Lesson 1: A change of heart

Today we will investigate how our heart rate changes

with exercise. We will also collect data by measuring.

From: Fizzy

Subject: Help!

Hello, it’s Fizzy here!

I need your help! I’m trying to find out more about exercise and the heart, and I am looking for people to help me investigate. I heard that Mondrian and Banksy are great at science, P.E. and maths! Can you help me? Anyone who takes part becomes a member of Fizzy’s Heart Beaters’ Club, so why not give it a go?

To find out more look at the next 3 slides, then play my ‘Body Trivia Trade Game’ with someone in your family before reading my next email.

Thanks!

Fizzy

Heart Fact File

•Your heart pumps blood around your body.

•Your heart beats about 100 000 times a day.

•You have about 5 litres of blood.

•When you grow up, all your blood

vessels put together will be more

than 96 000 km long.

•Your heart weighs about 250g.

Lesson 1: A change of heart

Equipment for measuring pulse/heart rate.

Lesson 1: A change of heart

How to measure your own pulse.

Click on the link to find out how to measure your own pulse rate!

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKid

s.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=1467

Lesson 1: A change of heart

From: Fizzy

Subject: Effects of exercise.

Hello everyone!

Now that you have found out a bit more about the heart and how to measure heart rate, do you think you can help me to answer some questions?

I would like to find out:

•What happens to our bodies when we exercise?•What happens to our heart rate when we exercise?

Thanks for your help, and good luck!

Fizzy

Lesson 2: Your heart’s content

Today we will measure how quickly our bodies recover

after exercise and think about how to improve this.

Word scramble!

Unscramble the letters to find words related to the heart.

1. tabe 6. dolob

2. mupp 7. seerixec

3. rahet 8. axrlees

4. spule 9. scumel

5. glun 10. stonccart

(The underlined letter is the first letter of the answer. Answers can be found on slide 21).

Lesson 2: Your heart’s content

From: Fizzy

Subject: Recovery rate.

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your help so far; it’s been really useful. It would be great if you could help me some more!

Yesterday I played football, then I worked out my heart’s recovery rate. This is how I did it:

•As soon as we had finished, I measured my pulse.•1 minute later, I measured it again.•I found the difference between the two pulse rates. This was my recovery rate.

Have a look at the examples on the next slide and see what you notice about the different recovery rates. Whose are higher and whose are lower? Why?

Then read my next email to find out what else you can do to help me.

Thanks!

Fizzy

Recovery rates

1. Runs marathons. Recovery rate: 41 bpm

2. Swims every day. Recovery rate: 32 bpm

3. Walks the dog once a day. Recovery rate: 19 bpm

4. Cycles to school and back. Recovery rate: 23 bpm

Lesson 2: Your heart’s content

From: Fizzy

Subject: Heart rate after exercise.

Hello everyone!

Now that you know about recovery rates, I’d like you to help me find out more about what happens to heart rate after exercise.

•Does it decrease back to resting rate?•Can doing different recovery activities make it decrease more quickly?

Please help me by getting in the zone and making up some recovery activities (record on the ‘Effective Recovery’ table). Test what happens to your heart rate (record on ‘Fizzy’s Great Graph Templates’) and let me know what you find!

Good luck!

Fizzy

Graph to show pulse rate before, during and after exercise.

Lesson 2: Your heart’s content

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Today we will consider how heart rate patterns vary

for different types of exercise.

Spot the 12 differences! (answers on slide 21)

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

From: Fizzy

Subject: What we know so far.

Hello everyone!

Thank you for all your great work on heart rate and exercise. We’ve found out so much!

We can use everything that we have discovered so far to help other people learn about the heart. Why not make a list of everything you know about the heart and exercise?

Then, look at the next two slides about athletes’ heart rates, before reading my next email for one last task!

Thanks,

Fizzy

Example graph to show heart rate before, during and after a middle distance race.

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Athletes and scientists

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Scientists can help athletes to monitor their performance, include their heart rate, using specialised equipment.

From: Fizzy

Subject: Heart rate quiz.

Hello everyone!

Well done for making your list of heart and exercise facts. I’m sure people will find it very helpful!

While you were writing that, I started to make up a quiz about heart rate, so that people can test what they know.

Could you help me by making up some more graph problems? First, you’ll need to solve the ones I have already done (see ‘Know by Heart’)!

Good luck!

Fizzy

From: Fizzy

Subject: Heart Beaters’ Club membership cards.

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for all your help with my investigations. You’ve been brilliant, and we’ve learnt so much together!

As a reward, I’ve sent you each a Fizzy’s Heart Beaters’ Club membership card (see ‘Reward Card’). Look after it and remember:

Stay fit!Stay healthy!Keep investigating!

Fizzy

For more on the heart and circulatory system, try these useful external links:

A short BBC video on the function of the hearthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-human-heart-and-

its-function/2270.html

An interactive animation and quiz on the skeleton, circulatory system and digestion

https://35058.stem.org.uk/humanbody/index.html

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Answers to the word scramble:

1. Beat

2. Pump

3. Heart

4. Pulse

5. Lung

6. Blood

7. Exercise

8. Relaxes

9. Muscle

10. Contracts

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Answers to spot the difference:

1.The pens in Fizzy’s hair have swapped colours.

2.Fizzy’s fringe flicks in the other direction.

3.One Fizzy has an eyebrow, the other does not.

4.Fizzy’s eyes are a different colour.

5.One t-shirt has three horizontal stripes, the other has

two.

6.One Fizzy has one wristband, the other has two.

7.One wristband has an extra yellow stripe.

8.The figure on Fizzy’s t-shirt is running in a different

direction on each.

9.One pair of trousers has one button and the other has

two.

10.One pair of trousers has a flap on the pocket and the

other does not.

11.One Fizzy has laces in her front shoe and the other

does not.

12.One Fizzy has her thumb tucked under her fingers

on her clenched fist, and the other has it sticking out.

Notes for parents:

Slide 10 - Before reading this slide, make sure that the children understand how to

work out recovery rate (see previous slide), which is measured here in beats per

minute (bpm). Ask the children what they notice about the recovery rates of the

people described on this slide. They should notice that the people who do the most

strenuous exercise on a regular basis (i.e. the marathon runner and the swimmer)

have higher recovery rates than those who do only light exercise (the dog walker

and the boy who cycles to school), which means that their heart rate slows down

more in the first minute after exercise.

Slide 12 - Once the children have sketched their own graphs predicting how pulse rate

would change before, during and after exercise, you may wish to show this slide as

an example to compare them against. Note how heart rate is steady before exercise,

then rises quickly when exercise begins. It remains high throughout the exercise,

then falls back to resting rate slower than it initially rose. Once it has returned to

resting rate, heart rate remains steady.

Lesson 3: Learn by heart

Notes for parents:

Slide 16 - Explain to the children that this graph shows an athlete’s heart rate during

and after a middle distance race. They should notice how the heart rate rises quickly

at the beginning, then remains steadily high while the runner maintains a fairly

regular pace. Heart rate then rises again as the runner speeds up for the sprint finish

(also due to the excitement of trying to reach the finish line first). The heart then

slows back down to resting rate, more gradually than it rose at the start of the race,

as the body recovers.

Slide 17 - Use this slide as a stimulus for discussing why athletes focus on their heart

rate during training, and how scientists can help them. Points to cover may include:

-The more efficient an athlete’s heart, the quicker they will be able to get oxygen to all

the muscles that need it, so that these muscles can perform better and for longer.

-Healthier hearts beat slower, even during intense exercise, which means that athletes

can maintain a high level of exercise for longer before getting tired.

-Scientists can help by monitoring how efficient an athlete’s heart is, so that they know

whether they are improving and know how and how much to train to get to the right

level of fitness.

Lesson 3: Learn by heart