Human skeleton diagram

What this diagram shows

The skeleton is the frame of bones inside the body. This diagram picks out six main parts: the skull, the ribcage, the spine, the pelvis, the arm bones and the leg bones. In Explore, a child taps a part to see its name and one fact. Labels writes all six names on the picture. Quiz me asks the child to find each part in turn and gives a score at the end of the round.

A useful way to frame it is the three big jobs of the skeleton. It supports the body and gives it shape. It protects soft organs: the skull guards the brain and the ribs guard the heart and lungs. And with muscles pulling on the bones, it lets us move. Older students also learn a fourth job: the marrow inside some bones makes blood cells.

Common misconceptions

• "Bones are dead." Living bones are made of growing tissue with blood vessels and nerves. That is why a broken bone can heal.
• "The skull is one bone." It is made of many bones joined tightly together. The lower jaw is the only part you can move.
• "Bones move by themselves." Muscles move bones by pulling on them, and joints such as the elbow and knee are where bones meet and bend.
• "The spine is one long bone." It is a stack of small bones called vertebrae, which is why you can bend and twist.

Where this fits in school

• England, Year 3: pupils identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.
• England, Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9): pupils study the structure and functions of the human skeleton, including support, protection, movement and making blood cells, and how muscles and joints work together.
• US, grades 2 to 4: elementary units on the human body name the main bones and their jobs. NGSS 4-LS1-1 asks students to argue that animals have internal structures that support survival, growth and behavior.
• US, grades 6 to 8: middle school life science treats the skeletal system as one of the body systems that work together (NGSS MS-LS1-3).

A 10-minute skeleton activity

• Ask: "What would your body be like without bones?" Accept any answer, such as floppy, like a jellyfish.
• In Explore, tap the skull, then the ribs. Ask what soft part each one protects.
• Tap the spine. Have the child curl forward and stand up straight, feeling the bumps of the vertebrae down their back.
• Tap the arm and leg bones. Ask the child to bend an elbow and a knee and name what is happening there (a joint).
• Play one Quiz me round, then switch on Labels to check any part they missed.

To make the link to movement, ask the child to hold their upper arm while bending the elbow. They can feel the muscle at the front tighten and pull the forearm up. Bones are the levers and muscles do the pulling.

Learning more

Science is part of Eurekami's skill map, with lessons that draw science diagrams live and narrate them in English or Spanish. Teachers can use the class view to see which science skills need reteaching.