Download Unit 3 - Body Systems

Unit Overview
Content Area: Science
Unit Title: Body Systems
Unit: 3
Target Course/Grade Level: Third
Timeline: 6 weeks
Unit Summary: In this unit, the students explore the systems of the human body and their functions. It
covers the skeletal system, digestive system, nervous system, respiratory system, and the circulatory
system. The students will learn the body functions and will explore the concepts through activities and
experiments.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Art, Language Arts, Physical Education
21st century themes and skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Creativity and Innovation;
Collaboration, Teamwork and Leadership
Unit Rationale: Understanding the systems of their body and the functions of those systems forms the
foundation for further learning regarding human health and development.
Learning Targets
Standards:
5.1 Science Practices
All students will understand that science is both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, modelbuilding enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The four Science Practices
strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must acquire to be proficient in
science.
A. Understand Scientific Explanations: Students understand core concepts and principles of
science and use measurement and observation tools to assist in categorizing, representing, and
interpreting the natural and designed world.
D. Participate Productively in Science: The growth of scientific knowledge involves critique and
communication, which are social practices that are governed by a core set of values and norms.
5.3 Life Science
All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense
of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in
accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be modeled
and predicted through the use of mathematics.
A. Organization and Development: Living organisms are composed of cellular units (structures)
that carry out functions required for life. Cellular units are composed of molecules, which also
carry out biological functions.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations: Food is required for energy and building cellular
materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some organisms
obtain their food directly from other organisms.
9.1 21st –Century Life & Career Skills
All Students will demonstrate the creative, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills
needed to function successfully as both global citizens and workers in diverse ethnic and organizational
cultures
Content Statements
 Fundamental scientific concepts and principles and the links between them are more useful than
discrete facts.
 Science has unique norms for participation. These include adopting a critical stance,
demonstrating a willingness to ask questions and seek help, and developing a sense of trust and
skepticism.
 In order to determine which arguments and explanations are most persuasive, communities of
learners work collaboratively to pose, refine, and evaluate questions, investigations, models,
and theories (e.g., scientific argumentation and representation).
 Instruments of measurement can be used to safely gather accurate information for making
scientific comparisons of objects and events.
 Living organisms:
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Interact with and cause changes in their environment.
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Exchange materials (such as gases, nutrients, water, and waste) with the environment.
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Reproduce.
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Grow and develop in a predictable manner.
Essential functions required for the well-being of an organism are carried out by specialized
structures in plants and animals.
Essential functions of the human body are carried out by specialized systems:
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Digestive
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Circulatory
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Respiratory
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Nervous
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Skeletal
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Muscular
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Reproductive
Almost all energy (food) and matter can be traced to the Sun.
Brainstorming activities enhance creative and innovative thinking in individual and group goal
setting and problem solving.
Collaboration and teamwork enable individuals or groups to achieve common goals with greater
efficiency.
Effective communication skills convey intended meaning to others and assist in preventing
misunderstandings.
CPI #
Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
5.1.4.A.1
Demonstrate understanding of the interrelationships among fundamental concepts in the
physical, life, and Earth systems sciences.
5.1.4.D.1
Actively participate in discussions about student data, questions, and understandings.
5.1.4.D.2
Work collaboratively to pose, refine, and evaluate questions, investigations, models, and
theories.
5.1.4.D.3
Demonstrate how to safely use tools, instruments, and supplies.
5.3.4.A.1
Develop and use evidence-based criteria to determine if an unfamiliar object is living or
nonliving.
5.3.4.A.2
Compare and contrast structures that have similar functions in various organisms, and
explain how those functions may be carried out by structures that have different physical
appearances.
5.3.4.A.3
Describe the interactions of systems involved in carrying out everyday life activities.
5.3.4.B.1
Identify sources of energy (food) in a variety of settings (farm, zoo, ocean, forest).
9.1.4.B.1
Participate in brainstorming sessions to seek information, ideas, and strategies that foster
creative thinking.
9.1.4.C.1
Practice collaborative skills in groups, and explain how these skills assist in completing
tasks in different settings (at home, in school, and during play).
9.1.4.D.1
Use effective oral and written communication in face-to-face and online interactions and
when presenting to an audience.
9.1.4.D.2
Express needs, wants, and feelings appropriately in various situations.
Unit Essential Questions
 Why is it important to understand the way the
human body works?
 How are form and function related in biology?
 How do the structure and behavior patterns of
organisms enable them to survive?
 How do the systems of the body interact with
each other?
 How do we build and refine models that
describe and explain the natural and designed
world?
 How is scientific knowledge constructed?
 How do we communicate the results of our
investigation to others?
Unit Enduring Understandings
 Our body is made of up systems that work
together for healthful living.
 Each system of the body includes an organ that
performs an important function for living.
 Students understand core concepts and principles
of science and use measurement and observation
tools to assist in categorizing, representing and
interpreting the natural and designed world.
 Scientific knowledge builds upon itself over time.
 Scientists recognize and analyze multiple points
of view to explain the ideas and actions of
individuals and groups.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
 Each body system has its own special job, but all body systems work together to support life.
 Each body system is made of organs, which work together and depend on each other.
 Organs are made of tissues, and tissues are made of cells, which are the building blocks of life.
 Muscles make body parts move, help give shape to the body, and help protect organs.
 Muscles move bones by changing shape and pulling on the bones.
 The body has both voluntary and involuntary muscles.
 The heart pumps blood through blood vessels to all parts of the body.
 The lungs take in air, which contains oxygen that the body needs, and also gets rid of wastes.
 The stomach and small intestine change food into nutrients.
 Compare and contrast systems of the body with a school system, or sports team. ( Scott Foresman
Text book pages D 8-9)
 Describe the major organs that make up each system.(The Magic School Bus Inside the Human
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Body)
Identify the systems of the body.
Explain the function of each system.
Compare and contrast the job and appearance of muscle cells, nerve cells, and bone cells.
Use a hand lens to observe and draw skin cells. (integumentary system)
Create a working model of the muscular system and skeletal system of an ankle.
Conduct an experiment that tests nervous system reaction time.
Compare and contrast ligaments and tendons.
Compare and contrast involuntary and voluntary muscles.
Infer what is happening with the muscles in your upper leg as you straighten and bend your leg.
Make a generalization about how your heart beats when you are asleep.
Compare and contrast tissue, cartilage and muscle.
Compare and contrast tissues and cells.
Identify joints in the body.
Evidence of Learning
Summative Assessment
“You are a doctor in a hospital. You have been asked work with medical students. Your job is to set up
a human body diagram while explaining the function of each body system to your student. You will
need to place each organ correctly on the human model. Your medical student will check off your
understandings of each body system using a checklist of each function. At the end of 20 minutes you
will reverse the roles.”
Equipment needed:
Human body outline printed on 11x17 paper
Paper cut-outs of major organs and body systems (unlabeled)
Medical student checklist
Teacher Instructional Resources:
 Various nonfiction texts from school library and classroom library
 Computer and teacher made booklets, charts and diagrams
 Working and non-working models of body systems
 Informational and instructional posters
Formative Assessments
Performance Tasks - Synthesis:
1. Respiratory System – “Lung Activity Page” Students will synthesize a model of a lung by breathing
into a straw (trachea) attached to a balloon (lung). (See scanned activity)
2. Circulatory System – “Have a Heart” Students will synthesize a model of blood flow within the heart.
(See scanned activity)
3. Muscular System – “Muscle Maker” – Create a model of a muscle system. (See scanned activity.)
Or “Model of Arm” – Create a model of a muscle system using balloons (see scanned activity.)
Performance Tasks - Analysis:
4. Circulatory System – “A Heart and Lung Exercise” Students will discover that as they
exercise they need more oxygen and that the extra oxygen helps the body turn food into energy. (See
scanned activity)
5. Circulatory System - “Feel the Beat” Students discover that blood is pumped from their heart
through their blood vessels. (See scanned activity)
6. Circulatory System – “Seeing Your Pulse Clay and Straw Experiment.” Students run in place for 30
seconds, feel pulse, and create diagram.
7.Muscular System – “Muscles in Action” The students will make a model of muscle pairs to show how
the leg and foot work together. (Students will describe how the balloons (or rubber bands) contract and
expand as the foot is moved. (See scanned activity)
8.Digestive System - “The Mouth: Step One in Digestion” The students will examine the functions of
the mouth ( see scanned activity)
9.Digestive System – “The Digestive Game.” The students act out the functions (pour saliva, mash
food, push food into food pipe, suck out nutrients through a straw, push waste) of the digestive system.
(see scanned activity)
10.Respiratory system – “What’s in a Breath?” Students will examine how lungs work by taking in air
by inhaling and exhaling onto a mirror and into a cup of red cabbage juice. ( See scanned activity)
Performance Tasks - Knowledge:
11.Digestion System - “Digestion” mural (See scanned activity).
12. Skeletal System – (As is related to the knowledge, “Organs are made of tissues, and tissues are
made of cells, which are the building blocks of life.” “Knot a Bone” experiment.
(See scanned activity.)
Equipment needed:
Long red skinny balloons
Ball and socket joint
Hinge joint
Unsalted crackers
Salt
Red cabbage in jar
Stethoscope
Chicken bone
White vinegar
Bendy straws
Red/blue yarn
Large brown grocery bags
Cardboard
Fasteners
Foot/ankle pattern
Soda crackers
10 pieces of cardboard
Hole punchers
String
Empty pitchers
Brightly colored beaded necklaces
Drinking straws
Balloons
Paper towel rolls
Integration of Technology:
Use of an interactive whiteboard during all aspects of direct group instruction.
Technology Resources:
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit:
Interactive website allowing students to place body systems parts:
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/systems.html
Interactive Website allowing students to explore various body systems:
http://www.innerbody.com/image/chest1.html
United Streaming Videos:
Amazing Body Facts
The Digestive System
The Musculoskeletal System
The Nervous System
The Respiratory System
Tissues, Organs, and Organ Systems
The Heart
Blood Vessels
Opportunities for Differentiation:
 utilizing pairing and grouping of activities
 deliver instruction in a variety of modalities
 opportunities provided to express learning verbally, through written assignments, and art
 express understanding through the use of problem solving situations
Teacher Notes: