Circulatory System (Grade 5)
Learn about the human circulatory system and make your own scab!
In this activity, students learn about the human circulatory system and how it transports oxygen throughout our bodies. Students will also learn about what happens to our heart rate when we exercise. They will also learn about and make a scab!
What You Need
Activity 1: Blood Transport Through Heart
- Red pen or pencil crayon (1 per student)
- Blue pen or pencil crayon (1 per student)
- Heart blood flow colouring page
- Answer sheet: Circulatory System (Grade 5) Activity 1 Answers
Activity 2: Travelling Through the Circulatory System (Model)
- Red felt, paper or ribbon cut in strips (about 20 pieces)
- Blue felt, paper or ribbon cut in strips (about 20 pieces)
- Word cards with parts of the heart (inferior vena cava, right atrium, right ventricle, pulmonary artery, left atrium, left ventricle, lungs, pulmonary vein)
- Blue and red tape for the teacher to make the 4 chambers on the floor with tape (or pieces of blue and red vinyl to be reused each visit)
Activity 3: Blood Clot Formation
- Paper cup with a hole in it (on the side)
- Small piece of red, yellow, green and blue clay
- Tin plate, bowl or container to catch the water
Activity Guide:
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to virtual outreach to youth.
What To Do
Introduction
- Introduce the heart and circulatory system. Ask the following questions:
- What does our heart do?
- Why do we need blood to go through our bodies?
- What does a vein do? Why are veins blue?
- What does an artery do?
- Have students find their pulse by placing their index and middle finger on their wrist near their thumb until they feel the pulsing. If they do not feel pulsing on their wrist, have them try on their neck.
- Have students count how many times they feel their pulse for 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get their resting heart rate per minute.
- Next, have students stand up and exercise in place for one minute.
- As soon as the minute is over, instruct them to check their pulse for 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get their active heart rate per minute.
- Was there any difference between their resting and active heart rates?
Activity 1: Blood Transport Through Heart
- Distribute the heart blood flow page, blue and red pens/pencils.
- Veins carrying blood with carbon dioxide (needing oxygen) will be coloured blue.
- Arteries that are rich with oxygen will be coloured red.
- Start at the inferior vena cava and the superior vena cava, which bring blood from the body to the heart. Have students trace the arrows in blue.
- Where does the blood go?
- Has it picked up any oxygen yet?
- Next is the right ventricle, which has a valve that opens and closes as the heart contracts and relaxes allowing blood to flow from one chamber to another.
- Has it picked up any oxygen yet?
- From the right ventricle, the blood moves to the pulmonary artery. It is called an artery because it moves blood away from the heart. Have students outline the arrows to the pulmonary artery and the lungs in blue.
- In the lungs, the the blood will exchange the carbon dioxide in it for oxygen.
- The blood comes back to the heart through the pulmonary veins. Have students outline the arrow in red.
- Continue to outline the arrow in red through the left atrium and left ventricle and the aorta where the blood leaves to go to the rest of the body.
Activity 2: Travelling through the Circulatory System (Model)
- Make 4 large squares on the classroom floor- two red square on the right and two blue squares on the left. The squares should be big enough for a person to stand in. Each square represents a chamber of the heart.
- Place the word cards in the right place (right atrium in the top blue square, right ventricle in the bottom blue square, etc.).
- Each student will take a piece of blue felt/ribbon/paper and line up where the inferior vena cava would be (just below the right ventricle). The teacher or a volunteer can take the red ribbons and stand where the lungs would be.
- Have students move through the heart saying the names of each chamber, vein and artery. Let them know where there are valves between the atria and ventricles that open and close with contraction of the heart.
- Have the students sit back at their desks and discuss blood pressure.
- Explain systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.
Activity 3: Blood Clots
- Explain what happens when we get a cut and the process of coagulation.
- Place a paper cup in a bowl or tin plate. Pour water into your cup higher than where the hole is. Does the water stay in the cup or does it leak out?
- Pour any water out of your cup.
- Take a small piece of red clay and plug the hole by pushing the clay around and over the hole on the inside and outside of the cup. This models the protein named factor 7.
- Add a piece of yellow clay on top of the red clay. This models the protein named factor 10.
- Add a piece of green clay on top of the yellow clay. This models the protein named thrombin.
- Add a piece of blue clay on top of the green clay. This models the protein named fibrin. The clot is now complete.
- Make sure to follow the order of colours when adding the lay and do not skip any colours or your plug/clot may not work.
- Slowly add some water to your cup so it goes higher than the plug/clot. Does the water stay in the cup now or does it leak out?
- Explain that once the blood clot dries, it forms a scab!
Discovery
Our blood is our transport system and takes nutrients from our digestive system and oxygen from our lungs to give us energy. Our blood brings oxygen to our muscles, nerves, brain and other cells to keep our body working properly. Our blood takes the wastes from our cells and organs and carries it to other systems like our lungs so it can take out of our bodies.
Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. An adult's normal blood pressure is somewhere around 120/80. Blood pressure is measured as systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure (top number) is the pressure it takes to push the blood forward into your artery. It is the highest number achieved when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure (bottom number) is the small amount of pressure that the heart has when it is relaxing between beats.
When we get a cut, it makes a hole in our blood vessels. Blood starts to leak out the hole. Our bodies have substances called proteins that work together to create a plug called a blood clot so the blood stays in our body. The proteins have to work in the right order. Each protein tells the next protein to work until the plus (or clot) is created. The creation of this blue, or blood clot, is called coagulation.
Organ systems are components of a larger system (the body) and as such, work together and affect one another to meet our basic needs. The choices we make affect our organ systems and in turn, our overall health. Our circulatory systems pump the blood through the lungs to remove carbon dioxide and refresh the blood in the body with oxygen.
What's Happening?
Our blood is our transport system and takes nutrients from our digestive system and oxygen from our lungs to give us energy. Our blood brings oxygen to our muscles, nerves, brain and other cells to keep our body working properly. Our blood takes the wastes from our cells and organs and carries it to other systems like our lungs so it can take out of our bodies.
Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. An adult's normal blood pressure is somewhere around 120/80. Blood pressure is measured as systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure (top number) is the pressure it takes to push the blood forward into your artery. It is the highest number achieved when the heart contracts. Diastolic pressure (bottom number) is the small amount of pressure that the heart has when it is relaxing between beats.
When we get a cut, it makes a hole in our blood vessels. Blood starts to leak out the hole. Our bodies have substances called proteins that work together to create a plug called a blood clot so the blood stays in our body. The proteins have to work in the right order. Each protein tells the next protein to work until the plus (or clot) is created. The creation of this blue, or blood clot, is called coagulation.
Why Does It Matter?
Organ systems are components of a larger system (the body) and as such, work together and affect one another to meet our basic needs. The choices we make affect our organ systems and in turn, our overall health. Our circulatory systems pump the blood through the lungs to remove carbon dioxide and refresh the blood in the body with oxygen.