Fun video by They Might Be Giants which introduces DNA and its function in the cell.
Extracting DNA from strawberries - this is a good procedure that we used in Ms. Silverman's class for our extraction. It only calls for one strawberry, but two is better. Also, We think that cheesecloth worked better for step #6 than the coffee filter! After step #8 wait for about 5 minutes before you try to pick up the DNA.
The Immune System
This is the tutorial that we explored in class. Remember, don't worry about the details just get the general idea about the way the body responds to things it recognizes as being foreign. You will do all of this in much greater detail in MS, but I want you to have the general feel for what happens.
Digestive System:
This is the kooky video that we watched in class. You drag a food over to the mouth and watch how it travels down the digestive tract. See what gets broken down and absorbed by the body at each step. How your body digests different foods
*****If you were not in class when we watched the video above, this one will be easier to start with.
Another video about the digestive system http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/_bfs_DSmoviesource.html
What does each part do? - move your mouse over each part of the system to see what it is called and what it does.
The Heart and Lungs (The Circulatory and Respiratory Systems)
Amazing Heart Facts
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Amazing Lung Facts
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Today we looked at the make-up of the blood and talked about some of the functions or jobs of the blood in our body.
All of this is summed up in a great song by "They Might Be Giants" called The Bloodmobile. Watch it again and see
if you remember all of the functions it mentions. Some of these we will return to in more detail as we continue learning
about the systems that make up our bodies.
Cartoon video about the blood and how the heart works. Don't be too concerned about all of the terms. It's the general idea about the route of the blood that is important.
This is the video we watched in class. It is from the National Geographic and is an overview of some of the systems of the human body.
See if you can correctly place the following: The heart, stomach, liver, small intestine, large intestine, kidneys, lungs. Try any of the other organs and see how you do!
Skeleton - we did not do anything with the skeleton, but here is a game to play. Read the instructions and try to put Mr. Bones back together.
Simple Machines:
Videos:
This is the video of the Rube Goldberg Machine we watched in class
Here is another video where some young girls build a machine (this is an advertisement)
Class Activities and extras:
These are the pages we've used in class:
Levers #1 - use the slider bars to try and balance tiny Pic and large Harry on a teeter totter. What do you have to do to get them balanced?
Levers #2 - move the fulcrum and see if Harry discovered the same relationship you did in the lab.
Ramps (Inclined Planes) and Pulleys together
Edheads Simple Machines - these are great activities to test your understanding of the simple machines we've been studying.
Edheads The Compound Machine - learn how forces and simple machines can work together to create The Compound Machine
Friction Activity: try this out at home. Change the different surfaces and see how the force of friction affects the movement of the slide. Think of some examples when the force of friction is harmful and some examples of when the force of friction is helpful.
Games and activities:
The games below are games where you can change one variable at a time and see what affect it has on the outcome.