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5th Grade Unit: Heart Disease
 Lesson plan Worksheet
The presenter dissects a real sheep heart and the students investigate heart models and animal hearts. Then the presenter shows various objects and demonstrates various household pumps to show how the heart works. Lesson 2: The Circulatory SystemLesson plan Worksheet A
Worksheet B
Students walk around a large map of the heart and deliver oxygen to the body and carbon dioxide to the lungs as they learn the names of blood vessels and heart parts. They trace the path of blood through the circulatory system and the heart using red and blue crayons on a series of schematic diagrams. Lesson 3: Blood PressureLesson plan Worksheet
A healthcare professional or a researcher who specializes in the heart tells the class about his or her work, the danger of high blood pressure, and how it can be prevented. The presenter and guest show the class how to measure blood pressure with manual blood pressure monitors. The students work in pairs taking each other’s blood pressure. Finally, the class discusses the health effects of high blood pressure. Lesson 4: Heart Rate and ExerciseLesson plan Worksheet
The students learn how to measure heart rate, then do a controlled experiment testing the effect of exercise on heart rate. The presenter leads the students through each step of the scientific process. The students then plan their own experiments that they will conduct the following week. Lesson 5: Conducting a Heart Experiment Students conduct experiments that they planned during the previous class.
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The heart lessons for the 5th grade focus on understanding the heart in the context of the circulatory system and how blood pressure, heart rate, and exercise affect the health of the heart. Students design and conduct their own experiments and learn how to take their blood pressure.