Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
The System of Life: Arteries, Veins, and Capillaries
Hearts and flowers; love and lace. These are the words we hear as Valentine’s
Day draws near. But Maggie wants you to know more about your real heart. Read on to
find out how this important organ gets your blood moving.
We know the heart is a vital organ. It is the pump of life. Your heart sends
oxygen-rich blood through the body via arteries. These tube-like vessels flow away
from the heart and branch out through the tissues of the body. Arteries fill tissues with
the oxygen-rich blood that is necessary for life. Arteries are muscular tubes that have
three layers. It is important to take care of our arteries by eating right. No one wants to
have a blocked artery. This would keep important blood from flowing correctly through
the body.
After arteries carry blood through the body, the blood must get back to the heart.
Another system of tubes helps move the blood back. Veins take over. They flow toward
the heart. These veins carry waste-rich blood back to “pick up” oxygen. Sometimes
you can see blue “lines” through your skin. These veins appear blue because your skin
refracts light. The deep red color of the veins looks blue from the outside.
You may be wondering how blood gets from an artery to a vein. A tiny system of
capillaries connects our arteries and veins. Blood passes from the arteries through the
very thin capillaries to the veins. Then it is carried back to the heart. Our capillaries are
so thin that our blood cells must pass through them in single file! But these web-like
capillaries are important in keeping blood flowing through our bodies.
Maggie Wants You To Think About This:
Your pulmonary arteries
are special. Oxygen-poor blood
moves from your heart to your
lungs via these arteries.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2013. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Below are cards with answers. You write the questions.
Question 1:
Answer: They are muscular tubes with 3 layers.
Question 2:
Answer: They carry blood back to the heart.
Question 3:
Answer: Your skin refracts light so this changes their color.
Question 4:
Answer: They are connected by capillaries.
Question 5:
Answer: They pass through in a single-file.
Question 6:
Answer: These are the arteries that carry oxygen-poor blood.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2013. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
Once again we bring you a Valentine’s Day activity about the REAL heart. We
invite you to go back and use this year’s activity in conjunction with our heart activity
offered last year, “I
My Heart” available in “Maggie’s Treasure Trove” at
www.missmaggie.org/bookstore. This year we help your students understand just how
that important pump, the heart, moves blood throughout the body. While we have
offered one follow-up activity to insure students understand the content of the article, we
suggest several other ideas for you to use in your classroom.
You will note that we used line spacing so children could circle key words and
phrases. You may want to have groups of students write questions based on the text.
Give each group a color and invite them to choose their best question and pose it to the
class. Ask students to find the answer in the text and circle it, using the color of the
group asking it. That way, each group can quickly move around the class to see if the
answer to their question was circled correctly.
We used bold font for key words. Ask students to circle the definition for each of
these boldface words. Have them create a dictionary or appendix defining these words
and any others in the text that may be difficult. This is helpful as there are other difficult
words that are not highlighted, such as refracts. This is a good opportunity to discuss
the fact that textbook publishers do not always know what words students do or do not
know. As learners, they have the responsibility for identifying and defining any
vocabulary that is new to them.
To help visual learners, ask children to create their own diagrams showing blood
flow through the body. Use red crayons to show arteries and blue crayons for veins.
You may want to have children trace themselves and use this full-sized body to show
the important circulatory system. I always like to ask if children can think of a mnemonic
device to help remember arteries carry blood away from the heart. (Artery begins with a
– away!)
A key lesson from this activity is the importance of healthy food to our system of
arteries and veins. Encourage children to find out more about how healthy eating can
promote long-term care of the circulatory system.
Happy teaching,
Dr. Kathy
Answer Key:
1. What are arteries?
2. What are veins?
3. Why do deep red veins appear blue?
4. How are arteries and veins connected?
5. How must blood pass through capillaries?
6. What are pulmonary arteries?
Goals:
Students will read an article describing the role of arteries, veins, and capillaries in the human body. A
follow-up activity asks children to use facts in the article to write appropriate questions for answers, thus
promoting comprehension in the content area of science. Additional classroom activities are suggested.
This activity is available on the primary and intermediate levels and correlates with Content Standard C,
Life Science of the National Science Standards.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2013. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.