Posters and Working Models of the Lung

Our science lessons this week have been about understanding the respiratory system and the parts that make it up. So far we’ve covered the purpose of mucus, and the process of breathing and getting oxygen to our body parts.

To help students visualize these steps and remember them in the right order, I had each one draw and label a poster. Step one started when air entered through the nostril, and the final step was when the air reached the blood stream.

Next, using the steps they drew, I had the students write about the process in paragraph form, type it up, print it, and attach it to the lower half of their posters. Now they each have a great review tool that they can use at home, where I’ve asked them to hang the posters up.

Once these were completed, we watched an excellent video about how to put together a working scale model of the lungs.

I told students that if they wanted to make one of these working models during the weekend that I would give them extra credit. I didn’t even have to wait for the weekend though, because that evening one of my students went home and found the materials for the project. The very next day he brought it in and demonstrated how it worked to the class, explaining his process of experimenting with different kinds of bottles and sealants.

It definitely helped make the lesson more concrete for the rest of the class. Maybe next year I will incorporate this project into our regular schedule so that everyone gets the experience of making a working model.

Update
The week after writing this post, several more students brought lung models in. Since they are all so great, I wanted to make sure to include the pictures here.