Heart, Lungs, and Muscles: A Body Systems Team

Overview & Key Learning Objectives

Over five days, your child will explore how the heart, lungs, and muscles work together to help the body move. Through observation, simple models, drawing, and discussion, they’ll connect breathing and heartbeat changes to the body’s need for oxygen. Keep movement gentle, supervise activities, and stop if your child feels uncomfortable.

• Describe the basic jobs of the heart, lungs, and muscles.
• Explain how air moves into the lungs and oxygen enters the blood.
• Describe how the heart moves blood around the body.
• Explain that working muscles need oxygen and nutrients carried by the blood.
• Observe how gentle activity can affect breathing and pulse.
• Show how the three body systems work together during movement.

Household Supply Checklist

• Paper and a notebook, or a few sheets of scrap paper
• Pencils, crayons, or markers
• A timer or clock with a second hand
• Reusable straw, if available
• Two balloons, if available
• Empty plastic bottle, if available
• Tape and scissors (adult use as needed)
• Yarn, string, or strips of paper for arrows
• Optional: a paper towel tube or rolled paper

5-Day Daily Breakdown

Day 1: Meet the Heart, Lungs, and Muscles

Teacher Script: Today we’re meeting three important body helpers: the heart, the lungs, and the muscles. Each has its own job, but they also work as a team. As we learn, we’ll look for clues that help us explain what each one does. You don’t have to memorize everything today—let’s start by noticing and wondering.

Hands-on Activity:

1. Ask your child to point to where they think the heart, lungs, and major muscles are.
2. Have them draw a simple outline of a body and label the heart, lungs, and one muscle group, such as the arm or leg muscles.
3. Read the labels aloud together and discuss what your child thinks each part does.
4. Add a “wonder” question to the page, such as “How does the heart help my legs move?”

Adaptation Note: A child who enjoys drawing can add details and color; a child who prefers talking can dictate labels while you write. Invite a younger sibling to point to body parts, or an older sibling to add a simple body-systems diagram.

Day 2: How the Lungs Help

Teacher Script: When we breathe in, air travels into our lungs. The lungs help oxygen from the air get into the blood, and the blood carries it to the rest of the body. When we breathe out, we release air containing carbon dioxide. Let’s make a simple model to explore how breathing moves air.

Hands-on Activity:

1. With an adult’s help, cut the bottom off an empty plastic bottle and cover any sharp edge with tape.
2. Stretch a balloon over the bottle opening to represent a lung; if available, use a second balloon as a model diaphragm across the cut bottom.
3. Gently move the bottom balloon in and out and observe what happens to the balloon inside.
4. Draw the model and label the bottle “chest,” the inside balloon “lung,” and the bottom balloon “diaphragm.”
5. Discuss that the model is simplified and does not show every part of breathing.

Adaptation Note: If building is frustrating or supplies are unavailable, draw the model and use arrows to show air moving in and out. An older sibling can help assemble it; a younger sibling can observe and describe what changes.

Day 3: The Heart Moves Blood

Teacher Script: The heart is a strong muscle that pumps blood around the body. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to body parts, including muscles. We can sometimes feel a pulse, which is a beat caused by blood moving through an artery. Today we’ll observe a pulse gently and use a drawing to show the heart’s job.

Hands-on Activity:

1. Sit quietly for a few minutes. With an adult’s help, find a pulse at the wrist using two fingers—not the thumb.
2. Count the beats for 15 seconds while an adult watches the timer; record the number without worrying about comparing it to anyone else.
3. Draw a heart in the center of a page and add arrows showing blood traveling out to the body and returning to the heart.
4. Label the drawing: “The heart pumps blood,” and add “Blood carries oxygen” beside an arrow.

Adaptation Note: If finding a pulse is difficult or uncomfortable, skip that part and use a ticking clock or a drawn heart instead. A child who wants an extra challenge can explain the arrows in their own words; a younger sibling can trace the arrows with a finger.

Day 4: Muscles Need a Supply Team

Teacher Script: Muscles help us move, and working muscles need energy. Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to muscles, while the lungs bring oxygen into the body and the heart helps move the blood. Let’s compare how our breathing and pulse feel before and after a short, gentle movement. We’ll stop right away if anything feels uncomfortable.

Hands-on Activity:

1. Sit quietly for a few minutes and notice your breathing; optionally count a wrist pulse for 15 seconds with adult help.
2. March gently in place for 30 seconds, or choose another comfortable movement.
3. Stop, sit down, and notice how breathing feels; optionally count the wrist pulse again for 15 seconds.
4. Record observations in a two-column chart: “Resting” and “After gentle movement.”
5. Discuss how the heart, lungs, and muscles may have worked together; do not treat the numbers as a test of fitness.

Adaptation Note: Let your child choose a comfortable movement, or observe instead of moving. Keep the activity brief and relaxed; never ask a child to hold their breath or continue if they feel unwell.

Day 5: Connect the Systems

Teacher Script: We’ve learned that the heart, lungs, and muscles each have different jobs, but movement brings those jobs together. The lungs take in oxygen, the heart helps move oxygen-carrying blood, and the muscles use oxygen as they work. Today you’ll show what you understand by connecting the three systems in one picture or model. I’m excited to see how you explain the team.

Hands-on Activity:

1. Review the drawings and notes from Days 1–4.
2. Make a final diagram showing lungs, heart, blood moving through the body, and a muscle in action.
3. Add arrows and short labels to explain how oxygen travels from the air to a working muscle.
4. Present the diagram to a parent, using the words “lungs,” “heart,” “blood,” “oxygen,” and “muscles.”

Adaptation Note: The final explanation can be spoken, written, drawn, or recorded with a parent’s help. An older sibling can add a caption explaining the model’s limits; a younger sibling can present one labeled part.

5 Review / Discussion Questions

1. What is one job of the heart?
2. What do the lungs help the body get from the air?
3. How does blood help working muscles?
4. What did you notice about your breathing or pulse after gentle movement?
5. How do the heart, lungs, and muscles work as a team when you move?

Online Learning Resources

• Khan Academy: Search for the heart and circulatory system — Clear learning materials about how the heart and blood vessels work.
• PBS LearningMedia: Search for the human body — Educational videos and activities about the body.
• Britannica: Search for heart, lungs, and muscles — Reference articles for building background knowledge.
• National Geographic Kids — Kid-friendly science articles and features.
• KidsHealth — Health information for children and families; explore the body and how it works.
• Smithsonian: Search for the human body — Museum collection images that can support observation and discussion.
• YouTube: Search for heart, lungs, and muscles for kids — Search results for short visual explanations; preview videos together.

5 Engaging Assignments

1. Day 1 — Body Helper Sketch: Draw and label the heart, lungs, and one muscle group. Turn in: the labeled body sketch.
2. Day 2 — Breathing Model Record: Build or draw the lung model and describe what happens when the model moves. Turn in: a labeled picture and one observation sentence.
3. Day 3 — Heart’s Route Map: Draw arrows to show blood traveling from the heart to the body and back. Turn in: the labeled route map.
4. Day 4 — Movement Observation Chart: Record one observation from rest and one after gentle movement. Turn in: the two-column chart and a sentence about what changed.
5. Day 5 — Systems Team Explanation: Explain how oxygen gets from the air to a working muscle, using a diagram or spoken presentation. Turn in: the final diagram, notes, or parent-recorded explanation.

Big Project

Project: The Heart, Lungs, and Muscles Team Model

Goal: Create a labeled diagram or simple model showing how the lungs, heart, blood, and muscles work together during movement.

Materials: Paper or cardboard, pencils or markers, yarn or paper strips for arrows, tape, and optional household model supplies from the checklist.

Milestones:

1. Day 1: Choose a format—poster, foldable, or simple model—and sketch where the lungs, heart, and a muscle will go.
2. Day 2: Add the lungs and label where oxygen enters the body.
3. Day 3: Add the heart and arrows showing blood moving around the body.
4. Day 4: Add a working muscle and labels explaining that blood brings oxygen and nutrients to it.
5. Day 5: Present the completed project and explain how the parts work together. Mention one way the project simplifies the real body.

Simple Grading Rubric (8 points total):

• Accurate parts (0–2): Heart, lungs, and at least one muscle are correctly identified.
• Clear connections (0–2): Arrows or words show oxygen moving from the lungs through the blood toward a muscle.
• Useful labels (0–2): Labels explain the basic job of each system.
• Explanation (0–2): The child clearly describes how the systems work together and identifies one simplification in the model.

Pre-Test

Answer before beginning the lessons. It’s fine to say “I’m not sure.”

1. What does the heart do?
2. What do the lungs help the body take in?
3. What helps move blood around the body?
4. What body part helps you bend your arm?
5. True or false: Blood can carry oxygen to muscles.
6. What might change about your breathing when you move around?

Answer Key

1. It pumps blood around the body.
2. Oxygen from the air.
3. The heart.
4. Arm muscles.
5. True.
6. Breathing may become faster or deeper.

Final Test

1. Multiple choice: What is the heart’s main job?
   A. Pump blood
   B. Make air
   C. Move bones by itself
   D. Digest food
2. Multiple choice: Where does oxygen enter the body from the air?
   A. The lungs
   B. The muscles
   C. The bones
   D. The stomach
3. Multiple choice: What does blood carry to the body?
   A. Oxygen and nutrients
   B. Only air
   C. Bones
   D. Sound
4. Multiple choice: Which statement about muscles is true?
   A. Muscles help the body move.
   B. Muscles make the lungs pump blood.
   C. Muscles are only found in the legs.
   D. Muscles do not need oxygen.
5. Short answer: What is one job of the lungs?
6. Short answer: What is a pulse?
7. Short answer: Why do working muscles need blood?
8. Short answer: Name one change you might notice in your breathing after gentle movement.
9. Short answer: Put these in order to show how oxygen reaches a working muscle: blood carries oxygen; oxygen enters the lungs; oxygen reaches a muscle.
10. Open-ended: Explain how the lungs, heart, blood, and muscles work together when you move. Use at least three of the words “oxygen,” “blood,” “heart,” “lungs,” and “muscles.”

Answer Key

1. A. Pump blood.
2. A. The lungs.
3. A. Oxygen and nutrients.
4. A. Muscles help the body move.
5. They help bring oxygen from the air into the body.
6. A pulse is the feeling of blood moving through an artery with each heartbeat.
7. Blood brings oxygen and nutrients that working muscles use.
8. Breathing may become faster or deeper.
9. Oxygen enters the lungs → blood carries oxygen → oxygen reaches a muscle.
10. Answers will vary. A complete answer explains that the lungs bring oxygen into the body, blood carries it, the heart pumps blood, and muscles use oxygen as they work.