Lesson 7—Evaluate

Decisions Today for a Healthy Tomorrow

At a Glance

Overview

In Lesson 7, students are asked to reflect on what they have learned about bone, muscle, and skin and communicate that to classmates who have not been exposed to the module. The students are asked to develop lifestyle recommendations for maintaining healthy body systems. This final lesson offers students an opportunity to pull together what they have learned during the module and apply it to their personal lives.

Major Concepts

Bone, muscle, and skin contain living cells.
The structures of bone, muscle, and skin relate to their functions
The bone, muscle, and skin systems do not work in isolation but interact with other body systems.
The health of the bone, muscle, and skin systems is influenced by many factors including behaviors over which we have control.

Objectives

After completing this lesson, students will be able to

describe that the bone, muscle, and skin systems are made of living cells;
describe the function of bone, muscle, and skin systems;
explain how bone and muscle interact to produce movement; and
explain how lifestyle choices can influence the health of the bone, muscle, and skin systems.

Teacher Background

See the following sections in Information about the Musculoskeletal and Skin Systems:

In Advance

Web-Based Activities
Activity	Web Component?	Photocopies	Materials
1	No	Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations, 1 copy per student and 1 transparency	None except photocopies and transparencies

Preparation

Prepare photocopies and transparencies.

Procedure

Explain to students that they are going to reflect on what they have learned about the bone, muscle, and skin systems. Their objective is to communicate their new knowledge to classmates who have not had the benefit of being exposed to this module.

Content Standard F:
Personal exercise, especially developing cardiovascular endurance, is the foundation of physical fitness.

At a minimum, students will write answers to the questions posed in the next step. Ideally, students will take things a step further and incorporate their answers into a presentation. Presentations can take the form of posters, brochures, songs, or scripts for radio or television commercials.

Give each student one copy of Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations. Explain that students are to provide short answers to the questions on the outline. Give the students about 20 minutes to complete their answers.

These answers will be discussed and developed into the information that will be used to create the poster. Student responses should be brief yet include the major concepts presented during the module. Sample answers to the questions are provided in the following table:

Sample Answers to Master 7.1, *Outline for Health Recommendations*
Question	Bone	Muscle	Skin
What is it made of?	Bone is composed of cells (some that make new bone and others that remove bone), minerals, and collagen.	Muscle is composed of cells that contract to produce the movement of bones.	Skin is composed of cells that protect against damage from the sun and cells that help regulate temperature.
What does it do?	Bone provides structural support for the body. It also stores minerals, such as calcium, for use elsewhere in the body.	Muscle contractions produce movement of the limbs and other body parts.	Skin provides a protective barrier against the environment.
How does it work?	Bone material is added or removed in response to signals from the environment, such as stress.	Muscles can only move by contracting. This means that muscles work in opposing pairs to move a limb in more than one direction.	Skin cells provide a physical barrier and absorb UV light.
How do our behaviors affect it?	Exercise leads to an increase in bone mass and strength. Diets deficient in minerals produce weaker bones.	Exercise causes muscles to grow and become stronger, while inactivity causes muscles to lose size and strength.	Excessive exposure to UV light, including sunlight and tanning booths, increases the risk of skin cancer.
How do we keep it healthy?	We can eat a healthy diet and maintain an appropriate exercise program.	We can maintain an appropriate exercise program.	We can seek shade, wear appropriate clothing, and use sunblocks to reduce the risk of skin cancer.

After students have prepared their answers, assemble them into teams of three. Instruct the teammates to share their answers and make any desired changes to their answers.

Give teams about 10 minutes to discuss their responses.

Reconvene the class and display a transparency of Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations. Read each question on the transparency and ask for volunteers to provide their responses.

As students give responses, list them on the board (not on the transparency).

After students’ responses for each question are listed on the board, discuss each question to generate the best answer. Write these answers on the transparency.

Assessment:
The homework assignment in Step 6 can be used as an evaluation of student learning.

To conclude the lesson, give students a homework assignment. Ask that each student use the information in his or her outline of health recommendations to prepare a presentation to be given to other students who have not been exposed to this module. The formats of their presentations are limited only by their imaginations—for example, they could take the form of posters, brochures, songs, or scripts for radio or television commercials.

Students’ recommendations will vary. Be sure that they include the major concepts brought out during the module, such as the following:

Exercise and a diet rich in minerals help build and maintain strong bones.
Exercise and a balanced diet help build and maintain strong muscles.
Seeking shade, routine use of protective clothing, and applying sunscreens reduce the risk of skin cancer.

Lesson 7 Organizer
Activity 1: Decisions Today for a Healthy Tomorrow
What the Teacher Does	Procedure Reference
Explain to students that they will summarize what they have learned about bone, muscle, and skin in a presentation that communicates their new knowledge to classmates who have not been exposed to this module.	Step 1
Give each student one copy of Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations: Instruct students to answer the questions on the master.	Step 2
Divide the class into teams of three students. Instruct teammates to share their answers and make changes as desired.	Step 3
Reconvene the class and display a transparency of Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations: Read each question aloud and ask for volunteers to give their answers. Write their answers on the board.	Step 4
Discuss the answers to each question. Write the best answer for each question on the transparency of Master 7.1, Outline for Health Recommendations.	Step 5
As a homework assignment, ask students to use what they have learned during this module to create a presentation that includes recommendations about maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and skin.	Step 6
= Involves copying a master.
= Involves making a transparency.

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Looking Good, Feeling Good: From the Inside Out

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