Materials Needed
1. 5 to 6 feet of long construction paper and about 4 feet wide.
1. Crayons or markers.
1. The song, We’re All In This Together, from Red Grammer's recording, Hello World.
Teacher Preparation
1. Have someone trace your body on the large wide construction paper. It is better not to cut the body shape out so that students will have enough space to draw and write their names. You do not have to draw or label anything.
Activity
1. Play the song, We're All In This Together.
2. Make a list with the students of all the body parts that Red sang about in the song (the complete list is below).
3. Have the students join you in a circle with the crayons or markers.
4. Place the cut out body on construction paper in the center of the circle.
5. Starting with the first body part from your list, have one student come and draw that body part on the body and then have the student sign his/her name next to it. Go around the circle until all the body parts are drawn on the body and the signatures are next to the art work.
6. Remind students that Red sings that all the wonderful body parts we have work together like a wonderful miracle for us. The body parts help us to breathe, walk, jump, bend, talk, hear, etc. If a body part breaks down we some times have to see a doctor to get it fixed and working with our other body parts again. Sometimes it can't be fixed and we have to look for other ways to keep our body going and working with others. For example: If someone can't hear they can get help with a hearing aid or they can communicate with sign language. Their friends and family would also learn sign language so everyone still feels a part of the community including the person who cannot hear. Explain to the students that like all the body parts on the paper, the whole class is going to work together to have a community in our classroom. With everyone working to do their part we will be able to keep the body of classroom working together. And if a person has difficulty at some point it is up to the rest of class or "body parts" to find a way to help a person through difficulty in the classroom.
7. To end the lesson you could play the song again and have students point to the body parts as they hear the parts sung in the song. Hang the body image up in the classroom with the title, "We're All In This Together" as reminder about working together as a classroom community.
The body parts listed in the song
1. fingers
2. toes
3. kneecap
4. nose
5. blood cell (with younger students you need to explain that they are so tiny in our body we can’t see them but have the student draw 3 circles close together with a circle in the center and colored red.
6. gene (draw 2 circles stacked and touching at one point. Put a lot of dots in the center of the circles)
7. whisker (you leave this one off if you are a female teacher)
8. spleen
9. cheekbone
10. chin
11. elbow
12. chin
13. eyeball
14. tear
15. ankle
16. ear
If you need more parts include the ones Red sings at the beginning of the song. You will need to explain to the students that these body parts are inside of all of us. You will also need to explain how these body parts work inside your body. You may need to show a picture so that the student can draw it.
1. nerves
2. knuckles
3. liver
4. lungs
5. kidneys
