Busy Blood Cells

Date: 6/9/15

Teacher: Ms. Hervey

School: Washington Elementary
School

Class: KIN 355

Equipment Used: 3 hula hoops, 25+ Beanbags,
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
3 Signs (Heart, Lungs, Body)
Time:
Targeted NASPE Standard(s): NASPE Standards #1, 2, 3, 4

Specific Objective: By the end of this lesson/activity, students will be able tell me
the purpose of a red blood cell and have a basic understanding of how blood is
pumped through the body
Concomitant Objective: Students will exercise by jogging throughout the gym
tracing the path of blood, jumping to symbolize the heart beating
Time
__30__
Seconds
__5__
Seconds

__30__
Seconds

__15___
Seconds

__1___
Minutes

Procedures Followed
Warm Up: When I say go, sprint to the center of the
gym. Go!
Transition: Circle up around center of gym

Set Induction:
Put your hand over your heart
What do you feel?
Right! You heart is working hard to pump blood all
over your body!
Learnable Piece:
At the end of this activity, you will be able to tell
me what a red blood cell does, and tell me the 4
steps of how blood pumps through the body!
Presentation of New Material/Directions:
Today, we are going to be red blood cells!
Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to
different parts of the body
How is the blood moved? (We just felt our hearts
doing this)
Blood is moved by our heart pumping it
constantly!
o FUN FACT: On average, your heart will
beat over 100,000 times per day! It is
working very hard!

Materials

_____
Seconds

___4__
Minutes

_____
Minutes

___1__
Minutes

Transition:

Activity:
Today, the gym is a human body!
We will be tracing the path of red blood cells
One hula hoop in center of gym (heart), one hula
hoop on far side of gym (lungs), one hula hoop on
near side of gym (body)
Blood starts in the heart, but it needs oxygen.
Where would blood go to get oxygen?
o Lungs (oxygen is beanbags)
Once we go to the lungs and get oxygen, we
return to the heart so we can be pumped to the
body and deliver the oxygen
Once we have dropped off the oxygen, we return
to the heart to start the cycle over again!
Thumbs up if that makes sense
We will run through the body, every time you
come to the heart, you must JUMP, because the
heart is beating to move you (the blood) around!
SAFETY
o Shoes tied
o Watch out for surroundings when moving
from hoop to hoop!

Possible Modifications:
If activity too easy, have students run through by
themselves several times (rather than just once)
If activity is too difficult, walk through with
students, discuss each station while we are there,
or just show that red blood cells carry oxygen
Lesson Review:
Did you have fun?
What do red blood cells carry?
o Oxygen
Where does the blood start?
o Heart
Where does it go next?
o Lungs
Next?
o Heart
Next?
o Body
Heart, lungs, heart, body. Great job today!