Skeletons may not be able to speak, but they can still tell us a lot. High schoolers watch a short video about the ways biological anthropologists can use a skeleton's bone structure to determine age, gender, place of birth, and social status.

Concepts

skeletons, archaeology, archaeological digs, anthropology, morphology, isotopes, bones, teeth, ancient civilizations, ancient history

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video as a warm-up to a chemistry class about isotopes, or when discussing bone structure in human biology
• Connect with a lesson on ancient skeletons, such as Lucy, and what scientists have discovered from their bones

Classroom Considerations

• Touches on the topic of biological anthropology; encourages learners to dig deeper in their research to round out their knowledge of the subject

Pros

• Comes with a short assessment to check for learner understanding
• Short length makes the video a great springboard for additional conversation and discussion

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RST.9-10.1 RST.9-10.2 RST.9-10.3 RST.11-12.1 RST.11-12.2 RST.11-12.3