Teaching Elementary School Science

Bet you cant

(FOSS Kit Adaptation)
Essential Concepts & Skills:
Iowa Core, Grade 3-5:
Understand and apply knowledge of basic human body systems and how they work together. The
human organism has systems which interact with one another. These systems include circulatory,
respiratory, digestive, musculoskeletal, etc. (S.3-5.LS.3)

Science as Inquiry:
Essential Concept and/or Skill: Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations.Students should
determine what constitutes evidence. (S.3-5.SI.6)

21st Century Skills:

Essential Concept and/or Skill: Communicate and work productively with others emphasizing
collaboration and cultural awareness to produce quality work. (21.3-5.ES.1)

What students will be doing: Students will be trying to complete various tasks
with different joints immobilized. Then they will make a claim about the
importance of an articulated hand and support that claim with evidence.

Materials:
For each group
1 roll of masking tape
4 craft sticks
4 unsharpened pencils
For the class
Large picture of bones in the hand
6 Task bags
Task Cards
For each task bag
Newspaper Task
task card
4 sheets of newspaper

Pennies Task
task card
4 zip bags, 1 liter

8 rubber bands
4 plastic bags

80 pennies

Letter-Writing Task
task card
32 sheets of writing paper
32 envelopes
32 small stickers

Scissors Task
task card
4 scissors
32 index cards
32 tasks

Tape Task
task card
32 index cards
1 roll of transparent tape
popcorn (unpopped)

Bracelet Task
task card
24 paper clips, jumbo

Preparations: Make activity bags

Setting up the stations
a. Collect materials for the tasks and place them on a tray. When students are taping
their joints, put the materials on the tables for students to rotate through when
everyone is done taping.
b. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_u-L8kCHUvuSHRBVWJqRDlZREk/view?
usp=sharing has the task cards
Introducing the Activity
In this activity you will make a claim about the importance of articulated hands.
First, you might have to check with the experts about the word articulated.
Create a class definition and display in the room.
What would happen if your hands were not articulated? (I dont know. Maybe we
wouldnt be able to do some things) What would be the hardest thing to do
without articulated bones? Walking? Sitting? Take a minute and talk to your group
about what might be difficult.
Today we will immobilize a few joints in your hand and try to complete some
common tasks.

Teacher Notes
1. Introduce the tasks
c. I have six tasks for you to perform to find out more about the joints in your
hands. There is a card in each bag explaining what you should do, along with enough
materials for all four members of your group to perform the task at the same
time. Tell the students that when they have all completed the task, the materials
should be returned to the starting condition so that the bag will be ready for the
next group.
2. Demonstrate each task
a. Do you think that this activity would be difficult for you to do right now? (no)
3. Announce taping joints
a. You will be performing the tasks I told you about with either your fingers or
thumb immobilized.
b. Make a claim - Do you think that having articulated fingers or articulated thumbs
is more helpful to complete this task. (I think having articulated thumbs is more
important because if your thumb cant bend we wouldnt be able to grip things.)
c. What do you think will be the hardest part of this task with your thumb or
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

finger immobilized?
pennies/stacking the pennies tape/keeping the kernels in place while I put the tape on it
newspaper/putting rubberband on the newspaper
bracelet/getting the paperclips apart
letter writing/folding the paper
scissors/cutting the circle
4. Demonstrate tape-up techniques
a. Explain that half of the students in each group will tape up stiff thumbs and the
other half will tape up stiff fingers. Demonstrate the two immobilization

i.

techniques on a student.
Method A: Stiff Thumb: Lay a craft stick along the back of the thumb. Tape a
strip of tape around the stick and thumb, making sure that the tip of the thumb is
taped to the stick. Tape around the wrist, binding the other end of the stick to the
wrist.

ii.

Method B: Stiff Fingers: Tape around the index and middle fingers twice out near
the tips. The tape should not be tight. Slide one end of an unsharpened pencil
under the tape in the space between the backs of the fingers. Tape around the
wrist, securing the other end of the pencil to the wrist. (For a more difficult task,
immobilize all fingers)
5. Tape up the thumbs and fingers
a. Divide each group into team A and team B. Assign the stiff thumbs to the As and
the stiff fingers to the Bs. Have one student get the masking tape, pencils, and
craft sticks, and let the taping begin. Expect the taping to take 10 minutes.
6. Start the tasks
a. When the taping is complete, deliver a task package to each group. Remind them to
return the materials to their starting condition when they are through with a task,
and to rotate it to another group. Explain to students that the tasks are to be
performed only with their hands; no teeth or lips should be used. Allow 3-4 minutes
for each task.

7. Assess progress: Teacher observation

a. Visit students as they work. Ask these questions.
i. What are you finding the most difficult? (answers will vary, but they will be similar
ii.

to the answers above)

Why do you think that is difficult? (When my thumb doesnt bend, it is hard for me
to grasp the popcorn or put it in the scissors. When my fingers dont bend, it is

iii.

hard for me to write and grasp things)

Are there other parts of your hand that are articulated? (I have other fingers

iv.

that are articulated)

What would happen if you didnt have articulated bones in your other fingers and

v.

you were trying to do this? (I wouldnt be able to do any of these tasks)

If you had to make this harder, what joints in your hand should be immobilized? (If
both my fingers and thumbs were immobilized, I wouldnt be able to do anything.)
8. Untape Joints
a. Ask students to remove the tape and sticks. Have them package the materials and
return them and the sticks to the materials station.

9. Discuss Observations
a. Have all the stiff thumbs get together and make a claim about the importance of
articulated bones in our thumbs and discuss the evidence each person found in the
activity. Then have them write their claim and evidence on a poster to present to
class.
b. Have the stiff fingers get together and make a claim about the importance of
articulated bones in our fingers and discuss the evidence each person found in the
activity. Then have them write their claim and evidence on a poster to present to
class.
10. Negotiation
a. Members from each group present their claim and evidence poster. The class asks
questions What do stiff fingers prevent you from doing? What do stiff thumbs
prevent you from doing? (Answers will vary, but will include the information from
above) until the whole class has a claim and significant evidence to show that
articulate fingers or thumbs are more helpful for the given tasks.
b. Record the class claim and evidence.
Sharing student Findings
1. There will be no data sheets because the students will find it difficult to write
during the activity. The students will create a claim and back it up with evidence as
a group and create a poster.
2. As students are doing the task, write down any important observations that you
would like students to include in their evidence.
3. As a final project, students should make their own claim and support it with
evidence that they experienced or learned through the negotiation. They can draw
a picture of the human hand and identify the articulated bones (joints) along with
the evidence that explains why each joint is important.

Vocabulary
1. create a class chart with the vocabulary
2. students then put the definitions in their science note book. They put the words
into a vocaublary box

a. articulated - jointed
b. immobilized - to prevent something from moving