Your Body�s Building Blocks

A health lesson on the basic building blocks of the human body. Includes printable teaching reading comprehension lesson worksheets.

Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify the components of cells and understand that cells are the building blocks of tissue.

• Students will understand that cells contain DNA and that DNA is the blueprint for the entire body.

• Students will be able to list four different types of tissue.

• Students will understand that tissue forms organs and organs form body systems.

• Students will be able to describe the function of various body systems.

Suggested Grades:

3rd Grade - 4th Grade - 5th Grade

Lesson Procedure:

Print the reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions. Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt:

Your body is made up of trillions of units called cells. Cells are too small to see without a microscope. Even so, each cell has many parts. The nucleus is the control center of the cell. It has all of the information about you that your body needs. There is also a jelly-like substance called cytoplasm in each of your cells. The cell's activities take place in the cytoplasm. Finally, each cell is surrounded by a membrane that holds it together.

Cells take in nourishment from food and eliminate waste. Each cell in your body has the entire plan for your growth and uniqueness! This plan for who you are is known as your DNA. Every individual cell in your body contains the unique DNA that makes you who you are. Your DNA is like an instruction book for your cells to carry out the functions that are needed for you to grow and for your body to work.

Continued...