The Human Heart

Education World's Great Sites for Teaching About… page highlights Web sites to help educators work timely themes into their lessons. This week's sites are among the best on the Web for teaching about the human heart.

Virtual Body
http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation presents this 3-part interactive exploration of the human heart. In Heart Parts, visitors learn about the anatomy of the heart. In Animated Heart, they see an animation of how the heart functions as they manually control the flow of blood through its chambers. In a Narrated Tour of the heart, they learn about the size and location of the heart and follow the flow of blood through it. Even the youngest students will enjoy this one-stop study of the human heart!

Human Anatomy Online
http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html
Human Anatomy Online makes effective use of frames in creating an easy-to-navigate page for viewers. Simply click on the cardiovascular system and float your cursor over the areas of interest to you. Additional links to anatomical cross-sections and heart-related medical phenomena round out this educational tour!

Brainpop
http://www.brainpop.com/
Brainpop, a site in the tradition of The Yuckiest Site on the Internet, uses offbeat graphics, vibrant color schemes, and amusing audio to present a picture of the human heart. (Click on Health Movies.) The animated movie describes the anatomy of the heart, explains how the heart works to pump blood through the body, and discusses the effect of exercise on the heart. The information provided is both thorough and thoroughly understandable for even the youngest students. And it's so much fun, kids won't even know they're learning. Don't forget to check out the Teacher's Corner while you're there!

The Heart: An Online Exploration
http://sln.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html
The Franklin Institute Science Museum scores another hit with this electronic examination of the human heart. In addition to an in-depth examination of the topic in general, the site offers such gems as a look at the structure of a preserved heart and a prescription for a healthy heart. Add the resource materials, enrichment activities, and glossary and you have a wonderful supplement to a classroom study of the human heart.

Healthy Refrigerator
http://www.healthyfridge.org/mainmenu.html
"Open the Door to a Healthy Heart," a national campaign about diet and heart disease, is responsible for this site, based on the "You are what you eat" concept. Here, visitors are encouraged to maintain a 'healthy refrigerator' by stocking it with foods that promote a healthy heart. Although designed for adults, the site does provide a number of features for children, including healthful recipes they can prepare and a Healthy Fridge Quiz Be sure to check out the Ten Tips for a Heart Healthy Refrigerator and visit What Should I Eat? to see which food groups are best for your heart!

Physical Activity in Your Daily Life
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2155
This American Heart Association site, appropriate for students in middle school and above, relates physical activity to a heart-healthy lifestyle. Here, visitors can find out which kinds of activities burn the most calories, discover their target heart rate, and learn lots of facts about activity and the heart. When they're done exploring the site, students can take the Workout Quiz (see left navigation bar on the page for a link to the quiz).

Walter McKenzie
Education World®
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