A Bone Bank for Life: teacher key

How You Grow, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. The bone you build as a kid lasts for the rest of your life. Find out how bones, genes and habits work together.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Why is childhood a key time for building bone?
   • The most bone you will ever have is built when you are young (answer)
   • Adults have no bones
   • Bones only grow at night
2. How long are kids 6 to 17 years old told to be active each day?
   • At least 60 minutes (answer)
   • Exactly 5 minutes
   • Only on weekends
3. What do genes have a large say in?
   • What foods taste good
   • How a child grows (answer)
   • How many hours a night kids sleep
4. Why is a growth plate easier to injure than solid bone?
   • It is made of rock
   • It is weaker than solid bone (answer)
   • It is bigger than solid bone
5. What does the word spurts mean?
   • Slow, steady stretches
   • Faster stretches of growing (answer)
   • Types of bones

Words

• cartilage: rubbery body stuff
• genes: body instructions
• spurts: quick bursts