Middle School Inquiry Lab on the Respiratory System
In this lab students will learn how the organs of the respiratory system function within the body. Students will be asked to create a functioning model of the respiratory system.
Each inquiry lab will contain an essential question that will drive the lesson and make students think. For this lesson, the essential question is:
- How do the organs of the respiratory system function together?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND MATERIALS LIST:
Students will begin the lab by reading the essential question and background information. This can be done individually, as lab groups, or as a whole class. If you consider lab groups, you also might include some type of whole class formative checks before digging into the lab.
Materials List:
- 1 plastic bottle
- 1 straw
- 2 balloons
- 1 small ball of play dough or clay
- 1 rubber band
- scissors
PROCEDURE:
Using the materials provided, the students will follow the steps to create a working model of the respiratory system. The students will then follow the instructions and observe how the lungs inflate and deflate. Students will then have to sketch and label the model to represent the organs of the respiratory system.
CONCLUSION
Students will go back to the essential question and write a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to conclude the lab. Once completed, students will reflect back on their learning by answering the following questions:
- Why did the balloon connected to the straw inflate when you pulled on the knotted balloon?
- What do you think might happen if the chest cavity were punctured?
MODIFIED AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY VERSIONS
All of the Kesler Science inquiry labs come with three different modification levels. Each lab is differentiated using the icons below.
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
TEKS: 7.12B – Identify the main functions of the systems of the human organism, including the circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, muscular, digestive, excretory, reproductive, integumentary, nervous, and endocrine systems.
