Human Body Parts in English
Naming the Human Body
Lesson duration is: 30 minItems in this lesson
Naming the Human Body
Open with the idea that body labels in English need both the correct word and the correct position on a body outline.
Learning goal
I can identify and label the main external human body parts accurately in English.
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Which body words in English do you already know?
Use this to surface prior knowledge before formal labelling begins. Expect a mix of main parts and facial features.
The body outline
A body outline shows the outside of the human body.
It helps us place labels in the correct position from top to bottom and from left to right.
Keep the focus on external parts only. This lesson is about naming visible body parts, not internal organs.
Main sections of the body
The main sections are:
head
neck
upper body
arms and hands
lower body
legs and feet
Use these broad sections as a map before moving to smaller parts and subparts.
Direction words for labels
These words help place labels clearly on a diagram:
top - higher on the body
bottom - lower on the body
left - the body's left side
right - the body's right side
between - in the middle of two parts
Remind students that left and right should match the body's sides, not always the viewer's first guess.
From top to bottom
A body diagram is often labelled in order:
head at the top
chest and stomach in the middle
legs and feet at the bottom
This slide builds positional awareness before students meet all the individual labels.
Which word means in the middle of two parts?
right
between
bottom
left
Checks the directional vocabulary from the body outline block. Distractors are the other position words taught on the nearby slides.
Complete the body outline summary.
A body outline shows the outside of the human body. It helps us place labels from top to bottom and from left to right. The head is at the top of the body.
All blanks echo the wording of slides 2 to 5 and reinforce order and position, not just isolated vocabulary.
Head and face
The head is at the top of the body.
On the face, the main features are:
eyes
ears
nose
mouth
Use the exact vocabulary from the learning goal. Keep 'face' as a helpful context word, but the key labels are the features listed.
Where facial features go
The eyes are near the top of the face.
The ears are at the sides of the head.
The nose is between the eyes and the mouth.
The mouth is below the nose.
This is the clearest place to reinforce 'between' with a concrete example.
Neck and shoulders
The neck is below the head.
The shoulders are on the left and right at the top of the arms.
You may point out that shoulders connect the neck area to the arms, but avoid adding extra anatomical detail.
What is between the eyes and the mouth?
ears
neck
nose
shoulders
Tests whether students can apply the facial-position language rather than only recall a word list.
Where are the neck and shoulders?
Expected answer elements: the neck is below the head; the shoulders are on the left and right at the top of the arms. Accept short positional descriptions using the taught vocabulary.
Arms, elbows, hands and fingers
Each side of the body has:
an arm
an elbow in the middle of the arm
a hand at the end of the arm
fingers on the hand
Stress singular and plural forms naturally: one hand, two hands; one finger, many fingers.
Upper and middle body parts
The chest is on the front of the upper body.
The stomach is below the chest.
The back is on the opposite side from the chest.
The waist is around the middle of the body.
Keep 'stomach' as the body-part label students use on diagrams, rather than shifting into more technical vocabulary.
Legs, knees, ankles and feet
Below the waist are the legs.
On each leg:
the knee is in the middle
the ankle is above the foot
the foot is at the bottom
Reinforce the top-to-bottom sequence: leg → knee → ankle → foot.
Which part is in the middle of the arm?
elbow
hand
shoulder
fingers
Checks the arm sequence from shoulder area to hand, with plausible nearby distractors from the same body region.
Complete the body-part description.
The chest is on the front of the upper body. The stomach is below the chest. The back is on the opposite side, and the waist is around the middle of the body.
Reinforces front, opposite side and middle using the exact terms from slide 10.
Describe a leg from top to bottom.
Expected answer elements: below the waist are the legs; on each leg the knee is in the middle, the ankle is above the foot, and the foot is at the bottom. Listen for a clear top-to-bottom sequence.
Putting labels in the right place
Clear labels match both the word and the position.
Examples:
eyes on the head
elbows between shoulders and hands
knees between waist and feet
Emphasise that a correct label is not only spelled correctly but also placed accurately on the diagram.
Using left and right
Some parts come in pairs:
left eye / right eye
left ear / right ear
left shoulder / right shoulder
left arm / right arm
left leg / right leg
Keep this simple and positional. The goal is clear diagram labelling, not complex orientation practice.
Which label placement is correct?
knees between waist and feet
eyes on the stomach
elbows below the feet
mouth above the eyes
Uses the final application rule from slide 12: both the word and the position must be correct.
Complete the labelling rule.
Clear labels match both the word and the position. For example, elbows are between shoulders and hands, and left and right help us label parts in pairs.
This captures the key idea of the final content block: accurate labelling depends on placement and directional language.
What is one body label you can now place confidently?
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Which part of this lesson helped you most?
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Glossary
head - the top part of the body
neck - the part below the head
shoulders - the parts at the top of the arms
arm - the upper limb from shoulder to hand
elbow - the middle joint of the arm
hand - the part at the end of the arm
fingers - the parts on the end of the hand
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Glossary
chest - the front upper part of the body
stomach - the front middle part below the chest
back - the rear side of the body
waist - the middle area of the body
leg - the lower limb from waist to foot
knee - the middle joint of the leg
ankle - the joint above the foot
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Glossary
foot - the part at the bottom of the leg
eyes - the parts used for seeing
ears - the parts used for hearing
nose - the part in the middle of the face used for smelling and breathing
mouth - the part below the nose used for speaking and eating
left/right - the two sides of the body
between - in the middle of two parts
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