MarcoPolo
Does the Body Good
The human body is a complicated machine
that requires all systems, including muscular-skeletal, respiratory, digestive,
nervous and circulatory, to function as an integrated unit. This month,
explore how to keep your body healthy with proper nutrition, and learn
about the effects of aging and disease on society. MarcoPolo has
collected several robust lessons and resources on human body systems, nutrition,
disease and aging. Use the warm-up activities below to introduce health
and nutrition to your students, then scroll down for links to more lessons
and resources.
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| Warm-up Activities |
Image courtesy of Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. |
1.
Doctors and veterinarians are interested in "cardiac output" -- a measure
of the rate of blood flow being pumped by the heart. Measurement of cardiac
output is a common procedure in hospitals.
What is your cardiac output at rest? How is it different after exercise? What is your ideal cardiac output for your age group? Why is it different for adults than for teenagers? Have students design a research questionnaire and interview local doctors or veterinarians to see how they use cardiac output measurements to assist them in their diagnostic process. Students can compile their results on a spreadsheet and share with the class. Ask some of the doctors or veterinarians to visit your classroom as "guest experts" during the data analysis stage of the Illuminations lesson, below. Learn more about cardiac output in "Put the Heart into Mathematics: Cardiac Output, Rates of Change and Accumulation" (Grades 9-12), Illuminations, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. |
Image of Food Guide Pyramid courtesy of USDA and DHHS.* |
2.
In 1992, the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced the Food Guide Pyramid
to illustrate dietary guidelines for a complete and healthy diet. The pyramid
shows the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for nutrients that are essential
for
most Americans ages two and older.
What are the major food groups in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid? What is the RDA for each group? How does your daily diet match the recommended levels for each food group? What changes can you make to create a healthier diet? Have students create and design "healthy food tips" placemats for the school cafeteria. Students can include a food pyramid or other nutrition facts and drawings from their digestive system studies. The placemats can be copied and distributed to the entire student body at lunchtime. *Download a larger and more detailed image of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid at http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/pyramid.htm. Discuss healthy eating habits in "Nutrition 1: Food and the Digestive System" (Grades 3-5), Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
(c) Microsoft Design Gallery Live |
3.
The human body contains five major systems: muscular-skeletal, respiratory,
digestive, nervous and circulatory. These systems work together to perform
all body functions, including breathing, running, hiccupping, thinking
and eating.
What are the basic components of each system? How do they interact with each other to create a functioning system? How do the systems "talk" to each other to create a functioning body? Ask students to imagine they are inside the human body and are the commander of a particular system, responsible for making sure it functions properly. How would they know if an area is not doing its assigned job? How would a breakdown affect the system or the whole body? As commanders of a system, what would your students do to fix the problem and ensure the body is working normally? Brush up on your knowledge of the five major systems in "Human Physiology -- Systems of the Body" (Grades 5-8), ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. |
How do people become infected with HIV? How do trade and other economic factors, such as people traveling for work and vacations, affect the spread of HIV? What are the most recent advancements in HIV prevention, treatment and cures?
Have students create a historical fact sheet and map showing the global spread of HIV, including the historical background and significance of the spread of HIV, how and where the disease has spread over time, and the significant geographic and economic factors that may have contributed to the growth of the problem.
Learn more about the global spread of HIV in "The Spread of AIDS" (Grades 9-12), Xpeditions, National Geographic Society.
When your stomach growls, what does your body want? (It wants to eat.) When your mouth feels dry, what do you want? (Something to drink.) When your body feels cold, what do you want? (Warm clothes to wear.) What other things do you want?
Cut out and display pictures of different types of foods and drinks, and other non-food items, such as clothing, toys or new school supplies. Ask students to choose the items they would want if they were hungry or thirsty. What items would they want if they were going to school? What if they were going outside to play? Ask students where they can purchase these items.
Find out what your hungry stomach wants
in "Rumble,
Grumble, Gurgle, Roar" (Grades K-2), EconEdLink, National Council
on Economic Education.
| Featured Lessons |
"Pen and Ink Technique:
Fruit" (Grade 1)
ARTSEDGE,
Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28ae_fruit.cfm
Students describe the color, shape and
texture of different fruits, and use the pen and ink technique to paint
the fruit.
"Sculpture: Exploring
Pop Art: Creating 'Food' Sculptures" (Grades 3-4)
ARTSEDGE,
Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28ae_sculptures.cfm
Students work in groups to create clay
Pop Art sculptures of different foods, dishes and utensils.
"Human Physiology
-- Systems of the Body" (Grades 5-8)
ARTSEDGE,
Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28ae_body.cfm
In this three-part curriculum unit, students
use dance and movement to communicate ways the body's systems work and
interact.
"Rumble, Grumble,
Gurgle, Roar" (Grades K-2)
EconEdLink, National Council on Economic
Education
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28econ_roar.cfm
In this introductory economics lesson,
students learn that everyone has wants by reading a story about a penguin
who is hungry for food.
"How Long Is Your
Life?" (Grades 9-12)
EconEdLink, National Council on Economic
Education
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28econ_life.cfm
Students use a timeline to look at their
future beyond where they will be going to college or what job they think
they will have.
"Put the Heart
into Mathematics: Cardiac Output, Rates of Change and Accumulation" (Grades
9-12)
Illuminations, National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28ill_heart.cfm
Students use a laboratory setting to measure
the amount of blood being pumped by a heart.
"Using Graphs,
Equations and Tables to Investigate the Elimination of Medicine from the
Body" (Grades 9-12)
Illuminations, National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28ill_graphs.cfm
Students use iteration, recursion and
algebra to model and analyze the changing amount of medicine in an athlete's
body.
"Physical Health"
(Grades K-2)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_health.cfm
Students identify how germs are spread,
the diseases they can cause, and how hand washing can help prevent the
spread of germs.
"Nutrition 1:
Food and the Digestive System" (Grades 3-5)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_food.cfm
Students learn about the digestive system,
including where nutrients come from, their different forms, and their importance
for particular tasks in the body.
"Aging 1: The
Science of Aging" (Grades 6-8)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_aging.cfm
Students discuss the concept of aging
and learn how scientists study human aging.
"Anthrax Attacks"
(Grades 6-8)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_anthrax.cfm
Students develop an understanding about
Anthrax -- how it is transmitted and its effects on the body.
"Coping with Changes"
(Grades 6-8)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_changes.cfm
Students learn how the nervous system
helps the body learn, remember and cope with changes in the environment.
"What's Bugging
You?" (Grades 6-8)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_bugging.cfm
Students focus on microorganisms and the
implications food-borne illness has on human health.
"What Happens
in the First Nine Months?" (Grades 6-8)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_months.cfm
Students explore the stages of human development
during pregnancy.
"The Allergy Chronicles"
(Grades 9-12)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_allergy.cfm
Students explore how the immune system
functions in a variety of allergic reactions.
"Cancer Risks"
(Grades 9-12)
Science NetLinks, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28sci_cancer.cfm
Students discover environmental and hereditary
factors that increase the chance of developing cancer.
"Geographic Diffusion
of Disease: The Flu Pandemic of 1918-19" (Grades 9-12)
Xpeditions, National Geographic Society
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28xp_flu.cfm
Students focus on the geographic spread
of the influenza pandemic of 1918-19.
"The Spread of
AIDS" (Grades 9-12)
Xpeditions, National Geographic Society
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/28xp_spread.cfm
Students research the spread of AIDS,
and report on how this problem has been affected by changes in global transportation
and trade.
BBC: Human Body
Human Body Adventure
America's Story:
Elizabeth Blackwell
History Matters:
"The Poisonous Occupation" by Alice Hamilton
Epidemic Proportions
DrKoop.com
Healthwindows
Jr.
KidsHealth
Snapshots of Science
and Medicine
Library of Congress:
Country Studies
National Geographic
News: "Anthrax, Smallpox, Plague: Reborn as Bioweapons?"
Search for more lessons
and resources
Reflections on Teaching are activities designed to encourage thinking and discussion about teaching and learning mathematics. Most of these Reflection activities revolve around video vignettes of teachers teaching or students learning mathematics. Reflections are available for all grade levels. Reflections on
Teaching
|
Catch up with the MarcoGram August 2002: Let Freedom Ring July 2002: Dinosaurs, Pyramids and Artifacts, Oh My! June 2002: Outer Space: Far Out
Find more MarcoPolo lessons Explore the current list of new Partner lessons by visiting MP Now! on the MarcoPolo home page. Use the MarcoPolo search engine to find lessons by topic, keyword, grade level or Partner.
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