Science 5 - Living Systems Videos

In the episode "Bill Nye the Science Guy: Blood and Circulation," Bill Nye explores the circulatory system and its critical role in the human body. He explains how the heart pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to cells while removing waste like carbon dioxide. Through fun demonstrations and experiments, Nye shows how arteries and veins work together to keep the blood flowing. He also discusses the importance of maintaining a healthy heart and circulatory system by exercising and eating well, emphasizing how vital this system is to overall health.

In the episode "Bill Nye the Science Guy: Bones and Muscles," Bill Nye dives into the structure and function of the human skeletal and muscular systems. He explains how bones provide the framework that supports the body and protects vital organs, while muscles work to allow movement by contracting and relaxing. Through entertaining visuals and experiments, Nye illustrates the connection between bones, muscles, and joints, showing how they work together to enable everything from walking to lifting. He also discusses how to keep bones and muscles healthy by staying active and getting proper nutrition. 

The video "Bones for Kids" explains the role of the skeletal system in the human body in a fun and simple way. It describes how bones provide structure, support, and protection for vital organs, while also allowing movement when connected to muscles. The video highlights the different types of bones, including long bones like those in the arms and legs, and flat bones that protect organs, like the ribs. It also covers the importance of joints, ligaments, and cartilage in keeping bones flexible and functional. With engaging visuals and easy-to-understand explanations, the video teaches kids how bones grow, heal, and help the body stay strong. 

The video "Circulatory System for Kids" provides an engaging and simple explanation of how the circulatory system works. It explains how the heart acts as a pump, sending blood throughout the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells while removing waste products like carbon dioxide. The video highlights the role of arteries, veins, and capillaries in transporting blood and demonstrates how these vessels form a vast network that keeps everything functioning smoothly. It also emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle, such as exercising and eating well, to keep the heart and circulatory system strong. 

In the episode "Bill Nye the Science Guy: Digestion," Bill Nye explains the fascinating process of how the body breaks down food to absorb nutrients. He takes viewers on a journey through the digestive system, from the mouth, where chewing and saliva begin the process, to the stomach and intestines, where enzymes and acids further break down food. Using fun demonstrations, he illustrates how nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and how waste is eventually eliminated. Nye also emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet for maintaining a healthy digestive system, making the complex process of digestion easy to understand. 

The video "Digestive System for Kids" offers a fun and easy-to-understand explanation of how the body processes food. It walks viewers through the journey food takes, starting in the mouth where it’s chewed and mixed with saliva, and continuing through the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. The video explains how the stomach uses acids and enzymes to break down food, and how the small intestine absorbs nutrients into the bloodstream. It also covers how waste is passed through the large intestine and eliminated from the body. Through colorful visuals and simple language, the video helps kids understand the importance of digestion in getting the energy and nutrients needed to grow and stay healthy.

The video "Muscular System for Kids" provides a simple and engaging explanation of how muscles work in the human body. It explains the three types of muscles: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac, and how each plays a unique role in movement and bodily functions. The video shows how skeletal muscles attach to bones to help us move, while smooth muscles control involuntary actions like digestion, and cardiac muscles keep the heart beating. It also highlights how muscles contract and relax to create movement. With kid-friendly visuals and examples, the video teaches students the importance of muscles in everyday activities and overall health.

The video "Oxygen’s Surprisingly Complex Journey Through Your Body" by Enda Butler delves into the intricate process of how oxygen travels through the human body. It explains how oxygen enters the body through the lungs and binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, which transport it to tissues and organs. The video highlights how oxygen is essential for cellular respiration, a process that produces energy for the body’s functions. It also explores how carbon dioxide, a waste product, is carried back to the lungs and expelled during exhalation. The video emphasizes the delicate balance required for efficient oxygen transport and the importance of a healthy respiratory and circulatory system in maintaining this process. Though some of the vocabulary in this video might be a little high for grade five, these words are few and far between.

In the episode "Bill Nye the Science Guy: Respiration," Bill Nye explores how the body breathes and why respiration is essential for life. He explains how oxygen enters the lungs, passes into the bloodstream, and travels to cells, where it is used to release energy from food. Through engaging experiments and visuals, Nye shows how carbon dioxide, a waste product, is expelled from the body during exhalation. He also demonstrates the roles of the lungs, diaphragm, and other parts of the respiratory system, highlighting how this system works to keep us alive and energized. The episode emphasizes the importance of healthy breathing and how exercise improves lung function.

The video "Respiratory System for Kids" offers a fun and easy-to-understand explanation of how the respiratory system helps the body breathe. It explains how oxygen enters through the nose or mouth, travels down the windpipe, and reaches the lungs, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream. The video also shows how carbon dioxide, a waste product from the body's cells, is carried back to the lungs and expelled when we exhale. Key parts of the system, like the diaphragm and alveoli, are highlighted to show how they help with breathing. 

The video "Parts of Plants for Kids" is truly built for those types of students who like to compartmentalize information. It does begin with an introduction that looks over all of the key ideas in the video, but then moves to look at the functions of the various parts of the plant such as the roots, stems, leaves, and seeds. Though it does not draw direct comparisons between plants and humans, there are many places where you can pause this video to draw such comparisons throughout. 

The video "Xylem and Phloem – Transport in Plants" provides a simple explanation of how plants transport water, minerals, and food. It explains the role of the xylem, which carries water and nutrients from the roots up to the leaves, and the phloem, which distributes the food made by the plant through photosynthesis to different parts. Though some of the vocabulary in this video is certainly above a grade five level, and this video moves through the content quite quickly, it certainly give repetition to what xylem and phloem's functions are.