Take a deep breath and have your class construct working models of a lung! Using 500ml plastic bottles as the chest cavity, and balloons for the lung and the diaphragm, learners work in groups to make a model. The models help them to visualize how the diaphragm works to drop the pressure in the chest cavity, allowing for air to rush into the lung. For younger children, you could make one as a demonstration during a human body unit or as part of the intended air unit. For older children, have them bring a plastic bottle to class and make their own.

Concepts

breathing, respiration, the respiratory system, diaphragms, lungs

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Additional Tags

lungs, diaphragm, respiratory system, breathing, science

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Pros

• Project an included slide to explain how this lung model differs from human lungs
• A teacher's demonstration video helps prepare you for the lesson along with the detailed lesson plan
• For younger students, literature and math resources are provided

Cons

• The Setup states that you will need to cut all of the water bottles and cover the edges with tape which would be time consuming if you teach multiple science classes. More mature learners could handle this task under your supervision