On the back of this paper draw a picture of you doing a favorite exercise.
THEME:
Healthy Hearts C H A P T E R 8 : S C I E N C E J O U R N A L P A G E
C H A P T E R 8 : P A R E N T P A G E
Name______________________________________________ Date_____________________________________
Hearts at Home
Ask your child to show you how to take a heart rate (by placing your index and middle fingers on the pulse point in your neck).
Take each other’s resting heart rate, counting beats in six seconds.
Add a zero to the numbers to get beats per minute. Write your heartbeats here:
Name________________________________________________Resting Heart Rate________________________________
Name________________________________________________Resting Heart Rate________________________________
Now, if you can, do some light exercise together, such as taking a walk, doing some jumping jacks, or jumping rope for a minute.
Afterward, take each other’s heart rates, counting beats in six seconds, and adding a zero to the numbers to get beats per minute. Write your heart rates here:
Name________________________________________________Active Heart Rate__________________________________
Name________________________________________________Active Heart Rate__________________________________
Compare your heart rates. Whose heart rate is faster?
________________________________________________
Talk about why this might be. Write a possible explanation on the back of this page.
Dear ______________________________________,
We are learning about the human heart in class: how it works and how to keep it healthy. You can help your child understand
more about hearts by doing this activity together. Please have your child return the completed activity to class by _______________________________. Thank you.
C H A P T E R 8 : A C T I V I T Y 3
C H A P T E R 8 : F E B R U A R Y
FOR CHILDREN
A Drop of Blood by Paul Showers (HarperCollins, 1989). What makes up a drop of blood and what it does for us are two of the questions answered in this easy-to-read book with kid-friendly illustrations. Nonfiction. (Also check out Hear Your Heartby the same author.)
The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole (Scholastic, 1989). Ms Frizzle is off on another adventure, leading her students on an exploration of how our bodies work. Nonfiction.
See Inside Your Bodyby Katie Daynes (Usborne, 2006). A lift-the-flap book that helps children learn about the body’s inner workings.
Nonfiction.
The Skin You Live Inby Michael Tyler (Chicago Children’s Museum, 2005). A simple and affecting message about skin . . . and diversity.
Fiction.
Uncover the Human Bodyby Luann Colombo (Silver Dolphin Press, 2003). This book’s three- dimensional format and instructive text make it one that kids will read and reread.
Nonfiction FOR TEACHERS
Adorable Wearables Human Bodyby Donald Silver (Scholastic, 2005). Use the wearable models to help young children learn about muscles, bones, digestion, the five senses, and more.
Blood and Guts: A Working Guide to Your Own Insides by Linda Allison (Little Brown, 1976). A factual and humorous look at the workings of the human body. Intended for an older audience but with lots of information and activities that can be adapted for primar y children. Includes a separate chapter on the heart.
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Bodyby Donald M. Silver (Scholastic, 2000). The models, manipulatives, and mini-books in this resource provide engaging ways to help kids learn about the body’s systems. Includes patterns and step-by-step directions.
First Human Body Encyclopedia(Dorling Kindersley, 2005). A wealth of diagrams, photographs, and illustrations that help to explain the workings of the human body and its various systems.
My Body by Patricia Carratello (Teacher Created Materials, 1980). Describes body parts—
including the heart—and how they work.
Includes reproducible patterns for children to make a life-size replica of the human body.
TECHNOLOGY CONNECTIONS
Ner vous System Guide
National Science Teachers Association
(www.nsta.org/publications/interactive/ner ves/) Boost lessons on the nervous system with the interactive features at this site provided by the National Science Teachers Association. An amazing opportunity to show students simulations of the functioning of nerve cells, reflexes, brain waves, and more. While this site is most suited for older students, it’s well worth the trip for exciting the interests of younger scientists.
Learn and Live
American Heart Association
(www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?
identifier=3028650)
A visit to this site provides access to grade- specific learning activities and reproducibles.
R E S O U R C E S
C H A P T E R 9
W indy W eather
page 119
F lying T hings
page 214
M arch
Mark these dates, events, and activities on your calendar to help plan and supplement upcoming activities in this month’s themes.
✲The arrival of spring—vernal equinox—occurs either on March 20 or 21 (check your calendar for the exact date each year). On this day the number of daylight hours equals the number of hours of darkness.
✲March’s full moon is often called the Worm Moon, most likely because of the emergence of worms from the mud after the ground has thawed. Ask students to think of another good name for the March moon.
✲Look for signs of spring!
Plan Ahead
Ask students to begin collecting pictures of flying things. They’ll use these for activities in Theme 2 this month.
Place orders for seeds now, if you plan on doing the seed activities in Chapter 10 (see pages 242 to 256). Some seed catalogs you and your students might want to request follow.
W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 300 Park Avenue, Warminster, PA 18974, (800) 333-5808; www.burpee.com.
Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101, (563) 382-5990; www.seedsavers.org.
Seeds of Change, PO Box 152, Spicer, MN, 56288, (888) 762-7333;
www.seedsofchange.com.
Native Seeds/SEARCH, 526 North Fourth Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705, (866) 622-5561; www.nativeseeds.org.
A Y E A R O F H A N D S - O N S C I E N C E
Highlights of the Month
C H A P T E R 9
Date_______________________________________________________
This month we are starting two new science themes.