Back to School Activities for Science
If you’re like me, you dread the first week back to school simply because you have to do the basic routines, procedures, & syllabus song and dance. I feel ya! This to me is the worst part of coming back to school. After reading this post, you will come away with some great ideas you can incorporate into your Anatomy & Physiology classroom to make the first week back not so terrible.
Syllabus and Classroom Procedures
Now, I understand that the first day of school is kinda like a zoo. Students come in late because they couldn’t find your class. Schedules are being changed as soon as you print the updated one. Teachers are losing their voice because of so.much.talking. It is a hot mess! However, by having a solid (but flexible) plan in play, you will be ready to tackle the day!
Generally speaking, all teachers must provide a syllabus and/or classroom procedures to their students. Some schools allow teachers to post the digitally, and some want the students to have a hard copy. However you relay the info, this should not be the main focus of the class period. This is so boring to just go over the syllabus. While I know the importance of having one, just take the MOST important parts of it to review as a class.
The parts I review with my students are my cell phone policy, the makeup/late work policy, as well as my class website. That is pretty much it.
Looking for more ways to engage your anatomy students? Then check out The Ultimate Guide to Engaging Students to Learn Anatomy | 7 Secrets to Implement Today
Back To School Activities
Once we have gotten the syllabus, lab safety, and procedures out of the way it’s time for the fun stuff. I love to jump right into the content as soon as possible in order to get them excited. The first unit is one of the most fun to teach and has such great activities.
We start with a paper doll activity after introducing some of the anatomical terminologies. I do a flipped lecture model, so students would watch the lessons via video and then come to class with notes to use for the assignments. By flipping my lessons, it gives us more time to really dive into the content rather than spend that time taking notes. The terminology they learn in the video notes is what they use, along with their textbook, to complete the paper doll.
Students receive a blank doll with directions for what to label on the anterior side and the posterior side of it. They are also instructed to color code and make a key for specific body regions.
Another activity we do is an anatomical skit. Students are broken up into groups of 3-4 with requirements of what anatomical terminology must be in their skit. They have a few days to work on these the last 30 minutes of class. Students get really creative with these and usually are funny to watch them perform them in class. I do require them to submit a script with the required terms highlighted. Usually, I invite the principal to watch these because they are so good.
Back To School Games and Activities
The activities I use create great interest and allow students to really understand the material. Another game that gets the students fired up is the body region race. Students are broken into small groups of 3-4 and are provided a roll of tape. Each group receives 4 scenarios. One person will be the “patient” the others are helping to figure out the anatomical terms and tape those parts on the patient. Once the patient has tape in the correct locations, they run to me and I check them off. The patient runs back and moves on to the next scenario if correct, if incorrect they must fix it and come back. Whichever group gets them all 4 correct in the shortest time wins.
Another activity we do is an interrelationship activity. This typically serves as a warm-up of partner think-pair-share. I post a scenario on the board and students must name the body systems involved. This is a good exercise for students to see how systems work together and are not independent of one another.
The next assignment I give them is an anatomical language packet. This is a very detailed packet with all of the terminologies we learn and serves as a study guide for their body regions quiz. Yes, I do give a Body Region quiz during the first week of school.
More Back To School Activities for High School Students
Since lectures are done via video, this frees up more time to really get deep into the content. Students watch a video lecture on medical imaging just for a brief overview, however, I assign them a Medical Imaging WebQuest in class. The WebQuest provides a much more in-depth investigation of how the technology works and in which situations it is relevant to use it. Another WebQuest that I have students do is on homeostasis. Students learn about homeostasis and apply their knowledge to several scenarios including what happens to the body during altitude changes, when you have a fever, or in winter conditions.
During the first week of school, I also include two labs. One is called Antacid and Uncle Heartburn and the other is a Murder Mystery Lab. In the Antacid Lab, students are given several liquid antacids of varying strengths and brands to see how effective they are in fighting acid. I use hydrochloric acid to simulate stomach acid, so it is imperative students follow directions and follow all of the safety protocols. This lab investigates how antacids work in neutralizing acids and students make a write-up with their findings.
In the murder mystery lab, I blend up a concoction that looks like stomach contents that go along with the murder. Students have to figure out what macromolecules are in the stomach contents to determine what the last meal the person ate was. From there, they must decide what restaurant that person ate at based on the food items available. This ties directly into the macromolecules and the food we eat for body chemistry.
Wrapping up the Week
The first week of school is jam-packed with back-to-school activities on top of the normal content we start covering. As I mentioned, I like getting students involved in the curriculum as soon as we can because there is no time to waste. I also wrap up the week with a simple quiz in order to assess what they have learned during the week…which is a lot. This keeps them on their toes as they know they are responsible for learning the content. This unit will continue into the next week, which will end with some review games and a test.
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3 Responses
Do you sell any of these activities? I didn’t see them on your TPT.
Hey there! The ones pictured I do not have in my shop since they are not mine. I am working on some basic back to school items for a bundle. Are there any specific you would like to see? Would you be interested in a first week of anatomy activities bundle?
Definitely!