Middle School Science Lessons

Lesson Resources: (updated 5/3/25)

• Heart Coloring Page – this is a great diagram of the heart from the Children’s Heart Institute (it is not on their page anymore, I had one saved). We color this together step-by-step in class when introducing the parts of the heart. Students can use pink and blue highlighters or colored pencils.
  • We use blue only to distinguish deoxygenated blood from oxygenated blood in diagrams
    • People don’t have blue blood, but Horseshoe crabs do
  • I have the students hold the diagram in front of them and face each other so that they can see the right side of the heart matches their right side, but when the diagram is on their desk, the right side of the heart is on their left.
  • When we are done coloring, using their pointer finger, students trace the path of blood through the heart as I say each part in the correct sequence
• Google Slides – This shows the sequence of blood starting and ending at the right atrium (Public Link)
• Cards to cut apart (pdf)
  • Need one set of cards per 2-4 students
  • Can laminate and reuse each year, store in a zip-top bag
• Cleveland Clinic – detailed reading about the blood flow through the body – it takes about 1 minute for a blood cell to go through the entire body
• Human Bio Media Interactive -👩🏻‍💻 click on the parts of the heart to identify them

Learning Objectives: To get a true understanding of how blood circulates through their body, and to review the parts of the heart, I have the students sort the cards and place them in the right order starting and ending with the right atrium.

Students work in pairs placing the cards into the correct sequence on their desks. When they are ready to have their work checked, I start at the right atrium and go until I find a card out of place, then I stop and have them figure out what should come next and I’ll come back to check later. It will take several tries until they complete it correctly. When they are done, students can quiz each other using the cards or they can try the activity individually and have their partner check their work. Students can also use the Google Slides to review at home or print out a color set for their own use.