Digestive System Travel Brochure
Problem: How would you promote the activities that take place within the digestive system? What is the function of each part in this system?
Materials
· Three chart papers folded
· Writing materials (pencil, pen, colored pencils, etc.)
· Three pieces of poster board
Procedure
1. In groups of two, design a brochure and advertise the digestive system as if it were a tourist attraction.
2. When you design your brochure, make sure you accurately present the digestive system.
3. Use drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of actual organs, pictures from magazines, journals, or books to help in your advertisement of this system. Let your imagination run WILD!
4. You are to give your digestive system tour a name.
5. Your brochure must include the following vocabulary: mouth, esophagus, epiglottis, stomach, pepsin, small intestine, liver, gall bladder, bile, large intestine, peristalsis, villi. Use the “Digestion in Humans” article if you need help.
6. Each group will orally present its brochure to the class.
Name ______Score ______
The Cardiac 100
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Problem: What eight-stage path does a single drop of blood follow through the heart from the Vena Cava to the Aorta?
Background: You are a blood vessel in the human body. You have been personally assigned the task of developing the Cardiac 100 race course. This is a race ran by all the blood in the body daily. You’re getting older (84 hours old) and you must teach the new blood cells how to get around the heart before you pass on. So you must make a map (on paper).
Vena cava (inferior & superior)Aorta (out of the body)
Materials
· 1 8½ x 11 unlined sheet of paper
· 1 11 x 17 sheet of paper
· Assorted color pencils
· Rulers
· Protractors.
Procedures
1. With the first piece of paper, you must make a miniature drawing of your race course. Your race course represents the passage of blood through the heart. Remember that your race course has eight stages that the participants (blood) must pass through. The starting line is the vena cava and the finish line is the aorta.
2. Using the 11 x 17 sheet of paper, enlarge your mini-drawing to a full-scale diagram of your race course on the paper.
3. Make it colorful. The quality (neatness, attention to detail) of this drawing race course will reflect the grade of this activity. Take your time! (With a paperclip, attach this sheet to your drawing.)
How the blood flows through the heart
The human heart is a hollow, pear-shaped organ about the size of a fist. The heart is made of muscle that rhythmically contracts, or beats, pumping blood throughout the body. Oxygen-poor blood from the body enters the heart from two large blood vessels, the inferior vena cava and the superior vena cava, and collects in the right atrium. When the atrium fills, it contracts, and blood passes through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. When the ventricle becomes full, it starts to contract, and the tricuspid valve closes to prevent blood from moving back into the atrium. As the right ventricle contracts, it forces blood into the pulmonary artery, which carries blood to the lungs to pick up fresh oxygen. When blood exits the right ventricle, the ventricle relaxes and the pulmonary valve shuts, preventing blood from passing back into the ventricle. Blood returning from the lungs to the heart collects in the left atrium. When this chamber contracts, blood flows through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. The left ventricle fills and begins to contract, and the mitral valve between the two chambers closes. In the final phase of blood flow through the heart, the left ventricle contracts and forces blood into the aorta. After the blood in the left ventricle has been forced out, the ventricle begins to relax, and the aortic valve at the opening of the aorta closes.
The Nervous Security System
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Problem: How does the nervous system relate to a modern day security system? What does each part exactly relate to?
Hypothesis:
Materials
· 11x17 paper
· Colored pencils
· Nervous system reference
Procedure
1. In groups of two, you will design brochures and advertise what you will call “The Nervous Security System.”
2. The key feature is to give an overall sense of the organization and function of the nervous system. Tell how it acts as security system complete with sensors that tell the body there is something wrong. You may use drawings, computer graphics, and photographs of actual organs, pictures from magazines, journals, or books to help in your advertisement of each system. Let your imagination run WILD!
3. You are to give your nervous security system a name.
4. Your brochure must include the following vocabulary: cell body, dendrites, neuron, axon, impulse, central nervous system, cerebellum, brain stem, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
5. Each group will orally present its brochure to the class.
Definition of Terms
Axon – The long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron.
Brain Stem - Basic functions such as heart rate and breathing are controlled here.
Cell Body – The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus and other cell organelles.
Central Nervous System – Made up of the brain and spinal cord. It controls all body and thought processes.
Cerebellum – The part of the brain concerned with the coordination of muscles and the maintenance of bodily equilibrium.
Dendrites - Short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron.
Impulse – The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber.
Neuron - A cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses.
Peripheral Nervous System - The section of the nervous system lying outside the brain and spinal cord.
Spinal Cord – A bundle of nerves that carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body; runs down the back.
The Nervous Security System Rubric
This rubric covers the following part of the Utah 7th Grade Core Curriculum:
STANDARD III: Students will understand that the organs in an organism are made of cells that have structures and perform specific life functions.
Objective 2: Identify and describe the function and interdependence of various organs and tissues.
d. Relate the structure of an organ to its component parts and the larger system
of which it is a part.
Category / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1Content - Accuracy / All facts in the brochure are accurate. / 99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. / 89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. / Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Knowledge Gained / All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. / Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.
Attractiveness & Organization / The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information. / The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information. / The brochure has well-organized information. / The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.