Respiratory System Activity: 8 Hands-On Stations for Teaching the Lungs, Trachea, and Diaphragm (TEKS 7.13A)

Chris Kesler · 8 min read

Ask a 7th grader how they breathe and most will say "with my lungs." Technically true. But the lungs don't pull in air. They can't. They're spongy bags. The muscle that actually does the work is a thin dome under your ribs called the diaphragm, and it contracts about 20,000 times a day, every day, without you ever thinking about it. Tell them that and ask them to feel it move on their next deep breath.

Respiratory is the system kids think they understand because they breathe all day long. They know oxygen goes in and carbon dioxide goes out. But ask them what "spongy" lungs actually means, where in the lungs the gas exchange happens, or why athletes have higher lung capacity, and the surface knowledge falls apart fast.

The Respiratory System Functions Station Lab for TEKS 7.13A closes that gap in one to two class periods. Kids measure their own resting and post-exercise lung capacity by blowing up balloons and measuring the diameter, study a graph of average lung capacity by age and gender, examine images of asthma, bronchitis, and COPD, and trace the path of air from nasal cavity through pharynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli. By the end, they can name every structure and explain how the diaphragm makes the whole thing work.

⏱ 1–2 class periods 📓 7th Grade Science 🧪 TEKS 7.13A 🎯 Built-in differentiation 💻 Print or Digital

8 hands-on stations for teaching the respiratory system

A station lab is a student-led activity where small groups rotate through 8 stations (plus a 9th challenge station for early finishers) at their own pace during one to two class periods. You become a facilitator instead of a lecturer. You walk around, spot-check the lung-capacity measurements, and break misconceptions while kids work through the rotation.

The Respiratory System Functions Station Lab has four input stations (where students take in new info on the lungs, trachea, alveoli, diaphragm, and respiratory diseases) and four output stations (where they show what they learned). Here's what's at each one.

📷 Image slot 1 — add screenshot

📷 Image slot 2 — add screenshot

4 input stations: how students learn the respiratory system

🎬 Watch It! —

A short YouTube video walks students through how breathing works. Three questions follow: what muscle expands and contracts to allow air to flow into the body, why are the lungs described as spongy rather than hollow and what is the significance of this structure, and describe the flow of gases as they enter the body and pass through the respiratory system. Visual kids come alive at this station before they ever blow up a balloon.

📖 Read It! —

A one-page passage called "Breathing Easy: The Respiratory System" walks students from nasal cavity through pharynx, larynx, epiglottis, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli, names the diaphragm as the muscle that powers the whole system, and covers asthma, bronchitis, and COPD. Three multiple-choice questions follow plus five vocabulary words to define (pharynx, trachea, lungs, alveoli, diaphragm). Comes in two reading levels (Dependent and Modified) plus a Spanish version.

🔬 Explore It! —

This is the heart of the lab. Students measure their own lung capacity in two parts. Part 1: Resting Lung Capacity. Each student takes a balloon, blows into it with one full exhale, pinches it shut, and measures the diameter against a vertical ruler in centimeters. Hypothesis: they predict whether lung capacity will go up or down after exercise. Part 2: Exercise Lung Capacity. They do 20 jumping jacks or run in place for one minute, then immediately blow into a fresh balloon and measure again. Six reflection questions wrap it up, including what an asthma diagnosis would do to the results and how to improve lung capacity over time. Kids feel the difference in their own chest.

💻 Research It! —

Students examine 10 reference cards: a labeled human respiratory system diagram, a bar graph of average lung capacity in liters by age group (6–12, 13–19, 20–40, 41–60, 61+) for males and females, the same data in table form, side-by-side healthy vs. unhealthy lung images, a graph of percentage increase in respiratory issues for low/moderate/high exposure to smog, secondhand smoke, vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions, plus dedicated cards on asthma, bronchitis, and COPD. Four questions check whether they can read the graphs and explain how exposure to pollutants relates to disease.

📷 Featured station deep-dive — add screenshot of the Explore It! task card

4 output stations: how students show what they learned

📋 Organize It! —

A three-column card sort with arrows pointing to a labeled diagram. Kids match each structure (nasal cavity, trachea, alveoli, diaphragm, lungs, bronchus) with its function and place an arrow on the right part of the diagram. "Tiny sacs that allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to be exchanged in the lungs" → alveoli. "Contracts to allow the lungs to expand and let air into them" → diaphragm. The arrow piece is what makes this lab harder than a normal sort because kids have to know where each structure sits, not just what it does.

🎨 Illustrate It! —

Students sketch a labeled diagram of the human respiratory system following an 8-step build: nasal cavity and mouth at the top, pharynx, larynx, trachea splitting into two bronchi, bronchioles branching inside the lungs, grape-like clusters of alveoli at the ends, and the dome-shaped diaphragm below. They use blue for the airways and red for the alveoli. Even kids who say "I can't draw" surprise themselves here. The directional flow from outside air all the way to gas exchange locks in the path that's easy to skim past in the reading.

✍️ Write It! —

Three open-ended questions: in your own words describe the main function of the respiratory system, how does the diaphragm allow for breathing to occur, and describe how environmental pollutants like smog and secondhand smoke could impact respiratory health. The third question pulls directly from the Research It! pollutants graph and forces kids to use real data to back up their answer.

📝 Assess It! —

Three multiple-choice questions plus a fill-in-the-paragraph that uses all five Read It! vocabulary words (pharynx, trachea, lungs, alveoli, diaphragm). The paragraph reads: "Air travels through the respiratory system starting at the nasal cavity and moves down through the ___, ___, and finally into the ___. Here, the ___ helps expand or compress the air space. The tiny ___ in the lungs are crucial for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide with the blood." If you're grading the lab, this is the easiest station to grade.

Bonus Challenge It! station for early finishers

🏆 Challenge It! —

Four optional extensions: build a crossword puzzle with at least 10 vocabulary words and an answer key (paper or via puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com). Create a four-panel comic strip illustrating the path of an oxygen molecule through the respiratory system. Design a simple computer or board game that simulates the journey of an oxygen molecule with challenges and questions about each part of the system. Or research a respiratory disease (asthma, bronchitis, COPD, lung cancer) and write a five-paragraph paper on causes, symptoms, and treatment. Requires teacher approval before they start.

How this fits into a complete respiratory system unit

This Station Lab is the Explore day of our full Respiratory System Functions Complete 5E Lesson for TEKS 7.13A. The complete two-week unit follows the 5E method of instruction and includes an Engage hook, the Respiratory System Station Lab for Explore, PowerPoint slides and interactive notebook pages for Explain, student choice projects to Elaborate, and an Evaluate assessment.

Most teachers grab the full 5E because the Station Lab lands hardest with the days around it. But if you just need a strong hands-on day on the respiratory system, the Station Lab on its own does the job.

Two options

Full 5E Lesson $13.20 Get the 5E Lesson

Just the Station Lab $7.20 Get the Station Lab

Materials needed to teach the respiratory system

Materials beyond what's in the download:

Round latex or non-latex balloons — two per student for the resting and exercise lung capacity tests. Buy a 50-pack to be safe.
A 30 cm ruler with cm markings — one per group rotation.
Open floor space for 20 jumping jacks or running in place (you can use the hallway or move desks).
Colored pencils or markers for the Illustrate It! station — at minimum blue and red.
Index cards for the Challenge It! crossword or comic strip extension.
Pencils and the printed answer sheets (included)
A device with internet for the Watch It! station and the Challenge It! crossword maker

Standard covered: Texas TEKS 7.13A —

Investigate and explain the functions of the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, immune, integumentary, nervous, muscular, skeletal, reproductive, and endocrine systems. Supporting Standard.

See the full standard breakdown →

Grade level: 7th grade life science

Time: One to two class periods (45–110 minutes total). Plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab.

Common student misconceptions this lab fixes

"The lungs themselves pull in air when you breathe."
Kids picture the lungs as little pumps that suck in air on their own. They don't. Lungs are passive sponges. The Read It! passage names the diaphragm as the muscle that does the actual work, and the Watch It! video shows the diaphragm contracting and relaxing under the lungs. The Organize It! card sort makes them physically place "contracts to allow the lungs to expand and let air into them" with the diaphragm. Once they see that the diaphragm pulls down to create more space (lower pressure pulls air in) and pushes up to compress space (higher pressure pushes air out), the whole system clicks. The lungs are along for the ride.
"Lung capacity is the same for everyone and never changes."
Kids assume lung capacity is fixed. The Explore It! balloon test breaks that assumption in real time because their post-exercise balloon is usually noticeably bigger than their resting balloon. The Research It! age-by-gender bar graph shows a 6-year-old maxing out around 1.5 liters while a 20–40-year-old male hits 5.8 liters. Capacity grows with age, peaks in your 20s and 30s, then declines. The lab forces kids to use real data: their own balloons plus the population graph. By the end they can answer why athletes train aerobically (to stretch toward the high end of their genetic potential) and why an asthma diagnosis lowers measured capacity.
"Asthma, bronchitis, and COPD are all basically the same thing."
Kids lump every respiratory disease together. The Research It! station has dedicated reference cards for asthma (inflamed airways narrowing), bronchitis (inflamed bronchi with excess mucus), and COPD (smooth muscle spasm plus damaged alveoli). The accompanying graph shows how exposure to pollutants like secondhand smoke and smog increases respiratory issues by up to 60% at high exposure. Kids walk away knowing asthma is usually triggered by an attack and reversible, bronchitis can be acute or chronic, and COPD is a permanent structural breakdown of the alveoli mostly caused by smoking. Three different diseases, three different mechanisms.

What you get with this respiratory system activity

📷 Inside-the-product — add screenshot of Read It passage or sample answer sheet

When you buy the Station Lab, you get a single download with everything you need:

Print version at two reading levels (Dependent for on-grade, Modified for additional support) plus a Spanish Read It! passage
Digital version as PowerPoint files (works in Google Slides too) at both levels — for 1:1 classrooms or Google Classroom
Teacher Directions and Answer Key for both versions, all keys included
Station task cards ready to print, laminate, and drop in baskets at each station
Reference cards for the Research It! station (respiratory diagram, lung capacity bar graph and table, healthy vs. unhealthy lungs, pollutant exposure graph, and dedicated cards on asthma, bronchitis, and COPD)
Sort cards for the Organize It! station (six structure-function cards plus arrows to point at a labeled diagram)
Build instructions for the Illustrate It! 8-step labeled diagram
Student answer sheets for each level

No login required. Download once, use forever. Reprint as many times as you want.

Tips for teaching the respiratory system in your 7th grade classroom

Two things make this lab go smoother the first time:

1. Buy more balloons than you think you need.

The Explore It! lung capacity test is the most popular station because kids love blowing up balloons, but balloons pop, slip out of fingers, get hyper-inflated by the kid trying to set a class record, etc. Buy a 50-pack of round latex (or non-latex if you have allergies in class) so each student has 2 balloons plus a backup. Pre-stretch the balloons before class by inflating them once and letting the air out, otherwise the first breath barely makes a dent and your data goes sideways.

2. Decide where students will do the 20 jumping jacks before the rotation starts.

You don't want six 7th graders doing jumping jacks in a tight aisle. Set a designated spot in the back of the room or send them out to the hallway. Some teachers run the resting balloon measurement at the desk, then send the kids to a marked square on the floor for jumping jacks, then back to the desk for the post-exercise balloon. The flow keeps the rest of the class from getting bumped around.

Get this respiratory system activity

Respiratory System Functions Station Lab for 7th grade life science — TEKS 7.13A

Buy the Station Lab — $7.20

Or if you want the full two-week experience with the Engage hook, Explain day, Elaborate extension, and Evaluate assessment all included:

Buy the full 5E Complete Lesson — $13.20

(Station Lab is included)

Frequently asked questions

What does TEKS 7.13A cover?

Texas TEKS 7.13A asks 7th grade students to investigate and explain the functions of all the major body systems, including the respiratory system. By the end, students should be able to identify the lungs, trachea, alveoli, and diaphragm, explain the path of air from nasal cavity to gas exchange in the alveoli, and describe how the diaphragm makes breathing possible. This Station Lab focuses specifically on the respiratory system. The other body systems (circulatory, digestive, urinary, immune, integumentary, nervous, muscular, skeletal, reproductive, endocrine) each have their own dedicated Station Lab.

What's the role of the alveoli?

Alveoli are tiny grape-like air sacs at the very ends of the bronchioles deep inside the lungs. They are where the actual gas exchange happens: oxygen passes from the air in the alveoli into the blood, and carbon dioxide passes from the blood into the alveoli to be exhaled. Each lung has hundreds of millions of alveoli, which is why the lungs are described as spongy rather than hollow. All that surface area packed into the chest cavity is what makes the lungs efficient at exchanging gases.

How long does this respiratory system activity take?

One to two class periods (45 to 110 minutes total). The Explore It! balloon-and-exercise station takes about 15 minutes per group, so plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab. Once your class has the routine down, most groups can finish all 8 stations in one period.

Do I need to provide my own materials?

Round balloons (about 60 for a class of 30), a 30 cm ruler per group, colored pencils, and index cards. Total cost for a class of 30: under $10 if you don't already have these supplies. The Watch It! station also needs a device with internet.

Can I use this in a 1:1 digital classroom?

Yes. The full digital version (PowerPoint or Google Slides) works in 1:1 classrooms and Google Classroom. The balloon lung-capacity test is hard to convert to digital, so most 1:1 teachers keep the Explore It! station as the one physical center kids rotate through and run everything else on chromebooks.