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Body Systems—Digestion, Breathing & Circulation (Grades 6•7•8)
Use Experiments and Activities to teach about Digestion, Breathing, Circulation, Excretion
Course Summary
Are Your Students Engaged?
Are you eager to see your students become scientists in your classroom?
That's the goal of this course...
As fellow scientists they need to learn to investigate, discover, measure, observe, examine...
And these skills take time and repetition.
But repeating stuff can be boring…
That’s where labs come in!
Many of the labs are teaching the same fundamentals but use different materials to keep things interesting.
What if my students are at different levels?
Ah, differentiation! In my classroom everyone did the Core Labs—marked by Δ. These are the labs we talk about in our discussions and they provide the content for what we test. Extension Labs go deeper or broader—some are tangents, and some repeat the core concepts for kids who need that.
What if I don’t have time to introduce a lab?
No worries! In my classroom, students worked at their own pace, so I rarely introduced a lab. I write all of the instructions directly to the students so you can just print and go.
What if you don’t have time to research the science behind a concept?
I’ve got you covered... Sections in the written instructions and the videos should answer your questions. Here you’ll also find hints and helps for running an activity. Additionally, the Teacher Notes sections will give you plenty of background information. You won’t have to do any outside research unless you want to.
Each lesson has two parts...
1. Video instructions which include:
• a demonstration of the activity
• extensions for students who want to dig deeper
• hints and strategies for preparing each lesson
2. Written instructions which include:
• list of materials
• straight-forward directions
• questions and writing prompts
• explanations for the students and teacher
• Straight-forward without being simplistic
• Written to students; designed to be print-and-go.
• Watch experiments; read directions; access background information.
Subject: Physical Science
Target Age: Middle School
Cross-Curricular Investigations:
• Historical Connections
• Bible Study
• Artistic Connectio
Check out the Class Curriculum below...
Course Curriculum
Carolyn Balch
I started my career as a high school physics teacher. Then, I entered the field of museum education at the National Air and Space Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. There I wrote science education materials and ran teacher workshops. When my children were born, I left the workforce and when they were little, our family got involved with a school start up. My children grew and with them, the school. I ran science experiments for different classes and joined the faculty as the middle school science teacher when the school grew. Now I teach part-time and during the rest of the week I work on the curriculum I use during my teaching.
Each online course is a unit of study from a hands-on, laboratory-experience perspective. I write instructions for each activity and create video for many of them. I want you to feel thoroughly prepared to teach these lessons.
