GradeMy Respiratory System and Keeping it Safe
Grade 1
Activity 1
Objective
Students will understand how breathing supplies oxygen to their bodies, the importance of
oxygen in their bodies, and how the poisons in cigarette smoke can damage their lungs
making it hard for them to breathe. Students will be able to identify one major poison in
cigarette smoke.
Materials Needed
Pink and brown crayons
Sponge
Jar of tar (molasses)
Empty jar
Materials Provided
Color Respiratory System diagram
Student handouts (4):
1. My Respiratory System
3. Smoker’s Lungs
2. Healthy Lungs
4. My Drawing
Essential Academic Learning Requirements Fulfilled
Health and Fitness
Health Skills: 2.1 Understand simple lung function
Influencing Factors: 2.2 Understand the harmful effects of cigarettes on the lungs.
Science
Life Science: 1.2 Identify the parts of the respiratory system
New Words
Respiratory system, oxygen, tar, tobacco, lungs, windpipe, poison, cigarette
(These words are in bold the first time they appear in the activity.)
Class Time
30 minutes
Teacher Preparation
Read the Overview on Tobacco Facts and the Respiratory System.
Sign and send home parent letter.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital and Health Center
Grade 1
Activity 1
Step 1: Learn about your respiratory system.
1)
Distribute My Respiratory System handout.
2)
Use the color respiratory system diagram as a model for students.
3)
Ask students to:
Follow with your finger as I describe how air enters your body:
from the nose and mouth,
down the windpipe,
and into the lungs.
4)
Ask students to:
Circle the new words on your respiratory system handout as you trace the path of air
with your crayon (windpipe, lungs).
Step 2: Demonstrate the flow of air into the body.
1)
Ask students to:
Gently pinch your nose closed so you take in air just through your mouth.
Now gently cover your mouth and take in air just through your nose.
Feel your windpipe, the tough cartilage at the front of your neck.
Step 3: Learn about oxygen.
1)
Tell students:
The air you breathe is a mixture of different types of gases.
We can’t see these gases.
Oxygen is one of the gases in the air.
Your body needs oxygen to stay alive.
You take oxygen in when you breathe.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital and Health Center
Grade 1
Step 4: Learn about cigarettes and the lungs.
1)
Activity 1
Tell students:
If you breathe dirty or smoky air, it goes to your lungs.
To keep your lungs healthy, make sure that only clean fresh air comes into your
lungs.
Cigarettes have many poisons in them.
The smoke from cigarettes makes the air dirty and smelly.
When people smoke, they breathe the poisons into their lungs.
2)
Ask students:
Would you want the poisons from cigarettes in your lungs?
Would you want to smoke a cigarette?
3)
Tell students:
The poisons in cigarettes hurt your lungs.
One of the poisons is tar.
Tar is a brown sticky, ooey, gooey substance.
It burns the throat and lungs and turns the lungs brown.
Tar sticks to the lungs making it harder for the lungs to do their job.
Step 5: Demonstrate how tar can hurt your lungs.
1)
Gather materials:
Jar of tar, empty jar and sponge. Moisten sponge with water.
2)
Gather the students around the demonstration area.
3)
Pour tar into the empty jar, showing how thick it is.
4)
Pour the tar onto the sponge.
5)
Tell students:
This is like the tar in cigarettes.
Tar soaks into your lungs.
It turns your lungs brown.
The tar eats away at your lungs.
Smoking makes it hard for smokers to breath.
It’s hard for smokers to do physical activities like running and skating.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital and Health Center
Grade 1
Activity 1
6)
Ask the students:
Would this sticky tar be easy to get out of your lungs?
Do you want your lungs to look like this?
What activities do you like to do? (Run, jump, play sports.)
Would those things be difficult to do if you smoked?
What is the name of the brown sticky poison in cigarettes? (Tar.)
Step 6: Learn through doing.
1) Distribute the following handouts:
“Healthy Lungs”, “Smoker’s Lungs”, and “My Drawing”
2) Ask students to:
Color the healthy lungs pink.
Color the unhealthy smokers lungs brown.
Use the “My Drawing” handout to draw a picture of yourself doing a
fun activity with your friends.
3)
Ask students to:
Share your pictures.
Tell us what you are doing with your friends.
4)
Tell students:
Thank you for learning about how cigarettes are bad for your lungs.
I’m happy that you want to have pink healthy lungs.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital and Health Center
My Respiratory System
Grade 1
Healthy Lungs
Grade 1
Color the healthy lungs pink.
Smoker’s Lungs
Grade 1
Color the smoker’s lungs brown.
My Drawing
Draw a picture of you and
your friends doing your
favorite healthy activity.
Grade 1