This feature from the NOVA "Cut to the Heart" Web site highlights facts about the heart -- including its size and placement -- and will help you to understand the importance of this wondrous organ in our bodies.

Recommended for: Grades 6-8

Students will make a proportional model of blood out of red gelatin, a plastic bag, and rice. They will learn about the different components that make up blood and will investigate what happens when the arteries and veins experience buildup from cholesterol. They will then work in pairs to brainstorm ways to clean our clogged arteries.

Part of the circulatory system is composed of a series of tubes carries the vital elements and the wastes that keep us strong and healthy. Take a look at these amazing vessels and how they work together.

Students are introduced to the circulatory system, the heart, and blood flow in the human body. Through guided pre-reading, during-reading and post-reading activities, students learn about the circulatory system's parts, functions and disorders, as well as engineering medical solutions. By cultivating literacy practices as presented in this lesson, students can improve their scientific and technological literacy.

The goal of this interactive game is to keep a group of target cells healthy by using blood to deliver and take away various substances to and from the cells.

Following the engineering design process and acting as biomedical engineers, student teams use everyday materials to design and develop devices and approaches to unclog blood vessels. They learn about the circulatory system, biomedical engineering, and conditions that lead to heart attacks and strokes.

In this investigative lab, students observe blackworm pulsation rate in normal conditions and observe how pulsation rate is affected by drugs. This lab stresses the circulatory system, but can also be used for homeostasis, behavior, toxicology, and nervous system labs. Part I guides the student through blackworm handling procedures and initial observations of the blackworm's behavior and circulatory system. Part II is a student-led investigation in which the students design and run their own experiments to test drug effects on pulsation rate. The students write their investigations as an informal report and orally present their design, results, and conclusions.

This lesson describes how the circulatory system works, including the heart, blood vessels and blood. Students learn about the chambers and valves of the heart, the difference between veins and arteries, and the different components of blood. This lesson also covers the technology engineers have developed to repair the heart if it is damaged. Students also understand how the circulatory system is affected during spaceflight (e.g., astronauts lose muscle in their heart during space travel).

In this lab, the student will review the anatomy and histology of the organs by using images of models, microscopic slides, and videos on cat and sheep dissections. The student will then be asked to assess his or her knowledge, which eventually can be put to practical or experimental use. Upon successful completion of this lab supplement, students will be able to: use anatomical terminology correctly in the laboratory; using a compound light microscope, identify different tissues and describe a human organ where that tissue can be found; describe the major features and functions of human skin; identify and name human bones and their major features and differentiate, microscopically and grossly, between compact and spongy bone; name and describe the functions of the human brain's major structures; describe the anatomical and functional differences between the dorsal and ventral roots of spinal nerves and the dorsal and ventral horns of the spinal cord's grey matter; describe the structure of an intervertebral disc; identify, microscopically and grossly, the differences between the three types of muscle and describe the respective structures and locations of different muscle tissues; identify and name the structures of the human eye and the human ear; describe the major similarities and differences in the structure of an artery and a vein; describe the flow of blood through the heart and identify all major vessels, chambers, and valves; identify and name, histologically and anatomically, the major components of the respiratory system, the digestive system, and the male and female urinary systems; identify and name, histologically and anatomically, the major components of male and female reproductive systems. (Biology 302 Laboratory)

Students learn about their circulatory system by designing a pumping device that will effectively pump fluid through a given cardiovascular system.