The Respiratory System Part II

Here is a very easy and thrifty project for week two of the respiratory system. 

All you need is:

• an empty plastic water bottle
• a few balloons
• my worksheet to use as a follow along.
• something to cut thru plastic (scissors, small box cutter, etc)

This is a hands-on project demonstrating how the diaphragm works. 
It's really interesting and way cool. 

- Take the empty water bottle ( I used a small one, easier for small hands) and carefully cut off the very bottom.

 

- Take one balloon and cut off the top (thin) portion.  You may have to experiment with balloon    sizes.  It's a good idea to have a few different sizes around.  A smaller balloon may not fit over the end of the water bottle but might be perfect for the next step.  It will depend of the size of your bottle. 

- Place the cut balloon over the bottom, cut off, portion of the water bottle. (This is your diaphragm!) You'll want it to be slightly tight, not too loose.  You'll see why when you're done and playing with it.

- Next, place another balloon inside the mouth of the bottle with the top portion of the balloon stretched around the mouth of the bottle. (This is your lung!)

- Now, pinch the diaphragm and pull down and push back up.  You'll see the "lung" deflate and fill back up!  Awesome!

- After you are done, have the children hi-light or color the small worksheet/guide here.
It will reinforce the learning and is small enough it can be taped to the project for keeping.
They'll need to hi-light the word and then hi-light that part of the respiratory system with the same color.

 Thanks for reading!
-Delina

Today I'm sharing a fun hands-on project to do when studying the respiratory system.
Of course, I used Play-Doh!  :-)
Here is a picture of the finished project:

I created the basic form of the lung on my computer and printed it out.  Then I taught the children about the lungs, a few important parts of the lungs and how they work together. 
We then used the play-doh and created our lungs onto the paper.  It was a good reinforcement on the study we had just completed. While the children are creating each part, you are reminding them of the functions and reinforcing what they have learned.  Cardstock may be best if the children want to keep them or take them home.
Click here to download the lung outline. 

Playdoh Brains!

 

Here is a fun way to teach the brain and it's lobes.  I LOVE using playdoh in my activities.
Students of all ages enjoy creating and making colorful playdoh models-I did!

 

 

I took a basic profile and tweaked it so that the inside of the head would be empty. 
I then cut it out to fit perfectly on the inside of a square paper plate that I purchased from
the Dollar Tree.  I taped it down on both sides of the head cut-out so that it wouldn't move around while we were working.   We went one lobe at a time, creating our complete brain.  Making sure the lobes are in the correct location and added the brain stem too.

Here is a list of the lobes that color coordinates with the playdoh lobes for use as a guide/key.
This was really fun and was a great take-home project. 
Click here for the profile printable.
And here for the color coded lobe guide. 
:-)

More on the human cell.....

I wanted to share another worksheet to use when you are teaching on the human cell. 
Use this worksheet to have the children draw or color in each organelle as you are teaching them.
It's a great tool to reinforce the learning.  I like to save paper, so there are two worksheets on one page.  :-)
Click here to download!

Anatomy Of A Human Cell

This week we studied the anatomy of a human cell. 
It was very interesting and educational but challenging for K-3rd graders. 
I knew I had to come up with a great hands-on craft to keep them engaged and learning. 
I thought about this fun play-doh model.  :-)

 

The students really enjoyed making the model. 

They were understanding and retaining some of the information! 
Sorry about the blurry picture.
Here is the link to the labels.