Introduction
Have you ever felt your heartbeat race after running or playing tag? Or listened to the steady boom-boom inside your chest? That is your circulatory system at work! Think of your heart as a powerful engine and your blood vessels as highways carrying supplies all over your body. Just like a city needs trucks to deliver food and fuel, your body needs blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients, and take away waste. Your heart works nonstop, day and night, to make sure everything moves smoothly.
The circulatory system has three main parts:
- The Heart ❤️
Your heart is a strong muscle about the size of your fist and it works like a pump, pushing blood all around your body. It never takes a break; it beats thousands of times every single day.
2. The Blood Vessels 🩸
These are the roads and highways for your blood. Arteries carry fresh, oxygen-rich blood away from the heart, while the veins bring the oxygen-poor blood back to the heart. Capillaries are the tiny paths that deliver food and oxygen to every cell.
3. The Blood 🔴
Blood is like a delivery truck. It carries oxygen, food, and water all over your body and it flows throughout your blood vessels. It also picks up the “trash,” like carbon dioxide, to get rid of it.
Without your cardiovascular system, your body wouldn’t get the energy it needs to walk, play, or even think! Every time your heart beats, it’s keeping you alive and full of energy!
Task
In this WebQuest, you will master the magic behind the circulatory system and gain an understanding of its components through these tasks:
- Learn about the journey of the blood and draw it!
After understanding how the hear, blood and vessels work, create a drawing of the circulatory system showing the direction of the blood through the heart by using arrows and colors to make it clear and fun.
2. Feel your heartbeat!
Place your hand on your chest and count how many beats you feel in 30 seconds. Make a chart to show how your heartbeat changes when at rest vs. when running.
Process
1. Drawing the Blood Journey!
Step 1: Learn more about the Circulatory System.
Think of it like this: Your heart is the city’s main power station, your blood is the delivery trucks, and your vessels are the highways. Together, they make sure every part of your body gets what it needs to stay alive and active.
Watching the video below is highly recommended as it ensures that you grasp the concepts well:
Also, feel free to check out these informational and interactive websites for more information:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z9w9r2p#z4sjjsg
https://www.gynzy.com/en-us/library/items/the-circulatory-system
Step 2: Look at a simple heart diagram and plan your drawing
Notice: the heart has four chambers (two atria on top, two ventricles on bottom), and vessels that go to the lungs and to the body.
Pay Attention!!
The right side of your body is on the left side on the heart diagram and vice versa, since it’s usually drawn as if you’re facing the person.
Step 3: Draw and Label.
- Draw a big heart in the middle with the four chambers (two top small ovals for the atria, and two larger bottom shapes for the ventricles), a pair of lungs on top, and a grill-like shape representing the capillaries on the bottom side.
- Add arrows to show the blood flow direction:
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From the body → right atrium → right ventricle → to the lungs.
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From the lungs → left atrium → left ventricle → to the body.
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Color code: use the red color for oxygen-rich blood and blue color for oxygen-poor blood.
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Don't forget to label each vessel and heart chambers.
Remember!
- Oxygen-rich blood is carried by the arteries and pulmonary vein (as an exception) and oxygen-poor blood is carried by veins and pulmonary arteries (exception too).
- Pulmonary vein departs from the right ventricle for the pulmonary circulation.
- Aorta originates from the left ventricle for systemic circulation.
2. Feeling Your Heartbeat!
Step 1: Prepare for it.
Make sure you have a stopwatch or a timer in your hand ready to start counting your heartbeats and warm up gently for the running part.
Step 2: Measure your resting pulse.
- Place the palm of your hand gently on the left side of your chest, just above the left nipple area. You may feel the beat.
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- Sit quietly until you feel calm.
- When ready, count your heartbeats for 30 seconds and write that number down.
Step 3: Measure your running pulse.
- Run or jog in place or around a safe area for one minute (adult supervised). Stop and sit down immediately.
- Find your pulse again using the same method as before.
- Count your heartbeats for 30 seconds and write it down.
Step 4: Record your numbers in a simple chart.
Make a simple chart to assess the differences in your heartbeats between while resting or running and conclude which is higher, by stating the reason behind this difference.
Evaluation
Drawing the Blood Journey (50 points)
| Criteria | Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy of the Circulatory system diagram | 10 | Includes the 4 chambers of the heart, both pulmonary and systemic circulations and vessels connecting them. |
| Use of correct arrows | 10 | Arrows are properly used to correctly indicated the direction of blood flow. |
| Color coordination | 10 | Red and blue colors are correctly used to represent the different vessels (arteries and veins). |
| Correct labeling | 10 | Each part is correctly labeled for guidance. |
| Neatness and organization | 10 | The drawing is neaat, well-structured and easy to understand. |
| Total score | /50 |
Feeling your Heartbeat (50 points)
| Critera | Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Correct pulse taking method | 10 | Your heart is located on the left side; failure to position your hand on the upper left side will results in misleading results. |
| Abiding by the 30 second rule | 10 | Recording for the resting and running pulses the same amount of time is important for finding the differences later. |
| Organization of the chart | 10 | Chart neatly shows rest vs. running heartbeat with correct labels, colors, and numbers. |
| Comparison and explanation | 10 | Given a clear explanation why the heartbeat was faster after running (oxygen, energy, muscles). |
| Effort and participation | 10 | Followed all steps with focus, creativity, and neatness. |
| Total Score | /50 |
Conclusion
Congratulations, Heart Detectives! 🎉
You have completed your journey through the amazing highways of your body. Now you know that your heart is a powerful pump, your blood vessels are roads, and your blood is the delivery service that keeps every part of you alive and full of energy.
Through your drawing, you showed how blood travels through the heart, to the lungs, and around the body with the two different circulations; the pulmonary and systemic circulations.
By feeling your heartbeat, you discovered that your heart works harder when you move because your muscles need more oxygen and energy!
Remember: your heart is the strongest muscle in your body, but it needs your help to stay healthy. Eating fruits and vegetables, playing and exercising, drinking water, and resting well are all ways to protect your “life engine.” ❤️
So keep exploring, keep moving, and keep taking care of your amazing circulatory system as it works for you every second of your life!
Credits
References:
- Amoeba Sisters. (2020. August 27). Circulatory System and Pathway of Blood Through the Heart. Youtube. https://youtu.be/_vZ0lefPg_0?si=DSPJ8JNzC3_swCLu
- BBC. (2025, September 10). The circulatory system – KS2 science curriculum. BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z9w9r2p#z4sjjsg
- Gynzy. (n.d.). The circulatory system. https://www.gynzy.com/en-us/library/items/the-circulatory-system
WebQuest Website:
Create webquest: Create a WebQuest: Simple. quick. free. Create WebQuest | Create a WebQuest: Simple. Quick. Free. (n.d.) https://www.createwebquest.com/