Connect students directly to the concept in a personal way. Capture students' attention by initiating a group problem-solving activity before delivery of instruction. Begin with a situation that is familiar to students and builds on what they already know. Construct a learning experience that allows diverse and personal student responses. Facilitate the work of cooperative teams of students.

The butcher paper heart, teacher as pacemaker.

Objective: To allow the students to experience a simulation of how the blood circulates through the heart, lungs, and the body.

Activity: Draw a heart with the major vessels on a large piece of butcher paper. It must be large enough to accommodate at least two students standing in each chamber of the heart. Tape it to the floor. Construct six cardboard circles, blue one side, and red on the other, with a string attached to each, to allow the students to wear it around their necks. Also tape a square of butcher paper near the heart, and label it "lungs," as well as another square below the heart labeled "body." The teacher then walks through the circuit, wearing the red/blue sign, in order to demonstrate where blood changes from red to blue, and the direction of blood flow. Choose six students at a time, to represent six red blood cells, and place one student in the lungs, one in the body, and one in each of the four chambers of the heart. Tell them this is DIASTOLE, when the heart is completely relaxed. The teacher should then call out ATRIAL SYSTOLE (when both atria of the heart contract). The students in the atria should move into the ventricles. No other students should move. Now there will be no students in the atria, two students in each of the ventricles, one student in the lungs, and one in the body. Next call out VENTRICULAR SYSTOLE (when both ventricles of the heart contract). The students in the ventricles should move into the lungs and the body (RV ñ> lungs and LV ñ> body). They should change their colors when they get there (blue ñ> red in the lungs, red ñ> blue in the body). Since the atria are now relaxed, the students who were originally in the lungs and the body move into the empty atria. Now there should be one student in each of the atria, no students in the ventricles, two students in the lungs and two students in the body. Then call out DIASTOLE. The students in the atria should move into the ventricles since the AV valves are both open when the heart is at rest. ONE of the students in the lungs can now move into the LV, and ONE of the students in the body can now move into the RV. Both students do not move since there is no forced movement caused by contraction, but only diffusion present during DIASTOLE. Notice that only during VENTRICULAR SYSTOLE do the students undergo any color changes. You might want to point out that the noise of the heart is caused by the slamming shut of the valves: the loudest noise coming during ventricular systole when the AV valves close, and the softer sound occurring during diastole, when the semilunar valves close. During this exercise, the teacher is the pacemaker and should call out ATRIAL SYSTOLE, VENTRICULAR SYSTOLE, and DIASTOLE, giving the students enough time to move to their positions. Make sure in each case, the students know what color they should be. Have each set of six students go through the complete cycle twice, and have every student in the class participate in turn.

Assessment: Quality of class interest and participation, as well as the beginning of understanding the concept.