Health Science 3-6, 6-9
Traditionally, the Montessori curriculum introduces human anatomy in the late elementary years in the form of nomenclature cards. At Alison’s Montessori, we have been striving to create materials to introduce human anatomy to younger children. This allows them to gain awareness of how their body functions, which empowers them to make healthy choices.
Wooden Puzzle and Labels 
Anatomy of a Human Knee Joint Complete Set
We would like to demonstrate this fact by presenting our new puzzle, Parts of a Human Knee Joint. The knee joint is an intricate junction in the human body. It is also one of the most complex and stressed joints in the body. Daily activities such as walking, running, and climbing cause shock to the knees, which is absorbed by the cartilage within them. By learning how joints are structured, children will understand why good posture and an active lifestyle is important for proper joint health.
Children will also learn the scientific terms of the bones connected to the joints. The tibia, often called the shinbone, is a thick bone that supports the majority of the body’s weight. It is supported by a thinner bone, the fibula. The femur bone, known as the thigh bone, sits on top of the knee. It is the longest, largest, and heaviest bone in the body. The primary function of the femur is weight bearing and gait stability.
Other types of tissues are explored while studying Parts of the Human Knee Joint. Children learn the functions of cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. Cartilage is a connective tissue made of specialized cells made up of collagen. It serves as padding between two bones. Tendons are made up of collagen arranged in bundles of fiber. They contain blood vessels and nerves. Ligaments are also made of strong bundles of tissue; they connect two bones together.
Materials
- Anatomy of a Human Knee Joint Wooden Puzzle with Wooden Labels and Control Chart
- Three-part and Six-part Nomenclature Cards for the Anatomy of a Human Knee Joint (ages 3-6 and ages 6-9) with a Control Chart, a Blackline Diagram, a Booklet, and a Reproducible Booklet with Cloze Tests.
How to Use the Materials
Whether with primary or elementary learners, Anatomy of a Human Knee Joint Puzzle makes a great introductory prop. Our puzzle is hand-drawn, realistic, and designed to appeal to children. You can label the puzzle using the wooden labels and the control chart while naming each part. Allow children to take the puzzle apart and reconstruct it. They get familiar with the parts sensorially. The pieces can be lined up and studied separately. As usual with the Montessori education, children are presented with a whole concept and examine its parts individually.
When working with children using the Nomenclature cards, use the three-period lesson to introduce three terms at a time. Next, you can model the independent use of Nomenclature Cards by laying the control cards (pictures and names) from top to bottom. Children ages 3-6 can do matching work by selecting the first picture and comparing it to the first control card at the top. If the pictures match, children place the picture card on the right of the control card When all pictures are matched, children can now match the label (names) cards to the control cards, from top to bottom.
Nomenclature Cards 6-9 are designed for elementary level and contain descriptions cards and cloze tests. There are various ways to use our exclusive 6-part Nomenclature Cards. First, you should read the cards with children so that they are familiarized with the pronunciation of every term. Next, children can decide how they would like to work with the cards based on their comfort level with the knowledge. For instance, a strong reader may feel ready to use the cloze test cards, while a younger reader may prefer to simply read the descriptions and match them to the control cards.
Finally, when children are done studying the Anatomy of a Human Knee Joint Puzzle and Nomenclature Cards, they will enjoy coloring and labeling our Blackline diagram, and complete our Reproducible Booklet.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the benefits of introducing human anatomy to young learners and elementary children. You will find 15+ more exclusive Montessori-aligned puzzles and Nomenclature cards in our Human Anatomy section. Please visit Alison’s Montessori for more information.
Laminated & Precut Cards 
Nomenclature Cards 3-6 & 6-9
