Our final day of anatomy study meant wrapping up our respiratory system lab, a quick overview of the muscular and skeletal system with some discussion on the different types of muscles and joints, and then a game to review some of the different organs we've talked about. Anatomy Fluxx was a big hit with everyone and does have some legitimate science behind the game. We were reminded of bacteria, genetic mutations, and the various organs that work together to make up different body systems.
With such a short amount of time to dedicate to this unit, we didn't get to dig in very deeply and there are some amazing activities and videos out there that you can work on at home. I'm just going to link to a couple, but if you search for the different systems, you will find a lot of options to explore this unit further. Videos: Human Body Systems Our favorite Amoeba Sisters are back at it! This is good overview of all the systems. Muscular System Ted-Ed. This will reinforce our quick discussion on this system. Bill Nye the Science Guy Bones and Muscles And another look at these last two systems we introduced. Activities: Can You Estimate a Person's Height? This would be a fun investigation to show the relationship between the bones of the body. Chicken Wing Dissection For the non-squeamish students, this is a great way to see how the muscles work with the bones, and watch joints in action. And it can be done with things that are easy to find! Test Your Reaction Time This is an easy, fun activity that could go along with a discussion of the nervous system. And it only requires a ruler and a second person.
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This week, we learned about the respiratory system--what it's purpose is, what parts of the body are directly involved in breathing, and how it works with the circulatory system. In order to better understand how the diaphragm works to bring air into and push air out of our body, we created a model of a lung. By creating an air-tight chamber in the bottle, the students were able to inflate the balloon inside when they pull down on the knotted balloon at the bottom (the diaphragm), and push the air out when they let go. This helps demonstrate how they lungs aren't pumped full of air, but instead filled when space is created with lower air pressure than outside. (Directions for this can be found at, and photo credit goes to, Science Sparks.) Then, they measured their lung capacity using balloons. While this was not the most precise tool (but cheaper than buying meters to test everyone), it did allow for some math skills to be used and a discussion about why we use the metric system in science. The balloons opened the door for a lot of silliness, but then they got down to business. Some were pretty competitive trying to get the fullest breath they could so they could try to increase the size of their balloon. After everyone recorded three measurements for themselves, we collected the results and filled in a chart with the class data to be used for comparison. Next week, we will continue our experiment with the effect of exercise on lung capacity! Videos:
The Respiratory System We watched a really short intro to the Respiratory System in class, but there are several that use more vocabulary and go into more detail, like this one. Respiratory System Song This one might be good to help memorize some of the anatomy of the system. Activities: Now that we've studied a few systems, comparisons can be made. Make a Venn diagram comparing the respiratory system to the circulatory system, or the digestive system. What do they have in common? What things are different? Look at their structures and their purpose. Your lungs are important for breathing, and talking! Research the larynx and it's role in the respiratory system. Then, experiment with different sounds and how you make them. Printable Respiratory System Diagram This is a fun diagram to color that has lots of info about what is going on in the respiratory system at each location in the body. abpi Respiratory System Check out the animations and interactive quiz questions on this site. There are several sections, including topics such as asthma and factors that affect breathing. A few of the kids were a little squeamish, but once they'd done it, they all said the finger prick didn't hurt. We had a nice spread of blood types represented, and even with a small sample size, they followed the average blood type percentages pretty well. Then, it was time to try building a working model of a heart atrium and ventricle. They had a lot of fun working on this, and two of the three groups were able to get their model to pump blood from one jar to the next. We could have used another 15 minutes to troubleshoot a little more, but I am linking to the project below for anyone who wants to try again at home. Videos:
The Circulatory System (Bozeman Science) This is an excellent overview that reviews some of the things we've discussed about the heart and blood, but also goes into a lot more detail about how the heart works and the path of the blood that we didn't have time to discuss in class. I highly recommend watching this one and coloring in the heart printable I linked to below. How Your Heart Works (Dr. Bincos) This video is a more simplified, shorter explanation of the circulatory system that might be easier to follow for anyone who finds the first one too complex. Activities: Heart Printable This diagram shows the path blood takes through the heart and would be an excellent tool to use along with one of the videos above. Color the pathway, using different colors for blood with oxygen and blood without. Blood Typing Activity This activity illustrates why certain blood types can or cannot donate to others. It's a nice visual explanation for this and would be fun to do with younger siblings as well. Build a Pumping Heart (from Kiwi Co.) We worked on this in class--it's fun to be able to recreate the valves and vessels and chambers of one side of the heart. |
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May 2020
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