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Introduction
to the Circulatory System
Objectives: |
to identify the heart as the
largest muscle in the body
to describe the heart's role
in pumping blood to the lungs and to all parts of the body
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Ask students to identify
the strongest muscle of the body. Allow students to give their ideas and
then explain that the correct answer is the heart. Show students diagram
of the heart and share the background information with them.
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The heart works day and night
to pump blood through the circulatory system.
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The heart consists of two pumps.
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The pump on the right side of
the heart sends blood to the lungs where the blood obtains oxygen.
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The blood which has obtained
oxygen then travels back to the heart where it is pumped to all parts of
the body.
Explain that as the blood is
pumped through the arteries, you can feel the artery walls stretch and
relax. Ask students what this is called. Entertain their ideas and clarify
that this is their pulse. Ask how they could measure the pumping of their
hearts using the pulse. Students work in groups to brainstorm the possibilities.
Allow groups to share and clarify.
Have students feel for pulse
with their fingers. Guide into discussion of problems that may arise by
using the finger to feel pulse.
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Assessment: |
Ask students to share personal
experiences of having their pulse taken with their groups. |
Detecting
Your Pulse (Science/Math/Language Arts
Connection)
Objective: |
to construct a simple apparatus
to visually detect the pulse
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Materials: |
toothpicks
modeling clay
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Provide each student with a
toothpick and a piece of clay.
Stick the toothpick into a "dime
sized" lump of clay.
Have students rest the "counter"
on the inside of their wrist just below the base of the thumb.
Have students observe the toothpick
as it moves. Let students work in pairs to time the counts in 15 seconds.
Use this information to determine
how many beats per minute.
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Assessment: |
Use the information from each
student to construct a class graph.
Have students compare and contrast
information compiled.
Using this graph, have each
student write a journal entry of the information obtained. They should
include at least three major points in their summary.
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Calculating
Beats per Minute (Science/Math/Language
Arts Connection)
Objective: |
to describe the relationship
between physical activity and heart rate
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Materials: |
chart
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Provide a chart with the
headings "activity" and "beats per minute." Have students identify activities
that they perform daily. Each student selects a minimum of three activities
to record in the activity column of their chart. With the assistance of
a partner students calculate and record "beats per minute" for each activity.
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Assessment: |
Students include the chart
in their journal. Using the information in the chart, students will record
observations about the relationship of physical activity and heart rate. |
Blood
Vessels
Objective: |
to demonstrate with a model
the expansion and contraction of blood vessels as blood is pumped through
the blood vessels
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Materials: |
For each pair of students:
large container of water
bulb syringe
oblong balloons
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Divide students into pairs.
One student fills the bulb with
water. The other student secures a balloon over the tip.
The first student gently squeezes
and releases the bulb so that the balloon repeatedly fills with water.
The partner holds the balloon
between the fingers to feel the expansion and contraction. This models
expansion and contraction of blood vessels as the heart beats.
Students should then exchange
roles to allow each to feel the movement.
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Assessment: |
Students will check to make
sure that the partner in the activity successfully completes both roles
in the experiment. |
Heart
Rates of Adults vs. Children (Home
Connection)
Objective: |
to compare heart rates of
adults and children
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Materials: |
graph of student heart rates
from previous lesson
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Home Activity:
Have students record "resting"
heart rates of at least one adult in the home and bring in these results.
Class Activities:
1. Students will compile
a graph of "Adult Heart Rates." Begin by making a comparison of adults.
Have students determine the highest, lowest, most frequently occurring,
and develop an "average range."
2. Return to graph
from previous lesson which recorded student resting heart rates. Have students:
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compare their own heart rate
to that of the adult in their own home
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compare the student graph to
the adult graph in terms of highest, lowest, most frequently occurring,
and average range
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draw conclusions about resting
heart rates of adults and children
3. Math Connection
Students will compute the
following:
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What is the difference in heart
beats per minute of you and the adult in your home?
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What is the difference in the
highest and lowest heart rate of the children on the graph?
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What is the difference in the
highest and lowest heart rate of the adults on the graph?
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Assessment: |
Students will solve problems
related to graph comparisons.
Students will record in
their journals the conclusions drawn when comparing adult and child heart
rates. |
Researching
the Heart
Objective: |
to use research skills to
locate answers to relevant questions about the heart
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Materials: |
reference materials
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Students should have a basic
understanding of the function of the heart. With this background, they
should now be prepared to formulate related questions that they wish to
investigate.
1. Begin the activity
by having students identify information that has already been obtained
in the unit.
2. From this list,
have students brainstorm and formulate possible questions for investigation.
3. Individual students
should use this list to select personal questions for investigation. Have
students record these questions in a "Research" section of their journals.
They should be encouraged to add to this list as other questions arise.
This should be an ongoing project.
4. Discuss available
resources for exploration and encourage students to use a variety of these.
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Assessment: |
The completed research project
should include questions investigated, answers to and discussions related
to these questions, and resources used in the investigation. |
Dramatization
of the Blood's Trip Through the Heart
(Science/Dramatics Connection)
Objective: |
to describe the blood's
trip through the body and the function of the heart
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Materials: |
diagram of circulatory system
"oxygen" tags
"carbon dioxide" tags
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Set up a large room sized diagram
of the circulatory system.
Students assume the roles of
"body organs and parts." This should include heart, lungs, arms, legs,
etc.
Other students act as the "blood."
As the "blood" travels from the heart to the lungs, students simulating
the blood should be given several tags labeled "oxygen."
The "blood" then travels back
to the heart and to the other parts of the body. As the "blood" travels
to each body part, it exchanges "oxygen tags" for tags labeled "carbon
dioxide" and "other wastes."
When the oxygen is used up,
the "blood" then must travel back to the heart and lungs to exchange the
"carbon dioxide and waste" for new "oxygen."
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Assessment: |
Each student should be able
to play the roles of a body part and blood.
Students then record journal
entries explaining the process and how the activity demonstrated this.
NOTE: This activity could
also be used as a performance assessment following the material on the
circulatory and respiratory systems. |
The
Heart as a Pump (Science/Social
Studies/Technology Connection)
Objective: |
to describe the heart's
function as a pump and relate this to other types of pumps
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
1. Introduce the idea
that the heart is a pump and have students offer their definitions of pump.
Clarify and agree on a class definition.
2. Divide students
into groups of four or five and ask each group to think of how pumps are
used in everyday activities. For each idea the group should provide an
illustration of the pump as it is used, explain how it is used, and explain
what can be done in case of malfunction.
3. Each group should
present their findings and display in a central location.
4. Have students compare
and contrast their pumps to the heart.
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Assessment: |
Students will each write
in their activity journal ways the heart and other pumps are the same.
They will address the fact that machine parts can be easily manufactured
and replaced and that the heart as a pump is not easily repaired.
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Heart
Health (Social Studies/Health Connection)
Objectives: |
to recognize the need for maintenance
of the body's strongest muscle, the heart
to identify ways to strengthen
and maintain the heart
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
1. Review the previously
learned materials relating to the heart's function and have students consider
what might occur if the heart does not function properly.
2. This provides an
excellent opportunity to have resource persons come in to discuss heart
disease. Ideas include:
health care professionals
adults who suffer from heart
disease that are willing to share their experiences
representative of the American
Heart Association
3. Discuss the heart as a
muscle and review previously learned information. Ask students to tell
what they know about muscles in general. Encourage them to share their
knowledge of strengthening activities especially as related to the school
physical education program. Students may name individuals that they consider
to have "strong muscles" and include a discussion of how these individuals
build and maintain these strong muscles. Direct
the discussion to a comparison of strong muscles to weak muscles and the
work that can be done with each. Help students to transfer this discussion
to the focus on the heart.
4. (Research) Students
will use a variety of resources to answer the following:
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List some activities that contribute
to building a stronger heart.
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How would a weak heart effect
the movement of blood through the body?
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Name some ways a "weak heart"
might effect a person's daily activities.
Tell how an exercise program
for the elderly needs to be different from younger adults.

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Assessment: |
Students will name at least
two activities that would be difficult if the heart does not function properly.
Completed research projects
will be assessed on the basis of accuracy and the degree to which the topic
is addressed. The project will be included in the student's portfolio. |
Make
Your Own Stethoscope
Objective: |
to use a stethoscope to
listen to the heart beat
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Materials: |
1 cardboard tube from a
paper towel roll per every 2 students
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
Over 170 years ago, a man
named Laennec invented the first stethoscope. It was a wooden tube
about 1 inch in diameter and
about 10 inches long. Students will use paper towel roll tubes as
stethoscopes.
1. Have the students
pair up and listen for their partner's heartbeat by placing the tube over
the partner's heart.
2. Count the number
of beats per 30 seconds. Add this number together twice to find out how
many times each minute the person's
heart beats.
3. Have one partner
run in place for one minute, then listen again. Have the students write
down what they
hear and calculate the new beats per minute.
4. Have the partners
switch.
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Assessment: |
(Follow-up discussion)
The heart beats faster after the exercise in order to pump more blood (oxygen)
to the working muscles. |
Heart
Words (Language
Arts Connection)
Objective: |
to define the meaning of
terms using the word heart
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Materials: |
crayons
8 ½ x 11 paper folded
into four boxes
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Procedures:
Student
Information: |
1. As a class, brainstorm
as many "heart" words as possible (i.e.. heart throb, heart attack, heart-to-heart,
etc.). Post them on the board.
2. Post them on the board,
discussing the meanings as you go.
3. Students then work individually
drawing the meanings of four of those words (one per box).
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Assessment: |
the final product of activity |
Remember
to add the heart to your paper bodies!
This integrated instructional unit was designed by
teachers of the:
Henry County School
System
396 Tomlinson Street
McDonough, Georgia 30253
USA
Telephone: 770/957-6601
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Questions/Comments
Updated
4/19/98
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