CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES. THE HEART Student Pages. Designers Brianne Miller, Molly Bugaile

Transcription

1 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES THE HEART Student Pages Designers Brianne Miller, Molly Bugaile

2 The heart is the most important muscle in the body! Heart Activity I Just beat it! The heart is the most important muscle in the human body! It acts like a pump to deliver blood throughout the entire body. Before each beat, the heart fills with blood. Then it contracts, or squeezes, to move blood into the blood vessels all through the body. As a result, the body s other organs are able to function properly because blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to the brain, muscles, bones, and organs for energy. The heart is made of millions of special, long muscle cells, called cardiomyocyte cells. These special cells are controlled by electrical signals that pass from cell to cell throughout the heart. The electrical signals cause the cells to contract, or tighten, and produce a heart beat! This important organ has four main open spaces, called cavities. The two top cavities are called the atria, while the bottom two cavities are called ventricles. On the other hand, if you are talking about one of the top cavities it is called an atrium while one bottom cavity is called a ventricle. These cavities work together to pump the blood through the entire body. The right side of the heart contains the right atrium and right ventricle. This side receives blood lacking oxygen from the body and pumps it into the lungs to get a refill of oxygen! The left side of the heart, or the left atrium and the left ventricle, takes the oxygen-filled blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. The heart continually completes this process all day and all night, all the time, working hard to deliver oxygen and energy to all the body s organs. Once the organs receive the oxygen-filled blood they need, they are able to do their jobs, and help you do your daily tasks! H2 Time minutes Materials 5 deep buckets of water Blank diagrams of the heart (see page H3) What Will You Be Doing? Using a bucket of water and your hands, your group will demonstrate and explore the heart s pumping action. Instructions 1. Gather all materials. 2. Place your left and right hand together, one inside the other, to form a cup. When the heart pumps blood it does not spurt out all over the place like the water will! The blood flows into blood vessels which transport the blood all throughout the body.

3 3. Carefully put your filled bucket of water on a flat surface, and take turns with your partners putting your cupped hands under the surface of the water. Before you complete the following step, make sure to close your thumbs together so that opening you create is about a quarter of an inch wide. 4. One at a time, open and squeeze your hands together. Quickly repeat this process, making sure to open and close the opening at the top of your hands. The sides of your hands should remain tightly clasped and touching each other. Watch out! Water will spurt out of your hands so do not be alarmed! 5. Take turns completing Steps 3 and 4 until all of your group members have had a turn. When everyone is finished, wipe up any spilled water, put away all of your group s materials, and remain seated in your group. H3 Reflection Time for a class discussion! What new things did you discover? What is the most interesting fact/information you learned? What did you enjoy most about this activity? What do you think/how do you feel about the heart now? Follow-Up Name the parts of the heart! Remaining in your group, work together to label and fill out the blank spaces on the diagram. Don t be afraid to ask your group members or teacher questions if you become confused or lost!

4 Materials Handout 4 Too easy? Try first connecting the dots with a red crayon to show blood carrying oxygen away from the heart and lungs. Then use a blue crayon to show the blood containing very little oxygen coming back into the heart! Discussion When finished, talk about your thoughts and experiences with classmates and teachers. Blood Flow Directions You will receive the Blood Flow worksheet (handout 4). Working individually, connect the dots to discover how blood circulates through the heart and body! Start by finding dot 1. Then, draw a line that connects dot 1 to dot 2. Remember, you can start from either end of the vessel, since blood comes into the heart through both ends. Connect the rest of the dots by drawing lines to connect the remaining dots (3-15). What is happening? Since blood brings oxygen to all the cells in the body, the blood needs to be pumped pretty hard to travel through all the body s vessels. That is where the heart comes in to do its job! When the blood has delivered all of its oxygen, it returns to the heart for a new push and then goes to the lungs to retrieve more oxygen. This is a small distance to travel, so the heart doesn t have to pump very hard to send the blood to the lungs. The blood then returns to the heart to get pushed out again to visit the whole body! Don t forget that blood always returns to the heart to be pumped before going out to the body again. H4

5 As cholesterol builds up inside the arteries, less blood can pass through! Heart Activity 2 What is this cholesterol, anyway? What is cholesterol, again? Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance found in the body s cells and blood supply. Cholesterol comes from two sources: your body s natural supply (75%) and the food you eat (25%). Certain foods contain cholesterol, including eggs, butter, heavy cream, shrimp, sardines, veal, pork ribs and lamb. Other risk factors, including smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, obesity, and certain inherited genes, can also elevate the level of cholesterol in your body. Your body needs a certain amount of cholesterol to make vitamins and certain hormones. It also transports necessary fatty acids, insulates nerves, and forms cell membranes. When too much cholesterol builds up in the blood stream, however, it causes plaque to form on the walls of the arteries. This condition is known as coronary heart disease. Too much plaque in the body s blood vessels limits the amount of oxygen carried to the heart by blood cells. When this occurs, heart cells die. This causes an interruption in heart beats. This is known as a heart attack. Plaque can build up in other parts of the body too, causing serious health problems. For example, plaque can build up in the blood vessels leading to the brain, resulting in a stroke. Poor diet is a main cause of plaque build-up, stemming from excess amounts of protein, calcium, and cholesterol. H5 Materials Needed: Toilet paper rolls (one per student) Clay What Will You Be Doing? Working in groups, you will use toilet paper rolls and clay to demonstrate how cholesterol builds up inside the artery walls. Instructions 1. Gather toilet paper rolls and clay for your group members. 2. Next, take a small piece of clay and place it along the inside wall of the toilet paper roll.

6 3. Continue to add small pieces of clay along the inside of toilet paper roll, one at a time. Each time you add more clay, observe the changes taking place. Record your thoughts on a piece of paper. Reflection Reflect on the following questions: What does the clay represent? What do you think the toilet paper roll Cholesterol is a leading cause of heart disease but it can be easily prevented! - Regenerobot represents? What changes do you see taking place? What is happening to the toilet paper roll? What would happen as the blood passes through the narrow artery? H6 What might happen to the heart because of the narrowing? Share you answers with your group members, along with what you have discovered and enjoyed from this Learning Center. This is a time to share any questions, concerns, or other comments with everyone. Follow-Up After completing the project, write a one-and-a-half to two (1 ½- 2) paragraph summary explaining what you learned about cholesterol buildup and how it affects the body. After completing the summaries, discuss with your class your paragraphs, insights and any other comments or questions. Want to Fight Cholesterol? Here s How! There are two types of cholesterol good cholesterol, called HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and bad cholesterol, called LDL (low-density lipoprotein). The LDL cholesterol tends to build up on the inner walls of blood vessels. A healthy level of HDL cholesterol should be between 40 and 75. Levels of LDL cholesterol should be between 70 and 160. A high cholesterol level is a serious problem that generally affects adults. Too much LDL cholesterol in blood can clog arteries and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. The lifestyle choices you make throughout your life can really help! To lower one s bad cholesterol and enjoy a healthier lifestyle, follow these healthy tips!

7 Milk and broccoli are examples of healthy foods! Can you think of more examples? GET MOVING! Getting regular exercise can make a huge difference in lowering cholesterol. Keeping fit and in shape may improve your cholesterol level. Do things you like to do and ALWAYS have fun with exercise. The best way to stick with an exercise program is to make sure you are enjoying yourself. Better yet, get a friend to join you! GET CHECKED! For adults, getting cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis is essential to long-term good health. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health recommends all adults over 20 years of age to have their cholesterol checked at least once every 5 years. TAKE YOUR MULTIVITAMIN! A multivitamin/mineral supplement can possibly lower your risk for heart disease and stroke, which can be caused by high cholesterol. Look for a multivitamin that contains folic acid, vitamin B, and fish oil. GO FIBER RICH! Consume foods that are rich in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans. Fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber appears to lower cholesterol significantly. Research has shown that consuming about 15 grams of soluble fiber a day can lower LDL cholesterol by 5 to 10 percent. STRESS LESS! To fight the cholesterol problem, managing stress is as essential as healthy eating and regular exercise. When you are anxious or stressed, you are more likely to neglect the actions that help lower cholesterol in the first place. So sit back and relax a little! Practice controlled breathing, meditate, go for a walk, read a book, play outside, stretch, or hit the gym. GET THE LOW DOWN! Learn more from the American Heart Association s The Cholesterol Low Down at cholesterollowdown.org/. H7