Blood+Moving+from+Heart+Around+Body+Simulation


 * **Name of Activity:** **Blood Moving from Heart Around Body Simulation** ||

**Purpose of Activity:** To give students a visual of what blood flow looks like when moving through the body. Addresses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. **Suggested Grade Level:** 3-5 **Materials Needed:** Body part index cards, red yarn, blue yarn **__Description of Idea__** Teacher puts on index card that says Heart and holds 3 balls of red yarn. 3 students are chosen and each given an index card that says either Arm, Leg, or Brain to wear around their neck and small ball of blue yarn. Teacher says “Now we are going to travel the path of blood from the heart to different body parts and back. When the blood first exits the heart it has a bright red color because it is full of oxygen. The blood travels through the arteries remember artery begins with an A just like away and takes it to the different body parts. Using the red yarn to represent arteries I’m going to hold on to one end and toss it to each body part (toss to the body parts). Now the blood is traveling through the body part delivering oxygen/nutrients and picking up carbon dioxide. Because it is losing the oxygen the blood changes color from bright red to dark red. Blood likes having oxygen so it then finds a capillary represented by our volunteers to connect with a vein that will carry it back to the heart. Remember veins are dark red that can look bluish from the outside, and they take the blood back to the heart. So everyone hold on to one end of your blue yarn and toss the rest to me to show the vein leading the blood back to the heart. (allow students to toss). Now the body is continuously moving blood to and from the heart without stopping so everyone hold on to both your red and blue yarn and shake the ends to show the movement. Any questions?” *inform students process is slightly different when blood travels through lungs*inform students that the blue yarn represents DARK blood, that can look bluish when looking at the body

**Assessment Ideas:** Oral review questions during and after activity