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Name
Date
Friday, March 4
The Heart
By Brandi Waters
Many people think of love when they think about their hearts. They might say, "I
love you from the bottom of my heart." Sometimes people complain of having a
broken heart when they are sad. A person who does something mean might be
described as being heartless. Actually, your heart has nothing to do with your
feelings. Your heart has a much more important job.
Your heart is a big muscle. It is about the same size as your fist. Like all muscles,
your heart can "flex." It makes a squeezing motion when it flexes. Your heart
does this over and over again. This is your heartbeat. Your heart beats to move
blood to all the parts of your body. This process is called circulation. It takes less
than a minute to move blood to all of the cells in your body! Blood is pumped to
your lungs where it picks up oxygen from the air you breathe. Next, the blood is
pumped from the heart to other parts of your body. The blood delivers oxygen to
all your cells. It also carries away waste that your cells don't need. This waste is
carbon dioxide. Your heart keeps beating and carries the blood back to your
lungs. There, your blood exchanges carbon dioxide for oxygen. When you
breathe out, or exhale, the carbon dioxide is removed from your body.
Your heart carries oxygen to all the parts of your body. This is why your heart is so important. If your heart stops
beating, your cells do not have oxygen. They stop working. Your body cannot survive for very long without
oxygen. Your heart helps to keep you alive.
The Heart
Questions
1. Your heart ______.
A. is a muscle
B. carries carbon dioxide to your cells
C. holds your emotions
D. all of the above
2. Your heart's job is to ______.
A. help you breathe
B. move blood to all the parts of your body
C. make heat to keep your body warm
D. make you strong
3. Your heart and ______ work together to supply your body with oxygen and to remove carbon dioxide from
your body.
A. brain
B. lungs
C. stomach
D. fist
Name
Date
Friday, March 4
4. The process that moves ______ to every part of your body is called circulation.
5. How big is your heart?
Explain what your heart does and how it is important in keeping you alive.
Name
Date
Monday, March 7
A Trip Through the Heart
By Jennifer Kenny
The heart is a muscle in the body that squeezes itself to send blood through the body's
blood vessels. The heart works very hard but it never tires. It can also change how fast it
pumps to meet the body's needs.
The heart is actually made of two pumps working side by side. Each pump has a small
upper chamber called an atrium. Blood flows into the atrium from the vena cava (the
main vein) or the pulmonary vein.
The ventricle is located below the atrium. It is larger than the atrium. It is the heart's
main pumping chamber. It squeezes hard during each heartbeat, causing the blood inside
it to move into the aorta (the main artery) or the pulmonary artery. From the aorta, the
blood is sent around the body. From the pulmonary artery, the blood is sent to the lungs.
Four one-way valves keep the blood flowing the right way through the heart. The tricuspid valve is on the right
side of the heart. The mitral valve is on the left side of the heart. When the ventricles squeeze, the flaps of these
valves close so blood can't flow back into the atrium.
The aortic valve and pulmonary valve are located at the entrance to the artery. After the ventricles squeeze the
blood into the arteries, the aortic valve and pulmonary valve close to stop blood flowing into the ventricles. How
amazing is that?
A Trip Through the Heart
Questions
1. The heart is actually made of ______ pumps working side by side.
A. 6
B. 2
C. 4
D. 8
2. Each side of the heart has an upper chamber called the:
A. vein
B. ventricle
C. artery
D. atrium
3. The atrium is the heart's main pumping chamber.
A. false
B. true
4. The main artery is called the:
A. aorta
B. mitral valve
C. aortic valve
D. valve
Name
Date
Monday, March 7
5. When the ventricles squeeze, the flaps of the aortic valve close so blood can't flow back into the atrium.
A. false
B. true
6. The heart can't change how fast it pumps.
A. true
B. false
Predict what would happen if a valve in the heart stopped working properly.
Name
Date
Tuesday, March 8
White Blood Cells
By Jennifer Kenny
White blood cells are one of the four main parts of blood. The other parts are the red blood cells, platelets, and
plasma. There are different kinds of white blood cells, but they all have an important job. Do you know what that
job is? White blood cells defend the body from infection and disease.
Some white blood cells go to the places in your body where you have a cut. They attack any bacteria that enter
your blood to stop them from spreading throughout your body.
Some bacteria and viruses that enter your body carry chemicals called antigens. Your white blood cells make their
own chemicals called antibodies, which will attach themselves to these antigens so that the poisons from the
bacteria or viruses become harmless. Do you know how amazing these cells are? Well, the antibodies that your
white blood cells produce only attack the antigen for which it was made. For example, an antibody for the chicken
pox virus will only attack the chicken pox virus, not the measles virus. Even more amazing is that the white blood
cells in your body remember how to make the antibody in case the germ ever enters your body again!
White blood cells are larger than red blood cells. However, there are fewer white blood cells in the human body
than red blood cells. Unlike red blood cells, white blood cells can move on their own. They move by changing their
shape. They can also change their shape to swallow up invaders.
White blood cells aren't really white. They don't really have a color and they sort of look like jellylike blobs. Don't
let that fool you, though. These colorless, jellylike blobs are like soldiers protecting our bodies by attacking and
destroying invaders!
White Blood Cells
Questions
1. What is the job of white blood cells?
A. make the blood red
B. carry oxygen
C. defend the body from infection and disease
2. Some bacteria and viruses carry chemicals called ______.
A. antibodies
B. antigens
C. antioxidants
3. Your white blood cells make chemicals called ______ so that the poison from the bacteria or virus becomes
harmless.
A. antioxidants
B. antibodies
C. antigens
4. Red blood cells are larger than white blood cells.
A. True
B. False
Name
Date
Tuesday, March 8
5. Neither white blood cells nor red blood cells can move on their own.
A. False
B. True
6. There are ______ white blood cells in your body than red blood cells.
A. more
B. fewer
7. Explain why blood cells can be compared to soldiers.
Explain what white blood cells would do if you got chicken pox.
Name
Date
Wednesday, March 9
Your Circulatory System
By Cindy Grigg
Your circulatory (say: SIR-kyuh-luh-tohr-ee) system has three parts. The main
part is your heart. Your blood is another part. Your blood vessels are the third part.
Your circulatory system works like a delivery truck. It takes blood to all parts of
your body. Your body is made up of tiny cells. The blood carries things to your cells
that they need. Then your blood picks up the waste products from the cells. These are
the things that your cells don't need.
Your heart is an organ inside your chest. It is about the same size and shape as your
fist. It is a muscle. The heart's job is to pump your blood. The blood's job is to move
the things your body needs. The blood goes to each little cell that makes up your body.
Oxygen is a gas in the air you breathe. You must have oxygen to live. Blood takes
oxygen to each part of your body. Blood also takes food and other things your body
needs to your cells.
The blood picks up carbon dioxide from the cells. Carbon dioxide is sort of like trash
that you don't need. So your blood takes out the trash. It takes carbon dioxide to the heart. From there it goes
back to the lungs. Your lungs breathe out the carbon dioxide you don't need. Your lungs take in the oxygen that
you do need. In the lungs, your blood picks up fresh oxygen.
Your heart beats all the time. You don't even have to think about it. It keeps your blood pumping even when
you are asleep. Your blood carries things to your cells that they need. Your blood picks up the waste products
from the cells. Your blood vessels carry blood to all parts of your body. Take good care of your heart!
Your Circulatory System
Questions
1. The three parts of the circulatory system are the ______, the ______, and the ______ ______.
2. Your heart is:
A. a body system
B. an organ
3. Your heart is about the same size as which other part of your body?
A. your foot
B. your fist
4. What is the blood's job?
A. to pump
B. to move the things your body needs
Name
Date
Wednesday, March 9
5. What is the heart's job?
A. to pump your blood
B. to get rid of oxygen
What is the job of the circulatory system? Please write a paragraph and explain.
Name
Date
Thursday, March 10
Red Blood Cells
By Brandi Waters
Blood is the reason for the circulatory system. Your heart, veins, and arteries work
to keep blood moving throughout your body. Blood may look like a simple red
liquid, but it is made up of several different parts. More than half the volume of
your blood is made up of a golden colored liquid called plasma. Your blood gets its
deep red color from red blood cells. They make up most of the remaining volume of
your blood.
Red blood cells are red because of a molecule called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin
contains iron. The iron allows the red blood cell to carry gases like oxygen and
carbon dioxide. Your heart pumps blood throughout your body. When blood flows
to the lungs, oxygen binds to the hemoglobin in red blood cells. Your heart keeps
pumping and your blood moves to other parts of your body. Red blood cells deliver
oxygen to your cells. They also pick up carbon dioxide, a waste gas made by your
cells. Your blood circulates all through your body and returns to your lungs. The
carbon dioxide is released into your lungs and more oxygen is picked up.
Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow that fills the inside of your bones. New red blood cells are being
made constantly. This is because the life of a red blood cell is very short. They only last about four months before
they are worn out and die.
Red Blood Cells
Questions
1. ______ is/are a part of the circulatory system.
A. Veins
B. Your heart
C. Arteries
D. all of the above
2. More than half the volume of your blood is made up of ______.
A. red blood cells
B. plasma
C. iron
D. hemoglobin
3. ______ makes red blood cells red.
Name
Date
Thursday, March 10
4. The ______ in hemoglobin allows red blood cells to carry gases to and from the lungs.
A. oxygen
B. carbon dioxide
C. iron
D. all of the above
5. Where are red blood cells made?
Use what you have learned about red blood cells to explain why some people get dizzy or faint after donating
blood.