Thursday, November 17, 2016

Human Body Unit Update


The theme of our current unit of inquiry is Who We Are. In fourth grade, the Who We Are unit is about the human body. The central idea and the lines of inquiry focus our inquiry. So do the concepts.

Although there are eight concepts (causation, change, connection, form, function, perspective, reflection, responsibility), we generally emphasise only three during a unit.

For example, during the explorer unit, we focused on causation, perspective and reflection. Causation and perspective were clear choices. See if your daughter remembers why!

Here are the main concepts we are using for the human body unit:

function, connection, and responsibility

Although it is difficult to explain the function of a human body system without some knowledge of form, we are more interested in how the systems work than on memorizing lots of parts.




Students should know the purpose (function) of many of the systems. As students learn more about how the systems work (function), they will notice links (connection) between them. Finally, they will use function and connection knowledge of the body systems to explain ways of taking care of ourselves (responsibility). 


This week fourth graders created a model of the circulatory system using both classes. One class formed the structure of the system while the other class moved through the system as blood. The learning intention was to understand the function of the circulatory system.

You will know that your daughter was successful if she is able to explain the flow of blood through the heart, to the lungs, back to the heart, through blood vessels and around the body and back to the heart. She should be able to identify significant points in the circulation such as where red blood cells picks up oxygen and where they exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.




Other systems we are focusing on include the nervous system, the respiratory system, the digestive system, the skeletal system, the muscular system and the immune system.

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