Nothing gets my blood pumping like a circulatory system lesson! Get it?
Something about the systems of the body always gets my students excited. I can’t blame them, it’s pretty fascinating! The circulatory system is no exception. I use several activities throughout my circulatory system lessons that engage students, and allow them to get hands-on while learning. Here are circulatory system activities I’ve had lots of success with in the classroom.
Activity #1: Reading Passages
We talk a lot in education about allowing students to take responsibility for their own learning, but how can we successfully do that? One way is through having them read and collect the information they need. When teaching the circulatory system, challenge students by having them read a passage first.
Then, you can have them answer questions to check their understanding of the passage and the information they read. Our students won’t be pros after reading one passage, but it gives them a great opportunity to learn independently before you jump in!
Try it out with this circulatory system passage and question set in Google Forms.
Activity #2: Circulatory System Notes
When you’re ready to dive into the circulatory system and give your students a comprehensive circulatory system lesson, I recommend using notes. Especially fill-in-the-blank notes! These notes help students follow along in your lesson (so you don’t repeat yourself 20 times), keep you on track with content, and serve as a reference material later.
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Also, these notes are great for students who need accommodations like scaffolding or teachers notes (simply give them a pre-filled version). In these circulatory system notes, students not only have notes but have diagrams and visuals to help them grasp the concepts.
Activity #3: Choice Board
After you’ve taught the content, it’s time for students to independently practice what they know. Choice boards are my go-to circulatory system activity. You can mix and match various challenges for students, and it helps strengthen their knowledge as they express what they know in different ways.
On the circulatory choice board, it includes activities like drawing a diagram of the circulatory system and creating vocabulary cards. These choice boards can also be used as homework or centers, and make prep simple (just hit print!).
Activity #4: Brochure
Finish your unit with a circulatory system brochure activity. Brochures are one of my favorite projects for ending a unit because it’s simple, mess free, and combines all the knowledge from the unit.
On the ready-to-go circulatory system brochure, students have to summarize the topic, illustrate the circulatory system, describe key vocabulary, label the heart, and more. I typically take this for a test grade, and then my students hang onto it! It becomes a reference guide for future tests and review activities. Win-win.
Interested in more science unit activities? I have several blogs detailing the activities and lessons for elementary science! Check out the blogs here.
