Year 6 The human circulatory system worksheet

“The heart is a pump” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 science unit “The human circulatory system”, for children aged 10 to 11, and takes about 24 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 1 to 3 of the year, 7 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

The heart is a pump

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · Science · about 24 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain what the heart does and what it looks like.

A Look back3 min

1.
Ali counted how many beans sprouted each day. Which day had the most? Circle one.
MonTueWed
2.
Ali made a tally of how children in the class get to school. Which way do more children travel? Write it in the box.
3.
In this food chain, the rabbit eats grass. Which animal eats the rabbit? Circle it.
foxgrasssnail

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ali sees a heart drawn on a birthday card. Is a real heart that shape, and what does it do?

Watch me

A real heart is shaped like an upside-down pear, not like a card heart.

The heart fills with blood.

The muscle squeezes and pushes the blood out.

Valves snap shut, so the blood cannot flow backwards.

Now you

1.
Valves act like one-way doors. What do they stop? Circle one.
blood flowing backwardsair getting infood going into the bloodthe heart beating

C Your turn8 min

Answer each question about the heart's job and its shape.

A red, pear-shaped heart with tubes at the top

1.
What is the heart's job? Circle one.
make bloodpump blood round the bodyclean the bloodstore food
2.
Which shape is a real heart like? Circle one.
upside-down pearlove-heart shapesquare boxflat disc
3.
Join each part to its job.
HeartValvesBlood vessels
stop blood flowing backwardscarry blood around the bodypump blood
4.
Squeeze your fist tight, then open it. Which part of the heart works like your fist? Write it in the box.

Say it out loud: Which question made you think hardest, and how did you check your answer?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A real pear-shaped heart with arrows showing blood going in and out through tubes

Ali says: “The heart makes new blood, so it is a blood factory.”

1.
What does the heart really do? Circle one.
pumps blood to every part of the bodymakes new bloodcleans the bloodstores blood

E Think deeper4 min

1.
A jam jar pump has a balloon stretched over the top and two straws. Pressing the balloon pushes red water out of a straw. Write one part that is like the heart, and one way the model is different.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

The heart is a pump · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Tue If your child picks Mon, they have read the first bar, not the tallest. Ask which bar reaches highest.

2. Look for: Walk, because the Walk row has more tally marks. If your child writes Bus, ask which row has more tally marks.

3. fox If your child picks grass, they have picked the food, not the eater. Ask which animal the rabbit is eaten by.

B

1. blood flowing backwards If your child picks the heart beating, they have mixed up the valves and the muscle. Ask what a one-way door does.

C

1. pump blood round the body If your child picks make blood or clean blood, they have the common mix-up. Say the heart moves blood; it does not make or clean it.

2. upside-down pear If your child picks the love-heart shape, they are thinking of the card. Ask how a real heart sits in the chest.

3. Heart → pump blood; Valves → stop blood flowing backwards; Blood vessels → carry blood around the body If your child joins valves to pump blood, they have mixed up two jobs. Valves are one-way doors, not pumps.

4. Look for: The muscle, because it squeezes to push the blood out. If your child writes valves, ask which part squeezes and which part works like a one-way door.

D

1. pumps blood to every part of the body If your child picks makes new blood, they have the common mix-up. Blood cells are made inside bones, not in the heart. Ask: does the heart move blood or make it?

E

1. Look for: Names one matching part, such as the balloon for the muscle, and one difference, such as one chamber against four.

Words to use

Say“What is the heart's job, and how do you know? Tell me which part of the jam jar pump is like the muscle.”

Instead of“Tell them the answer straight away, or say the heart makes blood.”

After the sheet

Use a wet sponge over a sink. Squeeze it, then let go. Ask what the sponge stands for and what the water stands for.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

6 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Blood and its four parts(with a plan)
Arteries and veins at work(with a plan)
Nutrients on the move(with a plan)
Planning the Loop(with a plan)
Sharing science clearly(with a plan)
Animal hearts: pros and cons(with a plan)

Every Year 6 science worksheet

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