Science Curriculum
As we already know, an interest in science needs to be nurtured during the primary years and science lessons should be more than just painfully slow experiments or lists of formula. Science lessons can be truly awe-inspiring and one topic that is guaranteed to wow and wonder is the human body – with its gory pictures of muscles, blood, veins and skeletons. Pupils cannot fail to enjoy this area of the curriculum. To help you get creative with the class, this section offers a series of cross-curricular project plans (all linked to the theme of the human body).This page offers some background information on the human body. This information is by no means exhaustive – just a few bullet points to help you get going.
The Brain
- The brain is the human body’s computer. It contains billions of nerve cells called neurons that carry signals to and from different parts of the body through the central nervous system.
- The brain is actually larger than you think – it triples in size from birth through to adulthood and crinkles up so as to fit inside the human skull. If it were all stretched out it would cover quite a large surface area.
- The human brain has two halves called hemispheres. The dominant half of the brain (the left) usually governs speech, writing, numbers and problem solving.
The Heart
- The heart is the body’s pumping system and it pushes blood around the body.
- The heart has four cavities (open spaces) inside that fill with blood. Two of these cavities are called atria. The other two are called ventricles.
- The left side of the heart houses one atrium and one ventricle. The right side of the heart houses the others. A wall, called the septum, separates the right and left sides of the heart. A valve connects each atrium to the ventricle below it.
- The top of the heart connects to a few large bloods vessels. The largest of these is the aorta, or main artery, which carries blood away from the heart. Another important vessel is the pulmonary artery, which connects the heart with the lungs as part of the pulmonary circulation system.
- The largest veins that carry blood into the heart are the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. The superior is located near the top of the heart. The inferior is located beneath the superior.
- The heart is surprisingly small. The average adult heart is about the size of a clenched fist and weighs about 310 grams (11 ounces).
The Lungs
- If the heart is the pump, the lungs are the body’s bellows. The lungs are like two bags in our chest that fill with air and give our bodies the oxygen that we need to live.
- On average we take 23,000 breaths a day.
- The lungs transfer the oxygen into the blood stream. Blood is moving all around our body. So when the oxygen gets into the blood it can reach all our organs and cells.
- The blood also carries waste gas (carbon dioxide) back to the lungs – which is then breathed out.