical field, the
opportunities to teach and help others, and the certificate they
earn all sow seeds that will affect their future. Moreover, this
lesson design helps students realize that what they learn and do in
school can positively affect others outside our classroom. In fact,
the benefits reaped from this lesson go beyond the scope of our
classroom, ultimately impacting the other students at Kirk and a
less fortunate community.