Bones of the Human Skull Lesson Plan
Assumptions: Students know what a human skull is and what it looks like but they do
not know the names of the bones or where they are located.
Anticipatory Set:
Getting Attention Focused: While wearing a Halloween costume ask students if
they know how many bones the human adult skull has (answer: 28). Ask the
students if they know how many bones the human infant skull has (answer: 44).
Tell students they will be focusing on learning the names and locations of the
seven major bones of the skull [details in modeling].
Tapping Prior Knowledge: Give students study guide handout [retention aid]
containing a labeled skull diagram [Mandible, Maxilla, Zygomatic, Parietal,
Temporal, Occipital, Frontal], an acrostic, rhymes, and keywords [draws
relationship between bones and their location].
Materials: Halloween costume, chalk, chalkboard, study guide handout, overhead
projector, projector screen, and written test
Age: middle school (6th – 8th) science class
Objectives:
Given 15 minutes and a diagram of the skull, TLW,
A) list 7 of 7 bones of the skull [Mandible, Maxilla, Zygomatic, Parietal,
Temporal, Occipital, Frontal]
B) label 7 of 7 bones of the skull [Mandible, Maxilla, Zygomatic, Parietal,
Temporal, Occipital, Frontal]
Link to TEKS for this Science Lesson:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter112/ch112b.html
b) Knowledge and skills.
9) Science concepts. The student knows the relationship between structure and
function in living systems. The student is expected to:
A) identify the systems of the human organism and describe their
functions; and
B) describe how organisms maintain stable internal conditions while
living in changing external environments
Teacher/Student Activities:
Modeling/Demonstration: a) Write the names of the bones with their corresponding
acrostic words on chalkboard [Mad=Mandible, Max=Maxilla, Zoomed=Zygomatic,
Past=Parietal, The=Temporal, Officer=Occipital, Fast=Frontal]. Place copy of study
guide on overhead projector b) Write the names of the bones on the chalkboard with their
corresponding rhymes and keywords. [Mandible - Is movable, Maxilla - Is still-a,
Zygomatic - By the eye, Parietal - Pair at the peak, Temporal - Tap your temples,
Occipital - Opposite of eyes, Frontal - Front of forehead].
Bones of the Human Skull Lesson Plan Cont.
Guided Practice: a1) Point to the bone/acrostic list and read them out loud together
[repeat three times]. a2) Have the students read out loud the acrostic as a sentence [repeat
three times]. a3) Erase chalkboard, turn off overhead projector, and ask students to turn
study guides over. Ask students to repeat acrostic as a sentence without any help. a4)
Randomly choose bones and have students respond with corresponding acrostic word
without offering any help. b1) Turn projector on and verify students understand the
relationship between the bones and their corresponding rhymes and keywords.
Demonstrate how the Mandible is [movable], why the Parietal bone is at the [peak] of
their head, and emphasize the [y] in Zygomatic to ensure students are rhyming [y with
eye].
Independent Practice: For 10 minutes students will use study guide to a) memorize the
acrostic and b) memorize locations of bones on the skull by associating keywords and
rhymes with bone names.
Closure: “What bones did we learn about today? How are you going to remember what
their names are? Can you repeat the sentence to me? What clues are you going to use that
will help you remember where each bone is on the skull?”
Evaluation: Written test [see attached].
Study Guide
Bones of the Human Skull
Mandible - Mad
Mandible -
Is movable
Maxilla -
Maxilla -
Is still-a
Max
Zygomatic - Zoomed
Zygomatic - By the eye
Parietal -
Parietal -
Past
Pair at the peak
Temporal - The
Temporal - Tap your temples
Occipital -
Officer
Occipital -
Opposite of eyes
Frontal -
Fast
Frontal –
Front of forehead
Name: __________________________
TEST
Bones of the Human Skull
PHONETIC SPELLING O.K
1. List the seven bones of
human skull. (7points)
2. Fill in the blank with the the
correct bone name. (7points)
1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________
4. ____________________
5. ____________________
6. ____________________
7. ____________________
EXTRA CREDIT!!!! (1 point each)
1. How many bones does the human adult skull have?
(Hint: I’m looking for the TOTAL number of bones NOT the number of main bones.)
A. 7 ______
B. 28 ______
C. 22 ______
D. 44 ______
2. How many bones does the human infant skull have?
(Hint: There are more bones in an infant’s skull than in an adult’s skull.)
A. 7 ______
B. 28 ______
C. 22 ______
D. 44 ______