Week 2: September 7 - September 11

This week is all about the Human Body.

This week you will see lessons divided by Session A and Session B. Session A represents grades 3 to 5. Session B represents grades 6 to 8. If you are in an earlier grade level but you're confident you can achieve more by participating in Session B, you are welcome to do so.

“What are the systems of the body? How do we breathe or run? We can answer all of these questions and more this week as we learn about our bodies.”

WHAT ARE THE 5 MAIN BODY SYSTEMS?

Look up the musculoskeletal, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems. Which system is the framing for the body? What about the system that brings oxygen to the lungs and other organs? There are more than 5 systems and all of the systems of the body interact with other bodily systems in some way. These systems are called "organ systems" because organ systems are made from groups of organs that are working together to serve the body in a specific way. You can learn about the organ systems here. Use the printout in the Files session of the FB page and/website to map out the 5 major systems of the body.

We can read about the 5 main body systems from credible websites lending in .edu, .gov, and other reputable peer reviewed sources. When searching for information online it is like a jungle. There are people who make websites just to confuse others and put forth misinformation. Misinformation means wrong information. One way to check if a website is a credible source (accurate source) of information, is to look at the TLD (top level domain). When you see a dot (.) and then the ending (com, edu, gov, org) you are getting a little more information about the website. For example, .com means "commercial" and .org means organization.

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Session A:

Queen or King of Hearts

What is the Heart? It is a blood pump. Examine the four chambers of the heart and some of their names. Some words you may hear today are in our vocabulary list above. Practice reading the words and define them. Each of the four chambers of the heart serve a specific purpose to move oxygen through our bodies. Create a hydro pump to simulate the heart's function as a pump for the body using simple tools from around the house. You will need:

wide mouth jar
large balloon
2 flexible drinking straws
wooden skewer
scissors
water
tape
large pan or sink

Share pictures of yourself completing the steps of this project and your final product.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Session A:

How Now? Heart Health.

Did you like the hydro- heart pump simulator project? What did you learn from it?

It's good to know how our hearts work. Today, we will learn about some ways we can keep our hearts working optimally. Optimally means at its best.

You may see foods advertised as healthy for the heart or hear people speaking about exercising to keep their hearts healthy. All of these are great ways to help your heart work optimally. What you may not have heard yet, is how those things actually help the heart. Certain vitamins play an important role in keeping your brain and heart healthy. The right vitamins can improve cognitive function, protect your brain, help ward off memory loss, improve blood pressure and reduce your risk for stroke and heart disease.

Ultimately, food is your best source of vitamins.

Create a heart healthy meal. Write down a recipe or a menu with a meal that focuses on heart health. What makes this meal healthier for your heart? List the vitamins and minerals you can find in the foods of your dish. With permission, make this meal with your family. Was it delicious?

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Session A

Heart Rate

Your heart rate is the amount of times your heart pumps blood out of its chambers. Younger people usually have faster heart rates because the blood goes out and supplies oxygen to a much smaller body than an adult. When you were about 2 years old your heart rate was probably around 80 to 130 beats per minute. At 7 to 9 years old, children's heart rate averages around 70 to 110 beats per minute. Preteens and adults with healthy heart rates are about 60 to 100 beats per minute.

You can check your heart rate very easily, even without a stethoscope. place your pointer finger and middle finger on your wrist. There is a vessel inside your wrist called the radial artery. You can find this artery by easing your two fingers down from your thumb to a rubbery feeling line inside the wrist. Next to this rubbery body part (tendon) is a small dimple. When you get to the dimple, be very still. Don't move. You will feel your heart rate reflected as a "pulse". Count the number of times you feel your pulse throb inside your wrist for 15 seconds. Whatever number you come up with in 15 seconds should be multiplied by 4. This is your heart rate measured in beats per minute (bpm).

You will notice that your heart rate is faster if you were moving a lot before you checked your heart rate. This is your active heart rate/ Your heart is working harder and sending blood all over to bring oxygen to the cells in other parts of the body. To find your resting heart rate, it is best to sit for twenty minutes before checking.

Now check your heart rate. How different is your resting heart rate compared to your active heart rate? How different is your heart rate from your siblings? Your parents? Create a heart rate diary and keep track of your heart rate over the next 5 days.