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username: trillium
password: trillium
https://shell.pebblego.com/modules/9/categories/8464?sqs=e8a92fa714a7d099da444e3bdf2bdf93f62e51b15d3fa0259fd774d58362e930

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username: trillium
password: trillium

https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/search/articles?query=Human%20Body%20Systems

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username and password are just your normal login info for tdsb

https://go.gale.com/ps/browseSubCategory?subCategory=Human+Body&userGroupName=tdsb_ascd&prodId=ITKE&category=Health&sid=bookmark-ITKE

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https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/center/htbw-main-page.html

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Use the search function to search for related information.

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It's easy and safe for students to create their own accounts with our simple student registration process.

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Scratch Demo: Digestive System Game with Intro

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Fun Makey Makey Projects | Makey Makey Operation Game Scratch

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Making 💩: A digestive system demonstration

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Experiments Show How Vaccines Help Your Immune System

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Explore how your immune system seeks out and disables pathogens, and prepares your body for future attacks.

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Modeling Blood Flow Lesson Plan Introduction

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I found lots of ideas for spinal cord models ( this one made with a pool noodle is cool, and I liked this one with gummy rings too), but since we still had licorice from our neuron models, and since I liked the idea of having the spinal cord be thick and tough, yet flexible (rather than just represented by a piece of string as it is in the models linked above), we settled on this egg carton/licorice model.

An egg carton to cut up, for the vertebrae

Craft foam (or something kind of spongy), for the vertebral discs

Licorice, for the spinal cord

I chose to use egg carton sections because they really do look quite like vertebrae. We tried both ways: poking holes through the bottom of the egg carton section (Abe's was made like this) and poking holes through the side of the egg carton as shown above. I think I preferred the latter way just because of how it looked, but both ways are fine.

Then you just thread the vertebrae onto the spinal cord, alternating with the discs.

We really liked the way the licorice spinal cord allowed flexibility and movement of the spine. They were fun to play around with.

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Spinal Cord model with egg carton and licorice

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I found lots of ideas for spinal cord models ( this one made with a pool noodle is cool, and I liked this one with gummy rings too), but since we still had licorice from our neuron models, and since I liked the idea of having the spinal cord be thick and tough, yet flexible (rather than just represented by a piece of string as it is in the models linked above), we settled on this egg carton/licorice model.

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Intended for elementary and secondary school students and teachers who are interested in learning about the nervous system and brain with hands on activities, experiments and information.

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For grades 3-12

Create a model of a neuron by using clay, playdough, styrofoam, recyclables, food or anything else you can get your hands on. Use pictures from books to give you an idea of where the components of a neuron should go and what shape they should be. Use different colors to indicate different structures. Make a neural circuit with a few of the neurons. Create sensory or motor systems. Eat your model if you made it out of food!!

Materials:

Clay or Playdough or Styrofoam or Recyclables (bottle caps, cups, buttons, etc) OR Food (fruit, jelly beans)

A picture or diagram of a neuron (see the picture below or go to: more about neurons.)

If you would like to use this "build a neuron" as a classroom activity, here is a lesson ready to go.

Need some play dough but don't have any? Here is a recipe that you can use to make your own:

Mix: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt & 2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Add: 1 cup cold water with food coloring, 1 Tablespoon salad oil

Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. Let it cool a bit and then knead it. Keep in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out.

You can also add color to the play dough by adding some poster paint with the liquid instead of food coloring. Try to use as little paint as possible to get the desired color or it will make the play dough sticky.

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For grades 3-12 Create a model of a neuron by using clay, playdough, styrofoam, recyclables, food or anything else you can get your hands on. Use pictures from books to give you an idea of where the components of a neuron should go and what shape they should be.

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Students explore the inhalation/exhalation process that occurs in the lungs during respiration. Using everyday materials, each student team creates a model pair of lungs.
This engineering curriculum aligns to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

Describe the function of the respiratory system.

Create a model of the lungs and explain what happens to them when you inhale and exhale.

Give examples of engineering advancements that have helped with respiratory systems.

Educational Standards
Suggest an alignment not listed above

Materials List

Each group needs:

2-liter empty plastic bottle with cap

2 plastic drinking straws; available inexpensively at restaurant supply stores or donated by fast-food chains; do not use the flexible drinking straws

2 9-inch balloons

1 larger balloon; for example, for a punch ball

2 rubber bands

Lung Worksheet, one per student

Worksheets and Attachments
Visit [www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_human_lesson09_activity1] to print or download.

Introduction/Motivation

Have you ever been on a crowded subway or bus? You probably could not wait to get out where there were not so many people and you could move around freely. This is similar to the process that causes air to flow in and out of your lungs. The air molecules are either crowded outside (in the environment) and want to get into the lungs where there are less air molecules (inhalation), or they want to get outside because they are too crowded inside the lungs (exhalation).

When you inhale, your diaphragm muscle contracts downward and rib muscles pull upward causing air to fill the lungs. Can you think of why? Well, when your diaphragm moves down and ribs move up, they make more space in your chest (in the thoracic cavity) for air. This also decreases the pressure on your lungs so the air will flow in from the outside. The opposite happens when you breathe out. Your diaphragm relaxes and the ribs and lungs push in which causes air to be pushed out.

Engineers need to understand the respiratory process in order to design machines and medicines to help people whose respiratory systems function incorrectly or with difficulty. Have you ever known someone who suffers from asthma or pneumonia? Well, chemical engineers design devices and medicines, such as inhalers filled with an adrenergic bronchodilator to help people breathe better. Engineers have also developed artificial lungs that help people breathe while fighting off infections. And engineers also design the systems that help astronauts breathe easily during space flight, when they are far away from the Earth's atmosphere.

Engineers use models to study complicated processes and better understand them. In this activity, you will act like engineers by building models of the lungs in order to study the breathing process and what happens when you breathe in and out.

Procedure

Before the Activity

Gather materials and make copies of the Lung Worksheet.

In each of the 2-liter bottle caps, drill 2 holes that are just big enough for a drinking straw to fit through. Tip: Make sure to drill the holes far enough apart that the holes do not become one big hole!

Using a pair of scissors, cut off the bottom of each 2-liter bottle.

With the Students

1. Peel off the labels, if any, on the 2-liter bottles.

2. Tell students that the 2-liter bottle represents the human chest cavity.

3. Stick two drinking straws through the two holes in the bottle cap.

4. Place one 9-inch balloon on the end of each straw and secure them with rubber bands, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Example model "lungs" created for the experiment setup.

1. Tell students that the straws represent the bronchi and the balloons represent the lungs.

2. Stick the balloon ends of the straws through the bottle opening and tightly screw on the lid.

3. Stretch out the larger balloon and place it over the open bottom of the bottle.

4. Tell students that this larger balloon represents the diaphragm. Now they have a finished model of the lungs! (See Figure 3,) Next, it is time to make the lungs work!

Figure 3. A model of the lungs.

1. Pull the diaphragm (balloon) down (that is, away from the lungs) in order to inflate the lungs. (Note: This makes the chest cavity larger and decreases the pressure.)

2. Push the diaphragm (balloon) in (towards the lungs) in order to deflate the lungs. (Note: This makes the chest cavity smaller and increases the pressure.)

Figure 4. A model of the human chest cavity.

1. Have students complete the worksheet.

2. To conclude, have teams make presentations of their model lungs, as described in the Assessment section.

Vocabulary/Definitions

bronchi: Two large tubes connected to the trachea that carry air to and from the lungs.

diaphragm: A shelf of muscle extending across the bottom of the rib cage.

lungs: Spongy, saclike respiratory organs that occupy the chest cavity, along with the heart. They provide oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide from it.

Assessment

Pre-Activity Assessment

Discussion Questions: Solicit, integrate and summarize student responses.

How do the lungs work? How do you inhale and exhale?

Does your breathing change when you exercise? How?

Activity Embedded Assessment

Worksheet: Have students record their observations and complete the Lung Worksheet. Review their answers to gauge their mastery of the subject.

Post-Activity Assessment

Presentation and Informal Discussion: Have one or more groups use their projects to demonstrate how the lungs work. Next, hypothesize with the class: What would happen to the respiratory system if we punctured it? Have one group puncture the cavity (bottle) or diaphragm (rubber bottom) and demonstrate what happens to the lungs if this body part is damaged. (Answer: The lungs are unable to inflate and/or deflate if the chest cavity has a leak. The lungs cannot maintain the pressure difference.) Discuss with the class: What could engineers do to help fix a puncture in a person's lungs?

Troubleshooting Tips

When cutting off the plastic bottle bottom, make sure that the edges are as smooth as possible so it does not rip the balloon on the bottom. If edges are rough, bind them with masking or duct tape.

Seal any potential leaks with poster tack.

Activity Extensions

Have students research respiratory diseases and how they affect the function of the respiratory system. Can they alter their model to show what happens to the lungs with these diseases? Can they demonstrate on their models what has been done to help people with respiratory problems?

Engineers have developed an artificial lung to help people fight infection. The artificial lung is approximately 18-inches long and consists of membranes that pass oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide. It is inserted through a vein in the leg and lodged in the main vein (the vena cava) passing blood to the heart. The blood is re-oxygenated through a catheter attached to an oxygen supply. Have students create a drawing of a machine that could help their model lungs "breathe" without having them pull down or push up on the lower balloon. Explain that this is how engineers might begin to develop life-saving machines.

Activity Scaling

For lower grades, have students make one lung rather than two. Use a smaller water bottle rather than a 2-liter bottle and one balloon lung rather than two.

References

"How is Asthma Treated?" Diseases and Conditions Index, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Human Services. Accessed May 23, 2006. http://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/respiratory

"Bronchi and Bronchial Tree." Training Website: Bronchi, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, U.S. National Cancer Institute's Surveillance. Accessed May 23, 2006. http://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/respiratory/passages/bronchi.html

"Respiratory system." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikipedia,com. Accessed May 23, 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_system

Copyright © 2006 by Regents of the University of Colorado

Contributors Teresa Ellis; Malinda Schaefer Zarske; Janet Yowell

Supporting Program Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Acknowledgements

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation (GK-12 grant no. 0338326). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the DOE or NSF, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: May 1, 2020

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Creating Model Working Lungs: Just Breathe - Activity

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Students explore the inhalation/exhalation process that occurs in the lungs during respiration. Using everyday materials, each student team creates a model pair of lungs.

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Lesson Idea: Digestive System Experiment | Reach Out CPD