Smooth or scaly, skin is sensational! Besides keeping us from being gooey, what does it do? Pupils embark on an integumentary investigation with a short video about skin. Topics include the special features of skin cells, how skin protects us from physical and biological harm, and a comparison of skin types between humans and animals.

Concepts

skin, cells, illness, infections, bacteria, viruses, fungi, injuries, cell division

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video to kick off an integumentary system unit
• Create a stations lab where pupils examine skins from different types of animals and have them compare them in terms of texture and thickness

Classroom Considerations

• Pupils should know basic cell structure terms before watching the video

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Illustrates how our brains and powers of reasoning make it possible for us to survive without super-thick scales
• The animations are amusing and provide excellent visual reference for pupils learning how skin cells transform to create the outer layer of our skin

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2 L.6.2.a