Joints and How They Move

4th Grade ScienceSkeletal System3 pages

About this worksheet

Joints are the focus of this 3-page 4th grade science sheet on the skeletal system. Page 1 shows three labeled diagrams: a hinge joint that moves back and forth like a door, a ball-and-socket joint that moves in many directions and a pivot joint that turns side to side. Students then sort six joints (elbow, shoulder, neck, knee, hip and finger) into three columns. Page 2 is a hands-on chart where they move their own elbow, shoulder and neck, tick the directions each one moves and name the joint type. Page 3 holds the answer key. It supports NGSS 4-LS1-1.

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Joints and How They Move: Skeletal System - page 1

Joints and How They Move: Skeletal System - page 2

Joints and How They Move: Skeletal System - page 3

Curriculum objectives covered

4-LS1-1

“Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.”

Part 2 and Part 3 link three joint types to the way a body part moves.

What's inside this worksheet

Part 1 Types of Joints

Three picture cards with short captions. A bent bone with a double arrow shows the hinge joint, a ball in a cup with arrows in several directions shows the ball-and-socket joint, and a peg turning inside a ring shows the pivot joint.

Part 2 Sort the Joints

A word bank holds elbow, shoulder, neck (top of the spine), knee, hip and finger. Students write each one in a hinge, ball-and-socket or pivot column, with four lines in each.

Part 3 Try-It Chart

Students gently move an elbow, a shoulder and a neck, turning the head as if saying no. They tick forward and back, side to side or in a circle in a table with one row per body part, then write the joint type in the last column.

Answers

The sorted joints and the completed chart. The elbow moves forward and back, the shoulder moves all three ways and the neck moves side to side.

How teachers use it

Stand up and test

Do Part 3 as a movement break before anyone writes. Students feel the elbow stop at a straight arm while the shoulder keeps going.

Door demonstration

Open and close a classroom door as you read the hinge caption on page 1. Then ask students to find the hinges in their own fingers and knees.

Check the neck row

The neck row catches the most mistakes, because students tick side to side and then write hinge. Remind them that a pivot joint turns, and the head turns when it shakes no.

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