A systems curriculum approach details the nervous, circulatory, skeletal, reproductive, muscular, digestive and immune systems to educate students on the role of each organ or structure's function. Integrate with other subjects to engage students in active learning. Projects that identify system function and disease can be applied through writing reports, drawing diagrams, modeling organs or experiential physical health activities.
Instructions
Brain, Bones and CardioVascular
1. Identify major bones of the skeletal system. Projects that contribute include discussing the function of houses compared with our skeleton. Ideas like protection, support, bone marrow cell generation can be related to larger, inanimate structures. Discuss the relationship to the muscle system through tendons, ligaments and joints.
2. Approach the nervous system after the skeletal system to help younger students understand the pathways of nerves. The brain topic can be developed into hypothetical dramas for students to present. Groups of students integrate learning that includes large scale neuro-pathways around the classroom, sticking coded messages on students who represent nerve endings, spinal cord and synapses.
3. Present the blood, heart and circulatory system with coherent, developmentally appropriate topics. Integrate heart rate activities into a health or physical education class. Combine health topics about how smoking affects the heart and lungs with the respiratory module.
4. Combine teaching modules for the respiratory and circulatory systems together to create appropriate discussions, lectures or disease research projects. Encourage students to examine the interconnectedness of oxygen from the lungs, and blood flow in the heart.
Digestion, Metabolism, Reproduction
5. Describe the digestive process with the use of diagrams and slides. Consider class size, maturity and capacity for understanding this part of the anatomy and physiology curriculum. Include dissection of other species to compare our human digestive system to that of other mammals or fish as appropriate.
6. Link digestion to the organs of the endocrine system by adding a nutrition component. Ask students to name the organ and talk about its relationship to other organs. Include issues create problems when that organ does not function properly, or problems digesting certain foods based on genetic conditions like diabetes. Begin to educate students about genetics as part of this metabolism curriculum module.
7. Present reproductive organs in the context of growth and development. Ask students to switch genders and describe the hormones and genetics of the opposite gender. Expect resistance, and use humor to deescalate any conflict.
Tags: educate students, Projects that, skeletal system