Lesson Topic: Human body organs and systems working together
Learning Area(s):
Science: Living Things
English: Talking and Listening
Unit Aim or Outcome:
Science:
LT S2.3 Identifies and describes the function of living things and ways in which living things interact with other living things and their environment
Identify and describe the structure and function of living things
English:
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
explains simple phenomena briefly (how body systems work)
participates in class discussions on a variety of topics (systems of the human body)
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
listens to spoken presentations and responds appropriately
acts as reporter for group, summarising the main points of a discussion.
S2.5 Reads independently a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.
obtains information from selected Internet/computer sites and other computer graphics and texts.
Lesson Outcome: To introduce the Science/English unit topic “Exploring the Human Body” and develop an understanding that different organs in the body are part of different body systems which work both independently and together to form a functioning human body. Students’ prior knowledge of human body organs will also be established with a focus on the use of descriptive language (adjectives).
Resources:
whiteboard, markers
real image of a human heart on the board/ visualiser/ overhead projector, hidden under paper.
Lesson Outline Introduction: (10 minutes) Have students sitting together on the floor in front of the hidden image of a human heart on the board/ visualiser/ overhead projector and engage students' interest by saying: Today we will begin a fun and "gutsy" new topic for this term. To give you a clue about what this topic is about, I am going to show you an image of something, a little bit at a time, and you have to guess what it is.
Show a small portion of an unlabeled image of a real human heart as a teaser to the students, with the majority of the image covered by paper. Have students volunteer to guess and explain what they think they see to the rest of the class. Encourage students to apply their prior knowledge of descriptive language in their explanations. Keep revealing more and more of the image, pausing while drawing out students' ideas until the entire image is exposed.
Ask students: Have you ever seen a picture or diagram of a real human heart before?Is it anything like the two-dimensional 'love hearts' that we usually see or draw? Draw a 'love heart' on the board. Ask: What makes the human heart different to the one I've just drawn? Why does it need to be different? (So it can pump blood around our bodies and help us stay alive). Why do you think I'm showing you a heart? What do you think our topic will be about?
Clarify the unit topic of "Exploring the Human Body" and establish that because this topic is so interesting and because the students are clever enough to handle it, this unit will integrate elements of two Key Learning Areas: English and Science & Technology. Write 'heart' on the board and briefly point out unusual spelling. Ask student to think of other important organs of the human body and add these to the board. Briefly elicit and add to students' prior understanding of the function of each organ identified (e.g. brain: controls what we do, lungs: help us breath, stomach: breaks down food, small and large intestines: absorb food and water and remove waste, kidneys- separate waste from the blood, liver- break down fats etc).
Teaching strategy/LearningActivity (35 minutes):
Groups: Drawing the human body (10 minutes): Teacher will…
Inform students that they will be working in groups for 10 minutes to illustrate what they already know about the position and appearance of internal human organs by first drawing an outline of a human body. Split the class into groups of 4 or 5 and have groups spread out throughout the classroom. Encourage students to think about the size and colour of each organ. If groups finish early, have them draw and label any other parts of the human body they know of onto their diagram (e.g. spinal cord, ribs, skull, esophagus, veins, arteries, muscles, eyes, nose, ears, tongue etc). Once all groups have finished, have students compare their group's diagram to that of other groups and identify any major similarities and differences using adjectives to justify their observations. Place the diagrams aside and inform students that they will look back on them at the end of the lesson to assess the accuracy of their group's representation of the human body.
Whole Class: Sorting out systems (10 minutes): Teacher will…
Gather students back together on the floor in front of the board and initiate the understanding that each organ affects and is affected by other organs. Hold up an apple (or some other healthy snack) and ask students: If I were going to eat this apple, what parts of my body would I use? Have students discuss the body parts we use when biting, chewing, swallowing, and digesting an apple. Create a chart on the board to record students' ideas including the following categories: body parts for biting, chewing, swallowing and digesting.
Ask: How do the different parts work together? (Each part plays a special role, so once one task is achieved, then the next part can perform it's role.) What happens if one of the parts is missing? (e.g. if the teeth were missing, then it would be difficult if not impossible to chew some foods, and if you couldn't chew something large to get it small enough to pass through the esophagus, then you could choke.) What is the body system or process we have just been talking about? (Digestion).
Write 'system' on the board, ask students what they think it means and clarify that it is a number of different parts working together to make something happen or function. Offer some examples of different systems (e.g. a bicycle, a computer, a school) and have students identify some parts that work together in those systems (e.g. some parts needed for a bicycle to work properly are two wheels, gears, brakes, foot pedals, and handles.). Ask students to identify what other body systems they know of and record these on the board as table. Highlight that the body systems treated in this lesson are the digestive, respiratory/circulatory, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. Ask students to identify the primary function of each system, before writing a brief description in the table. Explain to students that all the information they will learn about the human body throughout this unit will help them later this term when they combine their English and Science knowledge to create their own little documentary video about one of the systems in the body.
Pairs: 'All Systems Go!' online activity (15 minutes): Teacher will…
Inform students that they will work together in pairs for 10 minutes to share a computer and play the 'All Systems Go!' game to learn more about the body systems identified and how these systems need to work together for a body to function. Explain: In this activity, Arnold is missing organs from four major body systems we've identified. It’s your job to put them back. In the activity screen, you’ll see an outline of Arnold’s body on the left, and a whole bunch of organs on the right. When you click the 'Play' button, the name of an organ system will appear at the bottom of the screen. Your job is to get all of the organs that belong in that system into the body. But be careful! If you drag in an organ that doesn’t belong, all the organs pop out, and you have to start over!
Once pairs have explored the website for 10 minutes, discuss how this resource effectively uses three different modes (written text, visuals and sound) to create meaning. Explain to students that they should keep this mind when they make their own multimodal video of a body system at the end of the unit.
Students will…
Students in each group work together to draw a rough outline of a human body on the butcher's paper provided. Each student discusses with their group the correct position of at least one organ on the board before drawing and labeling it into their group diagram with textas/crayons.
Once finished, students walk around and report to the class any observations of major differences/similarities between diagrams using descriptive language.
Students will…
Discuss body parts used in initial stages of digestion and contribute to class table on board.
Propose answers to questions posed by teacher
Identify the function of different body systems they know of.
Students will…
Listen to instructions and complete the interactive activity. Students in each pair take turns to discuss and locate matching organs and systems until all pairs complete the activity. Pairs who finish early click "Learn more" and take turns to read aloud the interesting and student-oriented information about body systems.
Concluding strategy: (15 minutes) Have students return to their original butcher's paper groups and hand them back their group diagrams. Based on what they learned from the 'All Systems Go!' activity, have each group consolidate and report to the rest of the class a brief assessment of how accurate they think their diagram is, describing (using adjectives) the things they would change in their diagram and why. Model an example: I would change the drawing of the large intestine in my group’s diagram so that it its shape is more long and narrow.
As a final assessment, have each group take turns to answer a question about body systems:
What body system helps humans turn the food they eat into energy? (Digestive)
What body system helps humans breathe? (Respiratory)
What body system controls other body systems? (Nervous)
What body system provides structure for the body? (Skeletal)
What body system allows us to move? (Muscular)
What body system includes a transport system (blood) and a pump (the heart) that keeps the transport system moving? (Circulatory)
Can you think of two body systems that work together? (Examples include the respiratory and circulatory, muscular and skeletal, digestive and circulatory, and nervous and any other system.)
What part of the nervous system is essential for it to work properly? (Brain)
What event could disrupt one or more body systems? (Injury or disease could disrupt one or more body systems.)
What parts of the respiratory system would need to be blocked to not allow any air into this system? (The mouth, nose, or trachea.)
Conclude with a discussion of how organs within a system work together to make that system function, and in turn, all systems function together to make the human body function.
Assessment:
observe student participation in group work and pair work tasks
collect students' prior knowledge from butcher's paper drawings and determine how much they have gained from the lesson by listening to each group's oral assessment of their diagrams to the class.
listen to student/group responses to teacher questions throughout the lesson and especially during concluding quiz.
Any special considerations or contingency plans:
Group/pair students with special needs or language difficulties with more capable students to promote peer assistance
Self-reflection
Were students engaged throughout the lesson/tasks?
Did the tasks cater for students'' abilities?
Were the learning indicators/goals/outcomes achieved?
Was each part of the lesson completed in the allocated time frames?
How could this lesson improve/ what issues or misconceptions need to be addressed?
EXPLORING THE HUMAN BODY
Science & Technology
Stage 2, Year 4
1 of 10
Human body organs and systems working together
Science:
English:
To introduce the Science/English unit topic “Exploring the Human Body” and develop an understanding that different organs in the body are part of different body systems which work both independently and together to form a functioning human body. Students’ prior knowledge of human body organs will also be established with a focus on the use of descriptive language (adjectives).
Introduction: (10 minutes)
Have students sitting together on the floor in front of the hidden image of a human heart on the board/ visualiser/ overhead projector and engage students' interest by saying:
Today we will begin a fun and "gutsy" new topic for this term. To give you a clue about what this topic is about, I am going to show you an image of something, a little bit at a time, and you have to guess what it is.
Show a small portion of an unlabeled image of a real human heart as a teaser to the students, with the majority of the image covered by paper. Have students volunteer to guess and explain what they think they see to the rest of the class. Encourage students to apply their prior knowledge of descriptive language in their explanations. Keep revealing more and more of the image, pausing while drawing out students' ideas until the entire image is exposed.
Ask students: Have you ever seen a picture or diagram of a real human heart before? Is it anything like the two-dimensional 'love hearts' that we usually see or draw? Draw a 'love heart' on the board. Ask: What makes the human heart different to the one I've just drawn? Why does it need to be different? (So it can pump blood around our bodies and help us stay alive). Why do you think I'm showing you a heart? What do you think our topic will be about?
Clarify the unit topic of "Exploring the Human Body" and establish that because this topic is so interesting and because the students are clever enough to handle it, this unit will integrate elements of two Key Learning Areas: English and Science & Technology. Write 'heart' on the board and briefly point out unusual spelling. Ask student to think of other important organs of the human body and add these to the board. Briefly elicit and add to students' prior understanding of the function of each organ identified (e.g. brain: controls what we do, lungs: help us breath, stomach: breaks down food, small and large intestines: absorb food and water and remove waste, kidneys- separate waste from the blood, liver- break down fats etc).
Teaching strategy/Learning Activity (35 minutes):
Teacher will…
Inform students that they will be working in groups for 10 minutes to illustrate what they already know about the position and appearance of internal human organs by first drawing an outline of a human body. Split the class into groups of 4 or 5 and have groups spread out throughout the classroom. Encourage students to think about the size and colour of each organ. If groups finish early, have them draw and label any other parts of the human body they know of onto their diagram (e.g. spinal cord, ribs, skull, esophagus, veins, arteries, muscles, eyes, nose, ears, tongue etc). Once all groups have finished, have students compare their group's diagram to that of other groups and identify any major similarities and differences using adjectives to justify their observations. Place the diagrams aside and inform students that they will look back on them at the end of the lesson to assess the accuracy of their group's representation of the human body.
Whole Class: Sorting out systems (10 minutes):
Teacher will…
Gather students back together on the floor in front of the board and initiate the understanding that each organ affects and is affected by other organs. Hold up an apple (or some other healthy snack) and ask students: If I were going to eat this apple, what parts of my body would I use? Have students discuss the body parts we use when biting, chewing, swallowing, and digesting an apple. Create a chart on the board to record students' ideas including the following categories: body parts for biting, chewing, swallowing and digesting.
Ask: How do the different parts work together? (Each part plays a special role, so once one task is achieved, then the next part can perform it's role.) What happens if one of the parts is missing? (e.g. if the teeth were missing, then it would be difficult if not impossible to chew some foods, and if you couldn't chew something large to get it small enough to pass through the esophagus, then you could choke.) What is the body system or process we have just been talking about? (Digestion).
Write 'system' on the board, ask students what they think it means and clarify that it is a number of different parts working together to make something happen or function. Offer some examples of different systems (e.g. a bicycle, a computer, a school) and have students identify some parts that work together in those systems (e.g. some parts needed for a bicycle to work properly are two wheels, gears, brakes, foot pedals, and handles.). Ask students to identify what other body systems they know of and record these on the board as table. Highlight that the body systems treated in this lesson are the digestive, respiratory/circulatory, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. Ask students to identify the primary function of each system, before writing a brief description in the table. Explain to students that all the information they will learn about the human body throughout this unit will help them later this term when they combine their English and Science knowledge to create their own little documentary video about one of the systems in the body.
Pairs: 'All Systems Go!' online activity (15 minutes):
Teacher will…
Inform students that they will work together in pairs for 10 minutes to share a computer and play the 'All Systems Go!' game to learn more about the body systems identified and how these systems need to work together for a body to function. Explain: In this activity, Arnold is missing organs from four major body systems we've identified. It’s your job to put them back. In the activity screen, you’ll see an outline of Arnold’s body on the left, and a whole bunch of organs on the right. When you click the 'Play' button, the name of an organ system will appear at the bottom of the screen. Your job is to get all of the organs that belong in that system into the body. But be careful! If you drag in an organ that doesn’t belong, all the organs pop out, and you have to start over!
Once pairs have explored the website for 10 minutes, discuss how this resource effectively uses three different modes (written text, visuals and sound) to create meaning. Explain to students that they should keep this mind when they make their own multimodal video of a body system at the end of the unit.
Students will…
Students in each group work together to draw a rough outline of a human body on the butcher's paper provided. Each student discusses with their group the correct position of at least one organ on the board before drawing and labeling it into their group diagram with textas/crayons.
Once finished, students walk around and report to the class any observations of major differences/similarities between diagrams using descriptive language.
Students will…
Discuss body parts used in initial stages of digestion and contribute to class table on board.
Propose answers to questions posed by teacher
Identify the function of different body systems they know of.
Students will…
Listen to instructions and complete the interactive activity. Students in each pair take turns to discuss and locate matching organs and systems until all pairs complete the activity. Pairs who finish early click "Learn more" and take turns to read aloud the interesting and student-oriented information about body systems.
Have students return to their original butcher's paper groups and hand them back their group diagrams. Based on what they learned from the 'All Systems Go!' activity, have each group consolidate and report to the rest of the class a brief assessment of how accurate they think their diagram is, describing (using adjectives) the things they would change in their diagram and why. Model an example: I would change the drawing of the large intestine in my group’s diagram so that it its shape is more long and narrow.
As a final assessment, have each group take turns to answer a question about body systems:
Conclude with a discussion of how organs within a system work together to make that system function, and in turn, all systems function together to make the human body function.