Lesson 21 The Respiratory System

Warm-up

Take a few deep breathes. Now try and hold your Vocabulary
breath for as long as you can. It doesn't feel good Look at the pictures. Fill in
when you can’t breathe. the missing vowels.

For how long can you hold your breath?

nh l

Not very long Very long! inhale

xh l

Learning exhale

What Does the Respiratory System Do? l ngs

The respiratory system is made up of the organs lungs

and other parts that control breathing. Its most
important job is to bring oxygen into your body
and get rid of carbon dioxide. But your respiratory
system also helps you make noises. When you
breathe, air moves over your vocal cords and
causes them to vibrate.

Did you know?

Without the respiratory system,
you wouldn’t be able to live.

Application

• Circle the functions of the respiratory system below.

Controls breathing Keeps your bones Digests your food Pumps your blood
strong

Gets rid of carbon Air moves over your Brings oxygen into Helps you make
dioxide vocal cords your body noises

85
 Learning Think about it…
What happens to the
Parts of the Respiratory System air that you take in
through your nose?
There are three major parts of the respiratory system:
the airway, the lungs, and the muscles of respiration.

Airway
The airway is
made up of Nose
three parts: the Lungs
Lungs
nose, mouth, The lungs are
Mouth
and trachea. It is where oxygen is
Alveoli
responsible for being taken into
taking oxygen to Trachea the blood and
the lungs. carbon dioxide
is being sent out
of the body. This
Diaphragm process happens
The diaphragm is in the alveoli.
a muscle under
the lungs. It helps
the lungs grow
bigger when air
is inhaled and Diaphragm
Critical Thinking
smaller when air
is blown out. What would happen if one part of
the respiratory system didn’t work?

Application

• Write T for true and F for false.

Air enters the body through the nose and mouth.

Oxygen is exchanged in the alveoli in the lungs.

The diaphragm helps the lungs to grow bigger and smaller.

The trachea takes air into and out of the lungs.

86
 Learning

Respiratory Movements

Inspiration Expiration

Breathing in is Expiration is
called inspiration when you breathe
and allows out. The alveoli
oxygen to enter help to remove
the body. waste gas from
the blood.

The diaphragm
begins to move Your diaphragm
and gives your helps to push
lungs more room air out and gets
so they can fill rid of the carbon
with air. dioxide in your
system.

When you take

a breath, your
diaphragm begins
Think about it…
to contract and Do you always think when
flatten out. to inhale or exhale?

Application

• Order the process of inspiration by writing numbers 1 to 5.

Oxygen comes into the body through the nose.

The diaphragm contracts.

Alveoli exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.

Lungs get bigger and fill with air.

The diaphragm relaxes and pushes out carbon dioxide.

87
 Learning Did you know?
Your nose hair protects
Breathe Correctly your lungs from dust.

Breathe through Nose hair protects the lungs from getting filled with
your nose dust.
Breathe with the 70–80% of the inhaling should be done by the
diaphragm diaphragm so that your breathing is nice and deep.
Breathe relaxed Having a good breath rhythm shows that your body
and rhythmically is calm and healthy.

Breathe silently Loud and heavy breathing might indicate that you
have breathing problems.

Application

• Complete the sentences with words

from the word box.
Hands on!

loud nose dust Build a Respiratory System

diaphragm relaxed
You will need
Big sponges, scissors, flexible
It is important to breather through plastic pipe (1 long, 2 short), glue,
paint
your . Breathing
Instructions
through your mouth might bring 1. Shape the sponges into lungs
with scissors.
into the lungs.
2. Paint the sponges red.
The should do
3. Glue the pipes together into a
the most work. Breathing should be "Y" shape (this represents the
trachea and bronchi).
and rhythmic. If
4. Insert the trachea and bronchi
your breathing is , pipes into the sponges.

you might have a breathing problem.

88