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Science lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 30 minutes

Exercise and your body: heartbeat and breathing

Human body and health

CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS1 Y2 Animals, including humansEngland: KS2 Y6 Animals, including humans

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Exercise and your body: heartbeat and breathing.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Healthy habits: washing, sleep, exercise and water

Leads to: How diet, exercise and harmful substances affect the body

Materials: Stopwatches, Body diagrams, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Healthy habits: washing, sleep, exercise and water). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Is this a healthy or an unhealthy habit: sneezing into your hands and then touching food? (healthy habit / unhealthy habit) → unhealthy habitPrompt: Would this help your body grow, stay clean and feel rested?
  2. Why do we need sleep? (So we can eat more. / Our bodies and brains rest and grow while we sleep. / Sleep makes us hungry. / So the Moon can come out.) → Our bodies and brains rest and grow while we sleep.Prompt: How do you feel after a very short night?
  3. Is this a healthy or an unhealthy habit: staying up very late every night? (healthy habit / unhealthy habit) → unhealthy habitPrompt: Would this help your body grow, stay clean and feel rested?

Hook · 3 min

  • Ask everyone to find their pulse, then jump for 30 seconds and find it again.
  • Share the objective: Exercise and your body: heartbeat and breathing. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Why do you sweat when you exercise?
  • Step 1: Sweat evaporating from your skin carries heat away.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Sweat cools your skin as it dries.
  • Answer: Sweat cools your skin as it dries.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Why does your heart beat faster when you run? (Your muscles need more oxygen and food from your blood. / To make you cooler. / Your heart is scared. / Your heart is getting smaller.) → Your muscles need more oxygen and food from your blood.Prompt: Working muscles need more of what blood carries.
  2. True or false? Children should be active for about an hour every day. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Think about heartbeat, breathing, sweat and water.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. After exercise, what happens to your heart rate when you rest? (It slowly goes back down. / It keeps rising for ever. / It stops. / It doubles.) → It slowly goes back down.Prompt: Your muscles need less oxygen at rest.
  2. True or false? Regular exercise makes your heart stronger. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Think about heartbeat, breathing, sweat and water.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Healthy habits: washing, sleep, exercise and water.
  • Use concrete materials: stopwatches.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: How diet, exercise and harmful substances affect the body.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Exercise and your body: heartbeat and breathing

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    True or false? You can feel your pulse on your wrist or neck.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

    After exercise, what happens to your heart rate when you rest?

    • A. It stops.
    • B. It doubles.
    • C. It keeps rising for ever.
    • D. It slowly goes back down.

  3. Question 3

    Resting heart rate: 91 beats per minute. After running: 134 beats per minute. What do these results show?

    Heartbeats in one minute02040608010012014091resting134after running
    • A. Exercise stops the heart.
    • B. Running has no effect on the heart.
    • C. The heart beats faster during exercise.
    • D. The heart slows down during exercise.

  4. Question 4

    Kofi counted heartbeats for one minute. Resting: 93. After running for 3 minutes: 133. How many more beats per minute was the heart beating after running?

    Heartbeats in one minute02040608010012014093resting133after running

    Answer

  5. Question 5

    Why do you sweat when you exercise?

    • A. Because you drank too much water.
    • B. Sweat cools your skin as it dries.
    • C. To make your muscles bigger.
    • D. To wash your clothes.

  6. Question 6

    Resting heart rate: 87 beats per minute. After running: 138 beats per minute. What do these results show?

    Heartbeats in one minute02040608010012014087resting138after running
    • A. The heart beats faster during exercise.
    • B. Running has no effect on the heart.
    • C. The heart slows down during exercise.
    • D. Exercise stops the heart.

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Answer key: Exercise and your body: heartbeat and breathing

  1. 1. A. True

  2. 2. D. It slowly goes back down.

  3. 3. C. The heart beats faster during exercise.

  4. 4. 40

  5. 5. B. Sweat cools your skin as it dries.

  6. 6. A. The heart beats faster during exercise.