You Gotta Have Heart or We Will Pump You Up.

An Integrated, Interdisciplinary, Thematic, Standards-based Unit on the Cardiovascular System We as individuals need to understand how our bodies, via the circulatory system, transport oxygen, carbon dioxide, waste products, nutrients, medications, water and hormones. The students will also need to know the different structures and blood parts that make up the cardiovascular system. Included in the parts of the blood and the system itself would be: Arteries, veins, the heart, capillaries, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, plasma, water, and other clotting factors. The essential concepts included in this unit would include how the cardiovascular system transports materials to and from our body. The students will also be introduced to how the cardiovascular system is influenced by different factors including blood sugar, hormones, medications and various environmental stressors that we face. The students will also be exploring different diseases that occur within the cardiovascular system, both genetic and environmentally influenced diseases.