Miranda Sirimis

Third Grade

Lawrenceville Elementary School

Ms. Gallagher
TCNJ Lesson Plan
Unit Lesson 3
Edible Bone Composition

Guiding and/or Essential Questions

How does creating/constructing a model help us learn and visualize the concepts being taught?
Why do scientists use models as a helpful tool when conducting studies and experiments?
How can one object be used to represent another in an abstract or creative manner?
Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Students Prior Knowledge
Prior to the start of this lesson, students will have completed a handful of activities related to the
study of the human body. In a previous class, students will have participated in centers focusing
on important bones in the body, construction of a skeleton, and physical observation of different
animal bones. Students should be familiar with the fact that bones are the units that make up our
skeletal system and provide structure to our body. Although students are familiar with bones and
what they are, they should not know their composition nor what they are made up of. Students
will have had experience in completing hands-on experiments and activities, such as dissection
of owl pellets, which they will have participated in the day before. Students should have
experience with using models in the classroom, as they have used handheld tools to aid in the
instruction and comprehension of different content areas.
NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS)
5.1.4.A.2 Use outcomes of investigations to build and refine questions, models, and explanations.
5.3.4.A.3 Describe the interactions of systems involved in carrying out everyday life activities.
5.3.6.A.1 Model the interdependence of the human bodys major systems in regulating its
internal environment.
Learning Objectives and Assessments
Objectives

Assessments

Students will construct models that represent

the layers of bone using edible materials.
Students will recall the names of these bone
layers and what each material represents.

Teacher will assess the students individual

construction of the bone model using the
provided materials for accuracy. Teacher will
assess student ability to follow the steps given
for these constructions. Teacher will assess
students responses for correct identification
of the layers within our bones.

Students will apply observation skills to

identify how different layers of bone can be
characterized and described.

Teacher will assess the appropriateness of

students responses when describing the
appearance, texture, etc. of the edible
materials that represent layers of bone.

Materials/Resources
Tortillas
Sugar wafer cookies
Bread
Strawberry jam
Licorice/Twizzlers
Paper plates
Plastic spoons
Napkins
Ziploc baggies
PowerPoint slide with labeled model of the inside of a bone
Projector
White board & dry erase markers
[Website]http://science-mattersblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/body-systems-skeletal-systemedible.html
[Website] http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/bones.html
Plan for setup/distribution of materials
At the start of the lesson, each student will receive a paper plate, a napkin, and a plastic spoon,
that I will pass out prior to beginning instruction. After starting the lesson and giving an
introduction to the content that will be taught, I will pass out the Ziploc baggies that contain the
food items that they will be using to construct their bone models. Each Ziploc baggie will have
one tortilla, two sugar wafer cookies, four strips of bread, and three pieces of licorice. Students
will not open the baggies until they are instructed to do so. Each material will be taken out one at
a time, as I progress through the steps of the lesson and assembly of the bone model. When it
comes time to use the strawberry jam, Danielle and I will come around with one jar each and
give each student one spoonful on their plates. The PowerPoint slides will be projected on the
whiteboard throughout the duration of the lesson and will be referred to during my instruction. At
the end of the lesson, when students have completed their bone models and we have discussed as
a class, they will have the opportunity to eat whichever parts they choose, and the rest will be
thrown in the garbage.

Lesson Steps
1. Lesson Beginning: I will start the lesson by asking students to make some general observations
about bones, how they think they feel, what they think they look like, how they look on the
inside, etc. I will encourage students to make predictions based on what they think, drawing on
their own experiences and prior knowledge. Students will contribute responses and I will
generate a list on the board as I write down what the class shares. From brainstorming this initial
list of predicted and assumed observations, I will lead the students to think about how as
scientists, we dont really know the answers to some of our questions, unless we actually
experiment ourselves, take samples, and conduct observations. For us, since we are studying
bones, there isnt really a way that we can take an actual human bone, cut it in half, and look at
the inside to learn about it. That is why we use models. Models are ways that we can visualize
something we normally would not be able to see in real life, like the inside of our bones. I will
then explain that this is exactly what we are going to be doing today. I will further explain that all
of the bones in our body are made up of different layers. If we were to cut a bone in half, we
would be able to see these layers. I will then elaborate by saying that since we cannot physically

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

do this in class, we are going to be making a model with different food items to learn about the
layers of our bones.
After having introduced the basis of this lesson, students will start constructing their edible
models. The first part of the model is the tortilla. I will ask the class take the tortilla out of their
Ziploc bag and make some general observations and what they notice about it. After I have
called on a few students to share, I will explain that the tortilla represents the outside layer or
membrane of the bone, called the periosteum. While explaining this, I will have the slide
projected on the whiteboard and will read the short description provided out loud to the class. I
will then instruct the students to lay the tortilla flat on their paper plates.
After the tortilla, I will ask students to take out the four strips of bread from the Ziploc baggies.
After they have done so, I will follow the same procedure above and ask students to make
observations about the bread. I will then explain that the bread represents the spongy, also called
cancellous, part of the bone. Once again, the slide will be projected on the whiteboard and I will
read the short description out loud to the class. Students will then be instructed to place the bread
pieces in the center of the tortilla, two by two.
While students are configuring the bread on their tortillas, Danielle and I will walk around to
distribute the strawberry jam. After the students have correctly placed the ladyfingers, I will
follow the same procedure and ask them to make observations about the jam. Students will be
reminded not to touch our play with the jam to avoid making a mess. I will then explain that the
jam represents the bone marrow. Once again, the slide will be projected on the whiteboard and I
will read the short description out loud to the class. Students will then be instructed to use the
spoon and place the jam on two pieces of bread, either those on the top or bottom row.
After students have placed the jam on their bread, I will ask them to take out one piece of licorice
from their Ziploc baggies. I will follow the same procedure in the previous steps and ask students
to make observations about the licorice. I will then explain that the licorice represents the blood
vessels that run through the center of our bones. Students will be instructed to place the string of
licorice down the center of tortilla, on top of the two pieces of bread that have jam on them. They
will then be instructed to sandwich the bread pieces together so the licorice is in between them.
After the students have sandwiched the bread pieces together, I will ask them to take out the two
sugar wafer cookies from their Ziploc baggies. Students will be instructed to separate the wafer
cookies into two halves down the center, to create four pieces total. After the students have
separated the pieces, I will follow the same procedure and ask them to make observations about
the cookies. I will then explain that the sugar wafer cookies represent the hard, also called
compact bone. Once again, the slide will be projected on the whiteboard and I will read the short
description out loud to the class. Students will then be instructed to place the four cookie pieces
along each side of the pieces of bread. The bread should be sandwiched between the cookies.
After they have done so, students will carefully roll up the tortilla while keeping all of the inside
layers in tact. They will place the rolled up tortilla, seam side down, on their plates.
Lastly, the students will be instructed to remove the last piece of licorice from their Ziploc
baggies. I will explain that there are also blood vessels on the outside of our bones. Students will
then wrap the licorice around the outside of the tortilla. Once the entire model is complete,
students will gently place it on their plates in front of them.
After the model is complete, I will review the name of the different layers of bone and what food
materials we used to represent them. I will call on individual students to contribute responses and
share one characteristics/describing quality that we can use to talk about the particular layer

being discussed. Using the projector, I will show students the cross section of a bone and point
out the different layers we learned about today.
9. Closure: To conclude the lesson, I will discuss with the students how constructing a model using
materials that are readily available to us, helped us learn about the structure/composition of
something that we cannot physically see, like the inside of our bones. I will ask students to think
about other things we can use models for. I will also ask students to silently reflect on why they
think it is important that our bones have different layers, as they eat the parts of the model that
they choose.
Key Questions
What do you think your bones look like? Feel like?
How do you know? Why do think your bones look or feel like that? What led you to that
prediction?
What does the tortilla look like? Feel like? What does this tell us about that part of our bone?
What do the pieces of bread look like? Feel like? What does this tell us about that part of our
bone?
What does the strawberry jam look like? How does it feel? What does this tell us about that part
of our bone?
What do the sugar wafer cookies look like? Feel like? What does this tell us about that part of
our bone?
What are the layers of our bones and how are they built? How did we represent these layers in
our edible model?
What else can we make models of?
Why do you think our bones have different layers? Why is this important?
Logistics
Timing (Approximately 39 minutes total)
Introduction/preliminary discussion- 5 minutes
Bone model construction- 20 minutes
Review- 7 minutes
Reflective discussion and consumption- 7 minutes
Transitions
Students will start the lesson seated at their desk and will remain at their desks for the duration of
the lesson. Materials will be handed out to students by the teachers, and therefore will not need
to get up from their seats to collect them. At the end of the lesson, students will be called one
table at a time to throw away the used materials and the remainder of the food that was not
consumed.

Classroom Management
When partaking in whole class discussion, I will only call on students to respond who are raising
their hands and sitting quietly, demonstrating whole body listening to respond.
I will limit the amount of time allowed for student contribution and how many students will be
allowed to contribute so as not to spend too much time on one particular part of the lesson.

I will only move on to the next step in the model construction when the whole (or majority) of
the class has completed the previous one. I will ask students to raise their hand when they are
finished as an indication to me that I can move on.
Should the students get out of hand at any point during the lesson, I will raise my hand and make
the two-finger symbol, reminding them that they should be paying attention and focusing on the
task at hand. I will remind the students that I am looking for good behavior and they will have
opportunities to earn table points or shining star tickets to those that are behaving exceptionally
well. I will also remind students that they should not be playing with the materials. They need to
be careful when handling them because if they break they will not be able to get another.
Differentiation
This lesson provides various opportunities for differentiation based on the various strengths,
weaknesses, and skills present within the class. In particular, this lesson allows for ample
differentiation in the presentation of the material. Since this a very tactile task, students who
enjoy construction and building will be able to excel, as they are putting together the pieces of a
model. Since this activity allows students to construct a 3D representation that they can
physically hold in their hands, it helps those children that rely on their sense of touch and sight to
learn. This activity is primarily teacher directed and requires students to follow along as
instructions are given step by step. This is helpful for students who need that additional guidance
and support when completing a task. Each step is fed to them one at a time so as not to
overwhelm or confuse the students. The scientific vocabulary/content is being reinforced visually
through the use of the slides on the projector, and verbally as I recite the information out loud to
the class. Students who are having trouble following my verbal instructions about how to piece
together the materials, may be given assistance as I walk around the classroom along with the
other teachers. I may also choose to draw diagrams of how their model should look at each step
on the whiteboard, so students can follow along and see exactly how their version should look. I
will wear the microphone around my neck so Charlie can hear me clearly throughout the
duration of the lesson.