A practical exploration of the pathway of blood
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can demonstrate my knowledge of the pathway of blood through the heart and around the body.
Key learning points
- Deoxygenated blood travels from the body through the vena cava into the right atrium then down to the right ventricle.
- From the right ventricle blood is pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for oxygenation.
- The pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium, then to the left ventricle.
- From the left ventricle blood is pumped out through the aorta to be distributed throughout the body.
- Valves in the heart prevent the backflow of blood.
Keywords
Atria - the upper chambers of the heart. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood and the left receives oxygenated blood
Ventricle - the lower chambers of the heart that receive blood from the atria before pumping it out to the body/lungs
Valve - structural feature that prevents backflow of blood
Oxygenation - the process of adding oxygen to a system, such as the bloodstream or muscle tissue
Common misconception
Pupils think deoxygenated blood at the muscle tissue goes straight to the lungs rather than via the heart first (i.e. they forget they need to go through the heart twice).
Remind pupils the heart is a double circulatory pump consisting of a pulmonary and a systemic loop. Without this, blood pressure would be too low on return from the legs to efficiently get blood to the lungs for oxygenation.
Teacher tip
Issue a pack of equipment to pupils once they have correctly captured the flow diagram of blood flow to prevent them getting distracted by skipping ropes and hula hoops when you want them to focus on learning. You can also perform the task as one big group.
Equipment
skipping ropes to represent blood vessels; hula hoops or mats to represent heart chambers; red/blue cones/bibs/balloons to represent oxygenated/deoxygenated blood; trampette/springboard (optional)
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following blood vessels carries blood away from the heart?
Q2.What key feature do veins have?
Q3.Blood is pumped out of the heart into that carry the blood at high pressure.
Q4.Which of the following is not true?
Q5.Match up the following blood vessels.
pumps blood out into the pulmonary circuit
carries blood back into the right side of the heart
requires more oxygen from the bloodstream during exercise
Q6.Place the following sequence of events in the correct order starting with deoxygenated blood at the muscles.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following blood vessels carries blood at high pressure?
Q2.Why does blood travel in the pulmonary circuit?
Q3.Blood is pumped out of the left ventricle into the before heading off around the body.
Q4.Which of the following is not true?
Q5.Match up the following key components of the circulatory system.
pumps blood out into the pulmonary circuit
carries blood back into the right side of the heart
requires more oxygen from the bloodstream during exercise
enable gaseous exchange between the alveoli and the bloodstream
carries blood from the heart to the lungs and back to the heart
Q6.Place the following sequence of events in the correct order starting with deoxygenated blood at the muscles.
To help you plan your 10 physical education lesson on: A practical exploration of the pathway of blood, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 physical education lesson on: A practical exploration of the pathway of blood, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 physical education lessons from the Anatomy and physiology: the cardio-respiratory system unit, dive into the full secondary physical education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.