The Human Body: The Lymphatic System

We are using the Montessori Sixth Great Lesson analogy of The Great River (click the link and then choose "The Nation of the Great River - Narration and Music - by Lizby Dingus and Kai Engle" to hear ETC Montessori's version of this lovely story; choose "Teacher's Notes" to download the words as a PDF).

This story is a wonderful way to frame our work. In a Montessori Lower Elementary classroom students ages 6-9 would hear this story every year. It is part of the Peace & Cosmic Education subject of the curriculum.

This isn't as rich and hands-on as when I taught The Human Body as a summer camp in 2018, of course, because we are doing social distancing and meeting via Zoom. But you do the best you can with what you have!

With this "Flipped Classroom" approach, students are doing the "Prior to Meeting" activities at home with their families before we gather on Zoom.

Previous Sessions in this Science Club topic were:

• The Twelve Senses
• Teaching About ASL and Braille
• The Human Body: The Nervous System
• The Human Body: The Circulatory System
• The Human Body: The Muscular System
• The Human Body: The Skeletal System
• The Human Body: The Teeth
• The Human Body: The Digestive System
• The Human Body: The Respiratory System
• The Human Body: The Excretory System
• The Human Body: The Integumentary System
• The Human Body: The Immune System

Friday, August 28

Prior to Meeting

Review of The Immune System
(The Department of Defense)

• "Convalescent Plasma"

  Convalescent plasma has been in the news lately! Research what plasma is and how doctors can sometimes use donated plasma to treat illness. How does this connect with what we have learned about the immune system?

Introduction to The Lymphatic System

• "Turkey Baster"
  you will need: a turkey baster or an eyedropper, a container of water, a place where you can make a mess (like outside)

  Fill the turkey baster or eyedropper with water and then vigorously squirt it everywhere.

• "Oozy Sponge"
  you will need: a kitchen sponge, a container of water, clothing that you don’t mind getting wet, a place where you can make a mess (like outside)

  Fill the sponge with water and then set it someplace where you can lean up against it. For example, you could set it between your back and a tree trunk, or between your foot and the ground. Slowly move your body so that you feel some water squish out of the sponge with every movement you make with your muscles. If it’s a hot day and you’re having fun, do it over and over again. How is this different from the turkey baster experience?

• "Cloth Bag of Water"
  you will need: a container of water, an empty container, several large pieces of different kinds of cloth that you don’t mind getting wet, a place where you can make a mess (like outside)

  See if you can fold fabric to create a kind of water-holding pouch. Fill the pouch with water and then transport it to the empty container and dump it in. It works best if you have to walk a ways to the empty container, so you can observe what happens. Is your fabric able to hold water? How quickly does the water begin to drip out? Do all kinds of fabrics give the same result? Do you have any fabrics that are watertight?

  some fabric options: cheesecloth, burlap, cotton percale, wool felt, silk pillowcase, bath towel

During the Meeting

• review the results of student at-home activities
• look at images of red blood cell, white blood cell, platelet (PDF)
• discuss the current debate regarding the lack of studies that show convalescent plasma's effectiveness against the novel coronavirus
• explain how Dr. Benjamin Franklin exposed the lies of Dr. Mesmer in 18th century Paris; explain the placebo effect and blind and double-blind studies to prove the effectiveness of medicines

  
  Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France
  by Mara Rockliff

• explain macrophages (part of the innate immune system); explain the origin of the names T (thymus) and B (Bursa of Fabricius) cells (part of the adaptive immune system)
• watch videos on the Lymphatic System from Kahn Academy
  Why we need a lymphatic system
  to 3:21

  How lymphatic vessels move fluid
  to 4:49

  look at lymph vessel illustration
  ETC Montessori Human Physiology nomenclature (LS-3)

  The lymphatic system's role in immunity
  to 5:19

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