Classroom Activities
Lesson One
Objective
To teach the flow of blood through the circulatory system.
Materials
Textbook, cards, envelope or baggie
Standard
CA State Science Standards: 1a, 1d, 1m, 9 (Appendix 1)
Introduction
To teach my students blood flow through the circulatory system, I will use sets of cards and arrows with all the major structures of the heart, arterial system, and venous system. The cards and arrows will be color coded, to stress whether blood flowing through that structure is oxygenated or deoxygenated. By doing so, students can participate in a hands on activity to help their memorization skill. This teaching tool can easily applied to the memorization of any other mechanism in physiology, for example, the memorization of blood clotting cascade.
Procedure
Before lecturing to my students the pathway of blood through the circulatory system, students will participate in a circulatory puzzle activity. Before class, I will have prepared a class set of bagged or enveloped structures including arrows for students to use in class (Fig. 3). Students will be prompted to clear their desks to maximize the work space. Because many students come with some idea of how blood flows through the circulatory system, I will first prompt them to try to put all the structures inside the envelope into order including all the arrows representing oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Fig 3. Structures for Circulatory Pathway (to be copied and made into cards for Lesson 1)
Students will be given a five minute time frame to do this. During the five minutes, students will not be allowed to use textbooks or ask questions from their peers or teacher to put together the pieces. In this manner, I will be assessing their thinking strategies, their ability to group structures, and formulate a plan as to how the path flows. After the five minutes, I will ask questions, "Why was it difficult to put together? Why did you group certain structures that way? Why didn't you group others? What do you think the blue arrows mean? What do the red arrows represent? Why did you place one structure above the other?" Once I've discussed the first activity, then I will teach students the actual flow of blood in sections (the left side of the heart, the arterial system, the venous system, the right side of the heart and lung).
Initially, I will begin with the left side of the heart (left atrium, bicuspid valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, aorta) having my students place red each structure. Then I will have my students add on the arterial system (arteries, arterioles) and the capillary bed. Students will then have to decide which arrows they will use, red or blue. Once I've assessed their understanding by a simply walking around to each desk, I will have my students add the venules, veins, superior vena cava/inferior vena cava. Since, I do want my students to understand that oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood also travel to the lungs, the pulmonary arteries and veins will also be added to the puzzle. For simplicity, I will not include the alveolus.
When students have completed the puzzle, I will prompt them to remove just the arterial and venous structures, mix the pieces, and then replace them. Students should repeat this until they are able to easily place those structures in order. I will repeat this strategy with the other structures of the heart, having students remove, mix, and replace structures until they are able to complete the circulatory path with the aid of any structures as a starting point.
At the end of the activity, I will repeat the questions from the beginning of class, this time students will have to answer the questions into their notebook or binder paper. This will serve as a closure for the day's activity and thus reinforcing their understanding.
Lesson Duration
One class period
Assessment
Informal assessment and responses to questions will be utilized as an assessment.
Lesson Two
Objective
To introduce Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease
Materials
Articles from the Centers for Disease Control, American Heart Association, American Stroke Association
Standards
CA State Science Standards: 1a, 1d, 1m, 9 (Appendix 1)
Introduction
In order to prepare students for the rigor of the Gallery Walk, students will take part in short expert panel discussions. This will introduce them to web-researching, speech presentation, and Q & A session. In participating in this panel, students will have a chance to begin thinking about their larger research project while applying the lecture material from class.
Lesson Duration
3 class periods (3 hours), 2 periods to prep, 1 period for panels.
List of diseases to be chosen:
- High Blood Pressure & Hypertension,
- Arrhythmia
- Atherosclerosis
- Peripheral Artery Disease
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Heart Attack
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Heart Valve Problems
- Angina
- Stroke
Pre-Panel Preparation
Students will be grouped into groups (4 – 5 students). The group will serve as the expert panel for their one disease. Students will be assigned to do readings based on their CVD topics using various websites. (See Resources for Students) Students will be given one class period to prepare their material for the panel discussions. All students will participate in formulating questions for the panel and the Q&A session. Students will turn in a copy of their prepared one-minute speech based on their specific expertise (epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment). All students will take notes on the list of questions that could be asked during the panel discussions.
Panel Discussion:
All students will be instructed to take notes on each of the expert panels and to participate. I will assess student participation throughout the panel discussions based on their preparedness, mastery of the topic, and accuracy of the information presented.
Each panel will last 10 minutes. During panel discussion, each expert will introduce themselves, state their expertise, and introduce the next expert in their team. After, the experts have spoken the 5 minute Q & A session will begin. Student audience members must be responsible for asking questions throughout the five minute period. When the session ends the leaving panel will introduce the next group of experts.
Informal assessment
Teacher will assess student participation throughout the panel discussions.
Formal assessment
Students will be quizzed on each of the panel discussions based on the notes & questions from the discussions.
Lesson Three
Midway through our unit, students will be asked to research a cardiovascular disease at length (See Resources for Teachers). Having presented material on hypertension and having participated in the brief panel discussions my students will have some idea of the dangers of untreated hypertension and subsequent disease that stem from it. Students will be asked pair-up. Each pair will have to choose a CVD and find a technology used to treat that specific CVD. Students will be given time during class to do web- based research, create presentations and a model of their heart or technology. During a two day Gallery Walk students will have the chance to present to their peers what they've learned. This is the chance for students to invite other teachers, administration, and parents to view what they've accomplished and to share their knowledge. As students groups are viewing and listening to presentations, students will be using rubrics to assess the project so that students have a voice in the assessment process. (See Resources for Teachers)
The Gallery Walk is the culmination of the cardiovascular unit. Students presentations will be videotaped, assessed, and shared with others. As a closure, students will be asked to answer a quick survey to see what they've learned and to see the value of the unit and the activities included.
Comments: