The Muscular and Skeletal Human Body Systems

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Think of the human body as an amazing machine.

It is made up of many different parts that have to work together in order to survive. Some of these different parts are called systems.

There are 11 systems in the human body, and in this lesson, you will learn about two of them. We will explore the muscular and skeletal systems.

One system is called the muscular system. This system is made up of all of the muscles in the body that make it possible for you to move your body. We have over 600 muscles in our body, and they need to work together to get your body to do the things you want to do.

• For example, did you know it takes 17 muscles just to smile?

All 17 muscles work together to make your lips move into a happy face! Interestingly enough, it takes 43 muscles to frown! It takes two-and-a-half times as many muscles to make a sad face instead of a happy face, so this means it just makes sense to smile more and frown less!

More fun facts:

• The heart cardiac muscle does the most work of any muscle in your body over a lifetime.
• You use 200 muscles to take one step.
• The smallest muscle (and bone!) is in your ear.
• Muscles make up 40% of your total body weight.

For more information about how muscles work, watch How Your Muscles Work from Nemours KidsHealth:

Another system of the human body is called the skeletal system. Without this system, you wouldn't be able to stand up! The skeletal system is responsible for all of your bones.

• Did you know that you were born with 300 bones, but as an adult, you will have 206?
• Where did those bones go?

They actually didn't go anywhere, but they fuse together. That means smaller bones grow together to make bigger bones.

More fun facts:

• The hardest bone in the human body is the jawbone.
• The tooth is the only part of your body that cannot repair itself.
• Bone is stronger than some steel.
• The feet have 52 bones in them!

Watch How Your Bones and Skeleton Works, from Nemours KidsHealth, for more information about the skeletal system.

WOW!

• Did you learn some interesting facts about the human body or what?

Great work!

Review what you learned with this fun activity! Share your answers with your teacher or parent.

With a good understanding of the muscular and skeletal systems, it is now time to move on to the Got It? section to quiz yourself.