Human Anatomy and Physiology Curriculum


St. Ignatius College Preparatory
Course Goals and Student Outcomes

 

In completing this course, students will, in the broadest sense... 

 

 

Specifically, students will ...

 

 

The course is organized into five basic units (click to jump down):

 
    I.    Introduction to the Human Body
    II.   The Integumentary System (skin)    
    III.  Support and Movement (skeletal and muscular)    
    IV.  Communication, Control, and Integration (nervous, endocrine, ...)
    V.   Transportation and Defense (circulatory, lymphatic, ...)
    VI.  Reproduction and Development
 

(Additional Resources)



I.     Introduction to the Human Body                                                              


Wiggins and McTighe describe four criteria which “serve as filters to select ideas to teach for understanding. The idea, topic, or process (1) represents a big idea with enduring value beyond the classroom; (2) resides at the heart of the discipline, the ’doing’ of the subject in context; (3) requires uncoverage; and (4) offers potential for engaging students.”

 

Topics for enduring understanding

 

Organisms respond to internal and external stimuli and possess control mechanisms that detect deviations and make corrective actions. If these mechanisms fail, the organism will die. Life is maintained with the combined efforts of all body systems, and no body system may be excluded for survival. There is a universal language that can be used to describe body parts and directional terms.

 

Wiggins and McTighe describe essential questions that “(1) have no one obvious right answer, (2) raise other important questions, often across subject-area boundaries, (3) address the philosophical or conceptual foundations of a discipline, (4) recur naturally, and (5) are framed to provoke and sustain student interest.”

 

Essential questions

 

What does it mean to be alive?  How does my skin help my bones stay healthy?  How does your body know when something is out of sorts, and how does it fix it?

 

Knowledge, Skills & Understanding

 



  

Wiggins and McTighe describe performance tasks as involving “complex challenges that mirror the issues and problems adults face. The challenges are authentic … they differ from academic prompts in that they (1) use real or simulated settings with the kinds of constraints, background noise, incentives, and opportunities an adult would find in a similar situation; (2) require students to address an identified audience; (3) are based on a specific purpose that relates to the audience; (4) allow students greater opportunity to personalize the task; and (5) are not secure; the task, criteria, and standards are known in advance and guide student work.”

 

Performance Tasks

 

                 

    Additional Resources



    II. Integumentary System (Skin)                                                                      

    Topics for enduring understanding

     

    Skin is the body’s largest organ. Skin helps maintain homeostasis by performing various functions such as protection from environmental factors, temperature regulation, vitamin D synthesis, and acting as a sensory receptor. Skin cells, as well as other cells in the body, are constantly regenerating. Failure of proper cell regeneration can lead to organ dysfunction or organism failure.

     

    Essential questions

     

    Why do we have skin?  What constitutes skin as an organ?  How can a person survive without skin? Why does everyone’s skin look different?  What will my skin look like in 30 years and why?

     

    Knowledge, Skills, and Understanding

     



     

    Performance Tasks



    Additional Resources

       

      III. Support and Movement                                                                              

       

       

      Topics for enduring understanding

       

      The body moves by pull movements of opposing muscles. Muscles increase in mass by adding mass to each fiber, and not by increasing the number of fibers. Bone is a living tissue that constantly undergoes proliferation of various cell types.  Muscles provide movement and bones provide support. 

       

      Essential questions

       

      What do our bones do after we stop growing? What is the best way to make my muscles strong and appealing?  How do you fix a broken bone?  How will my bones and muscles be different when I am 55?


      Knowledge, Skills, and Understanding

                   

          Part 1: Skeletal System




         Part 2: Muscular System




      Performance Tasks

       

      Additional Resources

       


      IV.   Communication, Control, and Integration

       

      Topics for enduring understanding

       

      The nervous and endocrine system are the “command” centers of the organism. The nervous system has voluntary and involuntary responsises to stimuli. The endocrine system can and will vary in an organism in its lifetime.


      Essential questions

       

      How do painkillers work?  How does the mind (stress) affect the body? Why can’t I taste that when I plug my nose?  Why do people call teenagers hormonal? 

                   

      Knowledge, Skill, and Understanding

       

          Part 1: Nervous System and Somatic Senses




           Part 2: Endocrine System (this topic is also spread throughout the curriculum)




      Performance Tasks

       

      Additional Resources

       


        V.  Transportation and Defense

         

        Topics for enduring understanding

         

        Different blood cells have different responsibilities in the body. There is a vast number of white blood cells, which each cells having a vital role in defending the organism.


        Essential questions

         

        Why is heart disease one of the top killers?  Why do I  have fevers and should I try to alleviate it?  Why haven’t we found a cure for AIDS and cancers?  How does your body know when its under attack (recognize self vs. non self)?  What is an allergy?

         

        Knowledge, Skills, and Understanding


             Part 1: Lymphatic System (Immune System)

         



         

        Performance Tasks

         

        Additional Resources

         


        VI.  Reproduction and Development

         

        Topics for enduring understanding

         

        Women are born with a fixed # of sex cells, while men produce sex cells throughout their lives. The reproductive system is one system that, when removed, will not fully disrupt the living being. Birth is one of the few positive feedback mechanisms that maintain homeostasis. 

         

        Essential questions


        When does life begin? Why did evolution produce this type of sexual reproduction? Why are men and women so different? Why does a woman change so much when she gets pregnant? What does a typical male or female look like?

         

        Knowledge, Skill, and Understanding





        Performance Tasks

         

        Additional Resources

         


        Word Cloud for this Curriculum Document
        (generated using Wordle)






         

         

        ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (SCRATCH WORK, ETC.)


         

        Unit

        Content

        Objectives

         

        Intro to Human Body

         

        Systems Basics, Body Regions, Directional Terms, Homeostasis,  Tissues

        1.  Identify levels of organization and understand relationships between them

        2.  List the major systems and describe location, function and body organs for each system

        3.  Understand the terms for body structures and regions,  and put them to use when describing structure

        4.  Relate stimulus and response (regulations) to concept of homeostasis

        5.  Observe various human tissues and relate them to their functions according to a&p

        6.  Brief overview of stem cells

         

        Support and Movement

         

        Integumentary System

        1.  Identify  detailed structure and function of skin

        2.  Understand homeostatic regulation of skin by looking at various functions (heat loss.. skin regeneration, etc.) 

        3.  Examine structure of hair and nail.

        4.  Examine disease\disorder (burns, acne, cancer, infections)  of  the skin

         

        Support and Movement

         

        Skeletal System

        1.  Identify and describe skeletal tissue including microscopic structure of bone

        2.  Identify types and structural components of bone and cartilage

        3.  Identify and describe functions of bone and cartilage

        4.  Understand bone development, growth, and repair

        5.  Learn locations of major bones and name major division of skeletal system

        6.  Classify joints in terms of structure and function

        7.  Examine bone diseases\ abnormalities

         

        Support and Movement

         

        Muscular System

        1.  Identify and describe functions of muscular system

        2.  Identify and relate difference between the three types of muscle tissue

        3.  Examine the microscopic structure and function of skeletal muscle

        4.  Learn locations of major muscle groups and analyze how they function in opposition to each other

        5.  Examine  muscular injuries, disorders, and infections.

         

        Communication, Control, and Integration

         

        Nervous System

        1.  Explain the anatomical and functional classifications of the nervous system

        2.  Identify the functions of nervous system

        3.  List cell types in neural tissue and describe their functions and structures

        4.  Examine nerve impulses and synaptic transmission

        5.  Analyze potential of nerve repair

        6.  Examine  nervous system disorders

        Stem Cell

        All units

        1.

        2.

        3.

        4.

         

        Communication, Control, and Integration

         

        Sense Organs, Endocrine(brief)

        1. 

        2.

        3.

        Transportation and Defense

         

        Immune (brief)

         

        Reproduction and Development

        Male Reproductive,

        Female Reproductive, Growth and Dev