This year our local homeschool co-op group is learning about the human body using Apologia’s Exploring Creation With Human Anatomy and Physiology book. Our group is large enough that we split the age-levels: K-2nd and 3rd-6th. I am teaching the K-2nd group, so this year I will be posting what we cover in our class.
Learning About Cells
After glancing through the Apologia material, I decided that my class would be based on the book chapters so that the whole co-op was on the same topic each week, but that we would be using lots of hands-on activities and supplemental materials instead of the notebooking journal. Since I opted for my group not to have the Jr. Notebooks, I created their own notebook for them instead using this coloring book:
My First Human Body Book (afflink)
Each week they will have a coloring assignment from the book above. In addition, I typed out a short review sheet for them to do at home. I’ll be sharing these just in case anyone else might find them helpful
This week we learned about cells.
Here were my main teaching tools:
– Parts of a Cell Rap by HipScience
– Parts of a Cell Word Chart
– Parts of a Cell flashcards
Using the terms from the Apologia book, I create flashcards to teach the kids the parts of the cells.
After introducing the terms, we went over the rap. I handed each child a card, and whenever they heard their card name, they would hold their card in the air. We also had to dance when listening to the rap. It just was too hard to listen and not move to a rap! 🙂
In my class, we had a soft-surface table. We pretended that the table was the cell, and that the soft surface was like the cytoplasm. Then I had the kids close their eyes and I hid all the cell organelles (the cards) around the room. They had to go on a hunt and find all the parts to make sure the cell worked correctly. This was a great way to incorporate review. They had to try to remember which cards where missing.
We had a little extra time before meeting with the 3-6th graders, so they started working on their cell coloring page.
The whole co-op met together to create an edible cell.
Using various types of candy to represent the different cell organelles, each child was able to create a tasty cell model. (This experiment is listed in the Apologia Anatomy book)
These are the parts of a cell—together they do quite well—and taste good too!
Downloads:
Words to the Parts of a Cell Rap
Parts of a Cell Flashcards
Week 1 Parts of a Cell Review Sheet
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See more of our human body unit here:
Thank you for posting your creations. What a wonderful resource I have in your site. Found you through Pinterest! 🙂
So cool Maureen! WE are using My first Human Body book along with My Body too! I can totally use them thanks! We started off with SKIN, and plan on sharing about our hands on activities, I'll have to look into this blog meme, sounds interesting!!
🙂 Thanks!
Valerie
Oh can't wait to see what you've come up with Valerie!
Shannon–so glad you stopped by! 🙂
We are also learning with Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology. We are creating a lapbook in lieu of the Journal and we're having a ton of fun with it! I am excited about finding you through my friend and looking forward to what we will find next on your blog. Thank you!!
I just shared this with a friend who's studying Apologia anatomy this year. She's going to love it.
I had to wait and look until I was at my computer and not my phone so I could pin this 🙂
As always, your printables are so wonderful. I'll be adding this to my Human Body lapbook lens eventually.
I LOVE this…thanks I will be using it today!!!
I am teaching the K-2nd grade class this year at our co-op. We are doing this Apologia Anatomy book. I am so excited to have found this blog. This will help me so much in planning my lessons. Thank you for posting.
I am so excited to find your site! I just started teaching this subject at our co-op. I was searching the internet to find cell diagrams and such, when I found your site. You have already done what I was about to spend “forever” trying to do, and you allow us to download it!!! You just gave my family several more hours of my time. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the wonderful printables. We are also using Apologias book, but it was a bit overwhelming to me for my 6 and 4 year olds. I like the simplified version you have provided!
I am a special ed teacger and was search the we b for lessons on the human body and came across you site. I ‘ve really enjoyed it. I am curious however, about you “Lesson Plans”. As an aunt of homeschoolers I know that lesson plans dont always have to be used. By chance, do you have some type of lesson outline etc on what pages you used to teach the human body? I have both the coloring book and I even purchased the othe expensive book you recommeded in hopes of finding something to help me but nothing. Help! Please…
You are correct, I don’t have a formal lesson plan. The Apologia book plans 2 weeks for each chapter. In each class I covered material that I deemed appropriate for that age-range of kids from the current chapter. Most of the notebook pages I have for the units have the concepts I covered.
Thanks for providing the downloads for the flash cards. I’ve put up a link in my blog, if that’s okay. If not just let me know and I’ll take it down! Thanks again!
You blessed woman! I wish I’d been in your class. I’ll be using your stuff to teach me as I teach my high schooler! I found this piece of info and thought of you in case you ever re-teach this class and want to edit your flashcards with this Post Office analogy from Wikipedia about the Golgi Bodies:
In this respect it can be thought of as similar to a post office; it packages and labels items which it then sends to different parts of the cell. Find more details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgi_apparatus
So glad for you. You have a gift for making things simple. I’m grateful to have discovered you.
You are welcome! Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Dear Maureen . I loved your page it was very helpful for teaching my children and thanks especially for downloads
You’re welcome! 🙂