Synopsis

Students will discover why the heart makes the beating sound, how the beating sound relates to the function of the heart, and why it is important to exercise to keep the heart healthy.

Teaching Steps

1. 1. Students will listen to each other's hearts with empty paper towel tubes.
   A. Pair up the students and provide each pair with an empty paper towel tube.
   
   B. Demonstrate how the students are to use the tubes to listen to each other's hearts.

   DISCUSSION POINTS

   • Where do you need to put the end of the tube to hear your partner's heartbeat?
   • What sound do you hear when you listen? (responses will vary)
   • Ask your partner to jump up and down twenty times. Now listen to his/her heart. Do you hear a difference? (The heart is beating faster)
   • Why do you think the heart is beating faster? Possible responses: It is working harder. It is moving more blood.

   CONCEPTS

   • Heartbeats increase as activity increases.

2. 2. Students discover how a valve works by creating a valve model.
   A. Provide each student with a small paper cup (2 or 3 oz.) that has a 5mm hole in the bottom. Place a 1cm square of paper flap over the hole on the outside of the cup, taping only one side of the flap to the cup.
   
   B. Demonstrate how the students should blow into the cup so that the flap moves up and down.
   
   C. Students should practice with their model valve.

   DISCUSSION POINTS

   • What is happening to the piece of paper on the bottom of your cup? (It is moving up and down)
   • Why is the flap moving up and down? (We are blowing air through the cup.)
   • What moves through your heart? (blood)
   • In order for blood to move through your heart, it has to go through "flaps" called valves. The valves in the heart allow for blood to move through the heart.
   • Did you hear a noise when the flap of the cup was moving? When your valves allow the blood through, that is when you hear your heart beating.

   CONCEPTS

   • The sound that is heard as the heartbeat is the opening and closing of heart valves as the blood goes through.

3. 3. Mapping the movement of blood through the heart students discover how blood flows from one area to another.

   A. Explain that the heart is a muscle made up of pumps and valves. Use the diagram of a heart that shows the four chambers, the valves and the direction of blood flow, Heart Diagram #1a or Heart Diagram #1b.

   
   B. Provide Heart Diagram #2 for each child. The diagram, Heart Diagram #2, has arrows to demonstrate the flow of the blood through the heart.

   
   C. Talk about the blood being pumped through the body and moving through the valves.

   
   D. Have students to trace the flow of blood on the diagram by following the arrows, Heart Diagram #2. When they come to a valve, have the students mark the area with an X as illustrated with Heart Diagram #3.

   DISCUSSION POINTS

   • When the blood flows through the valve the valve has to do what? (open)
   • When the valves open and shut and the blood moves through, what sound is heard? (a heartbeat)

   CONCEPTS

   • The heart uses valves to pump blood through the body.

4. 4. Discuss with the class methods to keep the heart healthy through exercise.

   Remind the students that their hearts are muscles.

    

   DISCUSSION POINTS

   • What do muscles need to be strong? (exercise)
   • Ask the students to remember what their heartbeats did as they exercised. (They got faster) As your heartbeat faster your heart was working to become stronger.
   • What kind of exercise will help keep your heart healthy? Possible answers: running, walking, swimming
   • Make a list of student responses. Which of these activities do you do every day? Which do you do at least once a week? Which are your favorites?

   CONCEPTS

   • Exercise helps keep the heart healthy.

Assessment

Provide the students with a piece of poster paper or poster board. The students are to create a poster entitled: The Beat Goes On. On the poster the student is to create a free hand drawing of the heart and illustrations or cut-outs of heart healthy behaviors.

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