Free Year 4 Bones and Muscles: How Our Body Moves Worksheet
Students learn what the skeleton does — support, protection and movement — name key bones and joints, discover that muscles can only pull so they work in pairs, and feel their own arm muscles at work.
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- Year
- Year 4
- Subject
- Science
- Topic
- The Human Body
- Difficulty
- Level 2 · Standard
- Estimated time
- 30 minutes
- Curriculum
- New Zealand Curriculum
- Questions
- 16
- Answers
- Included, with working
- Format
- PDF (A4), print or complete online
Students will practise
- describing the jobs of the skeleton
- naming bones that protect organs
- identifying joints and how they move
- explaining how muscles work in pairs
- observing and recording body changes
Curriculum: New Zealand Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.
What's next?
Completed: Bones and Muscles: How Our Body Moves
Ready for more? Move on to Year 5 Science.
How to use this worksheet
- Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
- Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
- Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
- Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.
Common questions
Who is this worksheet for?
Year 4 students (typically ages 8–9) working on the human body. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.
Are the answers included?
Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.
How long does it take?
About 30 minutes for 16 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.
Do I need to sign up to download?
No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.
What should we do next?
Explore more Year 4 science resources.
Preview
Success TutoringWorksheetsYear 4 · Science · The Human BodyBones and Muscles: How Our Body Moves
Name
Date
Score /
Use the words skeleton, joint, muscle, pull and pair in your answers.
Part A: The skeleton
Read the passage. Then circle the best answer.
Your skeleton is made of bones. An adult has 206 bones. The skeleton has three main jobs: it supports your body so you can stand up, it protects soft parts inside, and it helps you move.
The skull protects the brain. The ribs protect the heart and lungs. The spine (backbone) holds you upright and protects the nerves that run down your back.
Bones meet at joints. The knee and elbow are hinge joints — they bend one way, like a door. The shoulder and hip are ball-and-socket joints — they can move in a circle.
Muscles move bones. Muscles can only pull, never push, so they work in pairs. When you bend your arm, the muscle at the front of your upper arm (the biceps) gets shorter and pulls. To straighten it, the muscle at the back (the triceps) pulls instead.
- Athe ribs
- Bthe skull
- Cthe spine
- Dthe thigh bone
- Ayour heart and lungs
- Byour stomach only
- Cyour brain
- Dyour eyes
- Amuscle
- Btendon
- Cjoint
- Dskull
- Apushing them
- Bpulling them
- Cmelting them
- Dgrowing them
- Athe shoulder
- Bthe hip
- Cthe neck
- Dthe elbow
Part B: Bones and joints
- skull
- ribs
- spine
- protect the heart and lungs
- holds the body upright
- protects the brain
Part C: True or false?
Write True or False.
Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.
About this resource
- Created by
- Success Tutoring Science Team
- Last reviewed
- 1 October 2026
- How it was made
- Written by our team
Free to print and share for personal, classroom and homeschool use. Please don't resell. Spotted an error? Let us know.