Color the Muscles of the Head and Neck

Students practice naming the muscles of the head with this simple coloring worksheet. Image shows the major superficial muscles with numbers. If you download the Google Doc, it will also include the answer key. There are two versions in this file. One has the numbers and names given and students just color it. There is a more difficult version included where students must identify the muscles and fill in the numbers.

head muscles

I also have a coloring activity I do with students where we go over the names and they label a diagram and color as we go. In this version, students view Google slides and label the diagram as we go. The slides are a little more involved, and include actual photos of muscles from cadavers.

After learning the muscles of the head, I follow with the muscles of the chest and back and then the muscles of the leg.

While it may seem like a lot of coloring, the exercise allows me to slow the pace of learning for high school students. I’ve found that they need a lot of reinforcement and practice to learn the names of muscles. You can also use this older page which has a roll-over image showing the major muscles.

You can also have students get active by having them move muscle groups in stretching exercises. I have also had students focus on one group and lead the class in these exercising while explaining which groups are being stretched.

You can also give students a shorter activity where they explore all of the muscles. In this version, students work on their own to explore all of the muscles of the body. (I made this during the pandemic when my students were remote-learning.)

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