Circulatory System
8th Grade Lesson Plan: Day One
I. The Circulatory System-Learning the characteristics of blood and its role in the circulatory system.
II. Illinois Learning Standards:
1. Goal 23.A.1- Identify basic parts of body systems and their functions (heart, lungs, eyes).
2. Goal 23.A.2- Identify basic body systems and their functions (circulatory, respiratory, nervous).
3. Goal 23.A.3- Explain how body systems interact with each other (blood transporting nutrients from the digestive systems and oxygen from the respiratory system).
III. Objectives:
1. As a class, students will be able to share and discuss what they know, wonder, and learned about the circulatory system.
2. Students will organize important concepts about blood using a graphic organizer.
3. Students will be able to identify the characteristics and functions of blood as well as explain their knowledge through a written summary.
IV. Materials:
1. Timer
2. Trade books on the circulatory system
3. Chart paper
4. Markers
5. Test tube with red dye
6. Checkup Report/Graphic Organizer handouts
7. Post-its
V. Resources: Nyelabs.com, Life Science textbook, trade books: Look At Your Body Blood by Steve Parker, A Drop of Blood by Paul Showers, What happens When Your Heart Beats? by Jacqui Bailey, Literacy for the 21st Century-A Balanced Approach
VI. Procedure/Instructional:
1. To engage students in today’s lesson, students will perform the “Go with the Flow” activity.
2. In order to see how blood flows throughout the body, each student will stand, raise one hand up and keep one down for a minute and a half. (2 min)
3. Following the activity there will be questions as to why oProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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arm looked red and the other didn’t. For example: what did you notice, why do you think one hand is pale and the other red, what does this mean, etc.
4. Students will be creating hypotheses as to why their arms appeared this way. (3 min)
5. I will explain that gravity makes it harder for the heart to pump blood upward and it is easier to pump blood downward.
6. As a whole group, students will share and discuss what they already know about the circulatory system. I will explain to the students that these facts can be what they think they know as there may still be different ways of thinking among the students.
7. I will record their knowledge under the “What We Know” column on the KWL Chart. The KWL Chart includes: what we know, what we wonder, and what we learned. (5 min)
8. Then the students will use various trade books about the circulatory system to help continue to think about the circulatory system, there will be two books at each table.
9. After skimming through the trade books to activate background knowledge, each group will come up with three questions on the system that they wonder about or are curious about using the three post-its on their table.
10. I will ask each group to share 2 of their best questions with the class (total 5 min).
11. I will record their questions under the “What We Wonder” column on the KWL Chart. As I record, we will begin to organize the questions into the two categories: blood and heart. (5 min)
12. Guest speaker “Dr. W” will come into class to explain and elaborate on blood specifically the color of blood, the components of blood, the functions each component, as well as oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
13. Throughout the lecture Dr. W will provide “turn-and-talk” opportunities for the students to discuss their understanding of blood.
14. Students will each be given a “checkup report,” a graphic organizer, to follow along and record down important information about blood.
15. Each graphic organizer will have 3 columns: concept, features/details of that concept, and the function of that concept.
16. Visuals such as a test tube with red dye and a photo of a blood IV bag will be used. (15 min)
17. In closing, the students will be asked to fill in the “What We Learned” section of the KWL chart. It is okay if not all of the questions on the chart haven’t been addressed because Day 2 of instruction will be on how the heart plays a role in the circulatory system. (5 min)
18. Exit slips. Before leaving class, each student must write one thing he/she has learned about today’s lesson. (2 min)
VII. Forms of Assessment:
1. With the “What We Learned” section of the KWL chart students will need to share and discuss what they know now about the circulatory system.
2. Students will need to fill out the graphic organizer and as teachers I will walk around to monitor whether or not the information is being comprehended and communicated effectively.
3. Before the students leave the classroom they will be asked to complete an “Exit Ticket” stating one interesting fact they learned in class that day on an index card.
Circulatory System: Understanding the Functions of the Heart
8th Grade Lesson Plan: Day Two
II. Illinois Learning Standards:
a. Goal 23.A.1- Identify basic parts of body systems and their functions (heart, lungs, eyes).
b. Goal 23.A.2- Identify basic body systems and their functions (circulatory, respiratory, nervous).
c. Goal 23.A.3- Explain how body systems interact with each other (blood transporting nutrients from the digestive systems and oxygen from the respiratory system).
d. Goal 2C.3b. Demonstrate cooperation and teamwork to promote group effectiveness.
III. Objectives:
1. Students will be able to draw on prior knowledge learned the previous day in order to understand how the heart works.
2. Student will be able to identify the parts of the heart and their functions as they pertain the circulatory system.
3. Students will work collaboratively to obtain a common goal.
IV. Materials:
a. Chart paper
b. Colored name tags (made with string and construction paper) that name the parts of the circulatory system including: oxygen-poor blood, oxygen-rich blood, and lungs.
c. Floor labels of right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle, and left ventricle.
d. Chart paper diagram of the heart.
e. Vocabulary labels for heart diagram including: right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle, left ventricle, blood, lungs, veins, arteries, capillaries, aorta, and valves.
f. KWL chart started previously
g. Red and blue crayons.
h. Butcher paper listing the 11 step process of pumping blood through the heart.
i. Heart worksheet.
j. A square divided into fourths using masking tape on the ground.
k. A sign that says “body path” and a sign that says “loses oxygen.”
V. Resources: Life Science textbook, classzone.com, and Literacy for the 21st Century-A Balanced Approach
VI. Agenda
1. The class will begin with a quick review session to remember what was discussed the previous day.
2. Remind the students what information we still wonder about from the previous day to set up for discussion about the heart. ( total of 5 min)
3. Using butcher paper, I will explain and elaborate on how the heart drives the circulatory system, the four chambers, and how blood travels through the chambers.
4. Students will first follow along with me and label the 4 chambers of the heart, the 4 valves, and the aorta as well as listen for the definitions of the other terms listed. (5 min)
5. Then the students will follow along and color the arrows on the worksheet their correct color to represent the oxygenated blood vs. deoxygenated blood as I instruct. Students may work in pairs to help each other color in the diagram. (5 min)
6. Then the student will write down the steps in the spaces below the heart diagram on the worksheet as I instruct. If the students don’t have time to complete this there will be time allotted later in the class period. (3 min)
7. Using the square divided into fourths taped on the floor, the blood and lungs tags, 4 chambers of the heart labels, and the “body path” and “loses oxygen” signs, I will demonstrate how the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
8. I will tell the students that the classroom is our body and the square on the floor is your heart.
9. To start, the students will be asked to label the 4 chambers of the heart.
10. Next, I will guide the two student volunteers through the process of having oxygen-poor blood enter the right atrium, move to the right ventricle, to the lungs to get oxygen, through the left atrium, move to the right ventricle, out the body, then loses oxygen and starts the whole process over again.
11. Then I will allow get two new students volunteers to demonstrate to the class on their own (total of 15 min).
12. Then I will demonstrate the entire process of how deoxygenated blood and oxygenated blood are being pumped through the heart at the same time. (5 min).
13. I will conclude with filling in the rest of the “L” column on the KWL chart in the form of a class discussion (3 min).
14. For homework, the students will be assigned to write a paragraph summary of how the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
VII. Evaluation:
a. In order to assess whether the students understand the process of pumping blood through the heart, they will be asked, as a class, to demonstrate through acting it out and helping each other.
b. Students will be monitored through observation and questions to see if they are following directions for the handout, listening and understanding the material.
c. Through discussion and filling in the “What We Learned” column of the KWL Chart we can assess whether or not the students understood the information given.
d. Students will also be assigned to write a one paragraph summary on how the heart pumps blood throughout the body.
VIII. Accommodations and Differentiated Instruction:
a. By presenting and delivering my instruction and presentation in different ways (visuals, broken-down steps, role-playing, writing, verbal), I am trying to meet the diverse needs of our students. For example, I will have items up on the board, written on handouts, and go over them verbally. This allows me to meet visual and auditory learners’ needs.
b. For my lesson, students will be working individually, in pairs, and as a large group for our whole-class discussion. This will allow students who learn better with others to work in groups and pairs and allow students to practice independence by working individually.
c. Also for engaging students, I will use interesting and meaningful activities such as following the arrows on the diagram and role-playing how blood flows throughout the heart and body.
d. For my students who have special needs, handouts have been pre-filled because we want them to focus on following along instead of struggling with writing them down. In addition, since my students love to get up and participate, I will provide a variety of opportunities for them to do so. I know my students have great verbal and decoding skills so I try to engage them in that way.
