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Muscle Mystery

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Lesson Plan

Muscle Mechanics Plan

Students will apply their understanding of muscle mechanics to identify which muscle groups activate during jumping jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups through a targeted quiz. This session aims to reinforce key concepts and prepare students for deeper physical fitness discussions.

Understanding how muscles work in everyday movements builds foundational knowledge in physical fitness, supports healthy activity habits, and prepares students for deeper exploration of anatomy and wellness topics.

Audience

6th Grade Students

Time

12 minutes

Approach

Quiz-based exploration supported by group discussion

Materials

Inside Your Muscles, Muscle Mystery Quiz, and Muscle Mystery Answers

Prep

Prepare Materials

5 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up Discussion

2 minutes

  • Pose the question: "Which muscles do you use when you perform a jumping jack?"
  • Invite students to share their ideas within their groups
  • Briefly highlight key muscle terms on the board (e.g., deltoids, quadriceps)

Step 2

Quiz Administration

6 minutes

  • Distribute Muscle Mystery Quiz to each group
  • Students collaborate to answer questions about muscle function during activities
  • Teacher circulates to prompt deeper thinking and clarify terms as needed

Step 3

Group Review & Discussion

3 minutes

Step 4

Cool-Down Reflection

1 minute

  • Ask students to write down one new fact they learned about muscle mechanics
  • Collect responses to gauge understanding and plan follow-up instruction
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Slide Deck

Inside Your Muscles

A visual guide to major skeletal muscles and how they work in common exercises.

Welcome students and explain that this deck will help them see and name the muscles they’ll quiz on. Reference these visuals during the quiz session.

What Are Skeletal Muscles?

• Muscles are tissues that contract to produce movement.
• Three types exist: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac.
• Today: focus on skeletal muscles that you control.

Define muscles and clarify we’re focusing on skeletal muscles that attach to bones and cause movement.

Key Muscle Groups

[Diagram of human body with labeled muscles]
• Deltoids (shoulders)
• Pectorals (chest)
• Abdominals (stomach)
• Quadriceps (front thigh)
• Hamstrings (back thigh)
• Glutes (butt)
• Triceps (back of upper arm)

Point to each muscle on the diagram as you read the list aloud.

Muscles in Jumping Jacks

• Deltoids – raise and lower arms
• Quadriceps & Glutes – spread and bring legs together
• Core – stabilize torso throughout

Explain how jumping jacks involve both arm and leg muscles, plus the core for balance.

Muscles in Sit-Ups

• Abdominals – contract to curl the torso up
• Hip Flexors – help lift the torso toward the knees
• Core – holds position and protects lower back

Highlight how sit-ups target the front of the body, focusing on flexion of the spine.

Muscles in Push-Ups

• Pectorals – push the body away from the floor
• Triceps – straighten the elbows
• Deltoids – support shoulder stability
• Core – maintain a straight body line

Show that push-ups are a compound movement working the chest, arms, and core.

Ready for the Quiz?

Use these muscle names and functions to tackle each question. Good luck!

Invite students to refer back to these slides when answering the quiz questions.

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Quiz

Muscle Mystery Quiz

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Answer Key

Muscle Mystery Answers

Use this key to guide review and grading. Each explanation links back to concepts in Inside Your Muscles.

Question 1

Prompt: Which muscle group is primarily responsible for raising your arms during a jumping jack?

Correct Answer: Deltoids

Explanation / Grading Notes:

  1. Identify the action: raising (abducting) the arms away from the body.
  2. Recall that the deltoid muscle, located on the shoulder, performs arm abduction.
  3. Other options (quadriceps, pectorals, abdominals) do not abduct the arm.

Award full credit for “Deltoids.”

Question 2

Prompt: During a sit-up, which muscle group contracts to curl the torso upward?

Correct Answer: Abdominals

Explanation / Grading Notes:

  1. Recognize the movement: flexion of the spine (curling torso toward knees).
  2. The abdominals (rectus abdominis) contract to produce trunk flexion.
  3. Hamstrings and glutes extend the hip, triceps extend the elbow—neither flex the trunk.

Award full credit for “Abdominals.”

Question 3

Prompt: Which muscle group helps maintain a straight body line by stabilizing your torso during push-ups?

Correct Answer: Core muscles

Explanation / Grading Notes:

  1. During push-ups, the body must remain rigid from head to heels.
  2. The core (including abdominals, obliques, and lower-back muscles) prevents sagging or arching.
  3. Biceps, hip flexors, and calves are not primary stabilizers in a plank position.

Award full credit for “Core muscles.”

Question 4

Prompt: Name two muscle groups activated in jumping jacks and briefly describe the function of each.

Sample Correct Response:

  • Deltoids – raise and lower the arms (abduction/adduction at the shoulder).
  • Quadriceps – spread (abduct) and bring (adduct) the legs together at the hips/knees.

Also Acceptable:

  • Glutes instead of quadriceps for leg movement (hip abduction/adduction).
  • Core for stabilization (keeping torso upright).

Explanation / Grading Notes:

  1. Check for two distinct muscle groups from the list in Inside Your Muscles.
  2. Confirm each is paired with a correct, concise function:
    • Deltoids → arm movement
    • Quadriceps/Glutes → leg movement
    • Core → stabilization
  3. Full credit: two correct pairs. Partial credit: one correct pair.

Question 5

Prompt: Which muscle group is NOT a primary mover in push-ups?

Correct Answer: Hamstrings

Explanation / Grading Notes:

  1. Identify the primary movers in push-ups: pectorals (chest), triceps (back of arm), deltoids (shoulder), plus core for stability.
  2. The hamstrings are located on the back of the thigh and do not contribute to pushing the body away from the floor.

Award full credit for “Hamstrings.”

Reflection Prompt Review (Cool-Down):
Collect student notes on “one new fact learned” as anecdotal formative data to guide next instruction.

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