Blood Cell Journey

Overview

Students explore the route of a red blood cell through the circulatory system, then plan and draft a first-person explanation. They will use accurate sequencing, precise scientific vocabulary and explanation language to inform a reader.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify and sequence the main stages of blood circulation.
• WALT use precise, domain-specific vocabulary to explain a process.
• WALT write as a blood cell while maintaining an informative purpose.
• WALT organise ideas using time and cause-and-effect language.

Success criteria

• I can accurately describe the journey between the heart, lungs and body.
• I can use scientific words such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, artery, vein and capillary.
• I can sequence my explanation with linking words such as first, next, after that and finally.
• I can explain what happens to oxygen and carbon dioxide during the journey.

Curriculum links

• English — Writing to inform: writing texts that include precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to explain a topic.
• English — Writing to inform: using precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to explain complex ideas accurately and effectively.
• English — Composition: making language choices for a clear audience and purpose.
• Science learning — living things and their interactions: communicating understanding of how body systems support life.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and purpose. Display a simple image of a red blood cell and ask, “If you were this cell, where would you travel, and what would you carry?” Open with the blood cell journey hook and invite students to share predictions with a partner. Explain that they will write an explanation for a reader who wants to understand circulation.

2. 4–9 min · Build the route. Use the diagram in the circulation route diagram to teach the key journey: body tissues → veins → right side of the heart → lungs → left side of the heart → arteries → body tissues. Students follow the route with a finger and orally rehearse it to a partner. Clarify that red blood cells collect carbon dioxide from body tissues, release it in the lungs, collect oxygen, and deliver oxygen to body tissues.

3. 9–13 min · Notice explanation features. Read the short model on the model first-person explanation aloud. Identify first-person voice (“I”), present-tense verbs, precise vocabulary, time connectives and cause-and-effect phrases such as because, so that and as a result. Students suggest one improvement to a deliberately vague sentence, changing “I went through a tube” to a more precise sentence such as “I travelled through an artery.”

4. 13–18 min · Plan the journey. Distribute the blood cell journey planning and writing sheet. Students complete the route boxes in order, adding where the cell is, what it carries or releases, and one scientific word for each stage. Circulate and check that students begin at body tissues or the lungs and follow a complete, accurate route. Pause for a quick whole-class check before drafting.

5. 18–26 min · Draft the explanation. Students write a 6–8 sentence first-person explanation on the worksheet. Prompt them to begin with a clear orientation, for example, “I am a red blood cell, and my job is to transport gases around the body.” They then explain the route in sequence, using at least five domain-specific words and one cause-and-effect sentence. Keep the writing instructions and vocabulary prompts visible while students write.

6. 26–30 min · Share and assess. Students read their writing to a partner, who listens for one accurate detail and one precise vocabulary word. Display the partner-check and exit prompt and ask students to underline their strongest scientific sentence, then complete the exit prompt: “One place my blood cell travels is ___, where it ___.” Collect worksheets or scan a sample of writing for next-step teaching.

Resources

• the blood cell journey slide deck
• the blood cell journey planning and writing sheet
• Whiteboard and markers
• Projector or interactive display
• Science books or classroom diagram of the circulatory system
• Pencils and coloured pencils

Assessment

• During route rehearsal, listen for correct sequencing and correct misconceptions about the heart, lungs, arteries and veins.
• Check planning boxes and conference with students who omit oxygen/carbon dioxide changes or confuse arteries and veins.
• Use the completed explanation and exit prompt to assess accurate content, first-person explanation, sequencing, precise vocabulary and cause-and-effect language.

Differentiation

• Support students with a labelled classroom diagram, a partially completed planning route and oral rehearsal before writing. Direct them to the sentence starters on the worksheet: “First I…”, “Next I…”, “In the lungs…”, and “As a result…”.
• Provide an illustrated vocabulary bank and allow students to dictate ideas to a partner or use speech-to-text where appropriate. Pair multilingual learners with a supportive peer and explicitly demonstrate each new term.
• For students needing additional challenge, require an explanation of why the heart has two sides or ask them to include the role of capillaries when oxygen is delivered to body cells.
• Accept a carefully sequenced paragraph rather than insisting on a particular number of sentences, while maintaining the expectation of accurate scientific information.