Hero Squad Challenge - Elementary
***It is important to note that partners should not feel like they have to build out all of this on their own. We want to make it as easy and painless as possible to support students and are here to support you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to mgoodbody@sandi.net at any point in this process.
The Hero Squad Challenge
Elementary School Challenge
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Hero Squad is a group of special individuals teaming up to fight back against blood cancers. Our Hero Squad is made up of students, teachers, parents, families, and even administrators, who are taking on challenges to raise funds, spread awareness, and learn more about our bodies, blood cancers, and how we can cure them!
Possible Solution(s)
Here at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, we encourage students to explore the science of life around them. Cancer is a word most students have heard and, while it can be a very scary word, our hope is that by educating students and helping them to learn more about the science behind cancer, we will help raise a generation of students motivated to help us find a cure!
In this challenge, students will learn about the connection between lungs and blood and join the Hero Squad!
· When we breathe in air, it goes to our lungs.
· Our blood picks up oxygen from the air we breathe in.
· Blood delivers oxygen throughout the body.
Explore
The Problem
Lungs and blood use teamwork to ensure that oxygen is delivered throughout the body. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) depends on teamwork, too. LLS teams up with experts from the medical and science fields to make a positive impact on the lives of people whose blood doesn’t work well.
Investigate
What does breathing have to do with blood? A lot. When you inhale, you take in air and send it to your lungs. The heart pumps blood to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen from the air you breathe in. Then the blood delivers oxygen throughout the body.
Plan
What do you need?
2 plastic sandwich bags for each student, plus 2 more
2 plastic drinking straws for each student, plus 2 more
Copy of the My Lungs printable for each student
Time & Place
This experiment can be completed at any time!
Action Steps
1. Instruct each student to put their hands on their chest and take a deep breath. Then have them breathe out. Explain that as they felt their chest expand and return to its normal size, they felt their two lungs at work. Lungs expand and contract like balloons. Special bones called ribs go around the lungs and heart to protect them.
2. Ask students to observe carefully as you take a straw, insert one end of it in a plastic bag, gather the top of the bag, and then tape the bag to the straw. Repeat with a different straw and bag. Then wrap a piece of tape around the upper part of the two straws to hold them together. Encourage students to imagine that the bags are lungs. Point to the straws as you explain that when a person breathes in air, it goes into two large tubes. One tube goes into the left lung and one tube goes into the right lung. Then blow air through the straws to inflate the bags. Let the air out. Repeat a few times as students watch.
3. Remind students that blood travels throughout their bodies. When blood goes to the lungs, it picks up oxygen from the air that was breathed in. Then the blood delivers the oxygen all around the body.
4. Give each student a copy of the printable. Remind students that they use their lungs all the time, especially when they blow up balloons, blow bubbles, or participate in physical activity. Read the caption and sentence starters with students. As students complete the sentences, circulate among them. If desired, help youngsters assemble models of lungs like the one you made.
Share
Step 1:
To submit your entry, please share your creation by emailing: sy.cad@lls.org
Step 2:
Share your experience with us by tagging us on Facebook or Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/LLSSDHI/
@lls_sandiego
Get More Involved
Raise funds for the Hero Squad:
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the largest non-profit dedicated to curing blood cancers. We are able to fund lifesaving research and programs for patients with donations, many of which come from students! You can raise funds for the Hero Squad by collecting donations in person or online and spreading the word to everyone you know! Please visit: https://www.penniesforpatients.org/ to learn more or find your school.