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Muscles, movement and prosthetics
This Science video introduces teachers to the three types of muscle in the human body: skeletal, smooth and cardiac, and how they work to cause movement and support the skeleton. It explains how skeletal muscles create voluntary movement, smooth muscles control involuntary processes, such as digestion and blood flow, and cardiac muscle powers the heartbeat. The lesson also explores how muscles work in antagonistic pairs, using examples such as the biceps and triceps at the elbow and the hamstrings and quadriceps at the knee.
Teachers are supported in guiding the pupils to understand the function and coordination of muscles and joints, while introducing real-world applications through prosthetic technology. The content helps teachers confidently demonstrate muscle action, encourage comparisons with skeleton types and inspire discussions on how advances in science and engineering are shaping the future of movement assistance.
This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Science human body videos, which support teachers in developing confidence and subject knowledge when helping children explore scientific concepts and investigate the world around them.
See more of our Year 3 and 4 Science scheme of work.
