Human Body Unit Resources

Last semester we completed a Human Body and Drug Awareness unit study over a span of about 9 weeks. I kept track of ALL of the books, DVDs, and curriculum that we used over the course of the unit study. Here is the comprehensive list of everything we used below. Hopefully, this will be helpful for somebody who is planning their own Human Body unit study for their homeschool!

DVDs - I was able to borrow all of these DVDs from our local library system. All of the videos are about 25 minutes long each. My children particularly enjoyed the Bill Nye videos.

• Human Body for Children - All About Nutrition and Exercise
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Eyeball
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Forensics
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Digestion
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Smell
• Human Body for Children - The Brain and The Nervous System
• Human Body for Children - All About Bones & Muscles, Schlessinger Science Library (23 minutes)
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Heart
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Respiration
• Human Body in Action - Circulatory and Respiratory Systems
• Human Body in Action - Skeletal & Muscular Systems, Schlessinger Science Library (23 minutes)
• Human Machine Bodyzone, Eyewitness Video, Schlessinger Media (27 minutes)
• Bill Nye the Science Guy - Blood and Circulation
• Bill Nye The Science Guy - Skin
• Bill Nye the Science Guy -Brain
• Human Body Pushing the Limits - entire 4 part series (Brain, Sight, Sensation, Strength)
• Human Body in Action - Digestive and Excretory Systems
• Human Body in Action - Reproductive and Endocrine Systems
• Human Body in Action - Genes and Heredity
• Human Body in Action - Immune System

Curriculum - Teacher Resources

• The Body Book: Easy-To-Make Hands-On Models That Teach by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Professional Books

• Great Science Adventures, Discovering the Human Body and Senses by Dinah Zike and Susan Simpson

• National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA Junior Scientists Program for Primary Grade Students, NIH Publication No. 01-4575, National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. This program is targeted for grades 2-3.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA Junior Scientists Program for Intermediate Students, NIG Publication No. 05-5730, National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. This program is targeted for grades 4-5.

The NIH also has numerous other publications which might be helpful in a home drug-use prevention education program. I ordered the program for grades 6-9 and plan to review and extend the children's knowledge in this area with the program next year. Although the materials for the younger children are clearly geared towards younger children in their activities, I found the information to be highly relevant for older children. For example, the beginning program focused on the effects of smoking. While I have told my children that smoking is bad for them, they have not been educated about the effects of smoking in a concrete way. Even though two of my children are older than the target audience for the younger program, I chose to start with that one. I highly recommend these Junior Scientist programs. They come with a teacher's guide, student materials, and a VHS tape. Best of all, they are completely free.

Independent Reading for My 7th Grader

• Understanding Your Body, Usborne

Independent Reading for My 3rd Grader

Duncan read a bunch of books from the Rookie Read-About Health series by Scholastic.

• Bones by Stephen Krensky
• Exercise by Sharon Gordon
• Take Care of Your Eyes by Don L. Curry
• You Have Healthy Bones! Susan DerKazarian (3rd)
• How Do Your Lungs Work? by Don L. Curry
• Keeping Clean by Sharon Gordon
• Touching by Rebecca Olien
• Drinking Water by Helen Frost
• How Does Your Heart Work? by Don L. Curry
• Fruits and Vegetables by Susan Der Kazarian
• Take Care of Your Teeth by Don L. Curry
• The Vegetable Group by Helen Frost
• Dairy by Susan DerKazarian
• Proteins by Justine and Ron Fontes
• The Dairy Group by Helen Frost
• Grains by Carol Alexander
• How Does Your Brain Work? by Don L. Curry
• Fats, Oils, and Sweets by Carol Parenzan Smalley
• You Are What You Eat by Sharon Gordon
• Seeing by Rebecca Olien
• Hearing by Rebecca Olien
• Bruises by Sharon Gordon
• Where Does Your Food Go? by Wiley Blevins
• A Good Night's Sleep by Sharon Gordon

Independent Reading for My 5th Grader

• You're Tall in the Morning but Shorter at Night and other amazing facts about the human body by Melvin and Gilda Berger
• The Skeleton Inside You by Philip Balestrino
• A Drop of Blood by Paul Showers
• A Journey Through the Digestive System with Max Axiom Super Scientist by Emily Sohn