What it is: The American Heart Association has a new set of heart interactives on their site, Be the Beat. On Be the Beat, students can explore the heart, view a healthy vs unhealthy heart and perform virtual CPR during a cardiac arrest. The interactives have extremely life-like graphics and can be manipulated to view the heart under a variety of circumstances. Students can speed up heart rate or adjust layers of the heart. The CPR simulation is excellent. It leads students through a scenario where a friend collapses. It is up to students to decide how to administer CPR and use an AED to help the friend.
How to integrate Be the Beat into the classroom: Be the Beat is very well done. I’m impressed with the level of information, the interactive graphics and the ability to manipulate how the heart is reacting. Be the Beat would be a great site for students to visit when learning about the heart. This could be as part of a science class, health or PE class.
On the interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer, students can take turns adjusting and manipulating what is happening to the heart. As they take their turn, they can play “scientist” and describe what is happening to the rest of the class with the help of the captions on Be the Beat. The CPR interactive would be a great whole-class activity. As a class, students can make decisions about what to do to help their friend who has gone into cardiac arrest. They can take turns calling for help, administering CPR and using the AED.
Be the Beat would make a fantastic hands-on center on classroom computers as students are learning about the heart. Students can stop by the center and explore the different areas of the heart. Assign each student to study a different area of the heart so that they can take turns explaining the functions to each other.
Please leave a comment and share how you are using Be the Beat in your classroom!
We are studying the heart in sixth grade and I can’t wait to use this! Thanks for the resource!
This interactive heart model worked perfectly in my classroom for the human body unit I have just completed. It was great to use as review for previously covered lessons, as well as allow for further investigation by my students. I was wondering if anyone knew of related activities with other human body systems? I would be very interested in using more of these activities in my classroom.