3c: Engaging Students in Learning and 1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students with a blood model

     Some of my students have a tough time understanding concepts if it isn't right in front of them. So to make the concept of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood clearer to them, I had them help me make 2 models for our classroom. These models lasted over a week before getting gross (then I flushed them) and saved the mason jars for next school year.

The canning jars were filled with water (to represent the plasma), cheerios (to represent the red blood cells because rbc's don't have a nucleus which made the cheerios a good shape), food coloring (red and blue), and marshmallows.

The idea came from Pinterest.com

Some of you have requested that I put links on my blog where you can buy the items I use so I am going to try to do that for you. Especially those of you who live in a different country than I do...this will help you! 

You can buy canning jars here:

You only need a small amount of cheerios...I purchased a couple of these Cheerios in a cup containers so I don't have to buy and store an entire box of cheerios in my classroom for next year.

The jars are created exactly the same except that one jar (like the one below) only gets red food coloring.

represents oxygenated blood

The other jar gets red and blue food coloring to make it a deep red color.

represents deoxygenated blood

What models do you use in your classroom to help your students?

originally posted on ballinwithballing.blogspot.com