Practice using contractions correctly while you learn about bones.
Directions: For each space below, use your own sheet of paper to write the contraction that is formed by combining the two words in parentheses. We’ve done the first two for you.
1. Bones are the hard, living pieces of tissue that make up a skeleton. You’re (You are) born with about 300 bones. Over time, some bones combine, so you’ll (you will) end up with around 200 of them.
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2. More than half of a person’s bones are in the hands and feet. Without these bones, you ____________ (could not) hold a pencil or keep your balance!
3. Jellyfish ________ (do not) have any bones—or a brain, a heart, or eyes! Snakes have hundreds of small bones. _____________ (They are) all connected to one flexible spine.
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4. About 50 percent of kids will break a bone by the age of 15! Nutrients like calcium can help kids build strong bones. ______________ (There is) a lot of calcium in milk and kale.
5. You may have heard about your “funny bone.” It ______ (is not) actually a bone at all. ______ (It is) a nerve inside your elbow.
6. Your smallest bone is in your ear. _______ (It is) called your stapes, and you ___________ (would not) hear much without it! Your largest bone, your femur, runs from your hip to your knee. Robert Wadlow _________ (must have) had a huge femur. _______ (He is) said to be the tallest man in history.
Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Humans aren’t the only animals that have bones. In fact, most animals have internal or external skeletons. Check out this page from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to learn about the skeletal system in other animals, then look at photos from the Museum’s Hall of Skeletons here. Your students will be amazed!
This entertaining five-minute video from Kids Health will introduce your students to the skeletal system. They will learn the three main jobs of bones, how they move, and what happens when they fracture.
Learn more about the funny bone in this short article from Kids Health!
