Provide each student with an over-sized white T-shirt. As you study a body system, such as the digestive system, provide fabric paint to allow students to add each organ to their T-shirts. You would start at the esophagus, travel through the stomach and on to the intestines. Because the child draws the organs, a connection is made that should enable the child to be able to recall the name and location of each organ when the shirt is completed.
Have students lay on a large, life-size sheet of paper and draw an outline of their body on the paper with a black magic marker. Newspaper roll ends work well for most systems, but black paper works best for the skeletal system. Draw and color each organ in each system as you study it. Label the organs after they are drawn. When studying the skeletal system, use chalk to draw the bones onto the black paper so they stand out.
Experiments can help students learn about their body systems in a way that will create a mental image of the system's actions. For example, place a soda cracker in a plastic bag half filled with water. Zip the bag shut and begin gently squeezing the bag, simulating the work of the stomach. Provide students with rubber gloves and an uncooked, bleached chicken wing to help them understand about the muscular system, how it is connected and how it works.
Put students in groups and allow them to choose one of the body systems to research. Working together, the students will be required to know the function of the system, the organs and their functions, the basic structure of at least one organ and a disease associated with the organ. The students will be required to do a class presentation about their body system. The presentation must include at least one visual aid.