3.29 The Respiratory System Lesson for Kids

Learn about the respiratory system, the system of organs and structures in the body responsible for breathing. Discover the parts of the respiratory system and how the trachea, lungs, alveoli, and other parts work together in the breathing process.

What Is the Respiratory System?

Have you ever tried to laugh while holding your breath? It’s impossible to do because, in order to laugh, you need to breathe. Breathing is when you pull air into your body and then let it out. The part of your body that handles breathing is called the respiratory system.

Your respiratory system allows you to do things like laugh, talk and sing. It’s also necessary for you to live–the respiratory system brings oxygen into your body and gets rid of carbon dioxide. Your cells need oxygen to grow, work and keep your body functioning. When cells do their jobs, they give off carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is harmful to your body and must be removed, which is what happens when you breathe out.

1. Main Points:

The respiratory system handles breathing, which is essential for activities like laughing and for life itself; it brings in oxygen and removes harmful carbon dioxide from the body.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What are some of the functions of the respiratory system?
• Thematic Analysis: What is the main focus or topic of this part of the text?

3. Further Discussion:

Why do you think the respiratory system is so essential for activities like laughing, talking, and singing?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: The respiratory system “allows you to do things like laugh, talk and sing,” and “brings oxygen into your body and gets rid of carbon dioxide.”
• Thematic Analysis: The main focus of the text is the “respiratory system” and its essential role in both activities and basic life functions.

So, have you ever thought about how much your respiratory system does for you? It’s not just about breathing in and out; it’s also about letting you laugh, talk, and even sing your favorite songs! What’s an activity you love to do that you couldn’t without your respiratory system?

Parts of the Respiratory System

Your respiratory system is made up of different parts. You bring air in through your nose or mouth. That air then passes through the throat and into your windpipe, which is called a trachea. Your trachea splits into two branches that go into each of your two lungs. These branches continue to split into smaller branches, like twigs on a tree.

The trachea at the center branches off into the lungs, then the branches continue to split further.
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The smallest branches end in thin air sacs called alveoli, which look kind of like clusters of grapes. These air sacs are covered with tiny blood vessels. Oxygen from the air you inhale goes into the tiny blood vessels and travels to every inch of your body. At the same time, carbon dioxide moves out of your blood and into the air sacs so it can be breathed out.

1. Main Points:

The respiratory system consists of various parts like the trachea, which splits into branches leading to the lungs, and alveoli, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What are the different parts of the respiratory system, and what do they do?
• Semiotic Analysis: What metaphor is used to describe the branches of the trachea?
• Thematic Analysis: What key processes happen in the alveoli?

3. Further Discussion:

How do you think the design of the respiratory system, like the branches and alveoli, helps in efficient breathing?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: The respiratory system is made of “nose or mouth,” “throat and into your windpipe,” “trachea,” “two branches that go into each of your two lungs,” and “thin air sacs called alveoli.” These parts work together to bring “oxygen from the air you inhale into the tiny blood vessels” and to move “carbon dioxide out of your blood.”
• Semiotic Analysis: The branches of the trachea are described as being “like twigs on a tree.”
• Thematic Analysis: In the alveoli, “Oxygen from the air you inhale goes into the tiny blood vessels and travels to every inch of your body,” and “carbon dioxide moves out of your blood and into the air sacs so it can be breathed out.”

Isn’t it cool how our lungs are designed? It’s like a tree inside your chest, branching out to help you breathe! What other systems in your body do you think are amazingly designed like this?

How Breathing Works

Your body takes care of breathing for you. That’s why you’re able to keep breathing as you sleep. In fact, your body breathes for you about 20,000 times each day!

There’s a large, flat muscle found between your chest and belly called your diaphragm. When you breathe in, the diaphragm tightens and moves down, which pulls oxygen-filled air into your lungs. When you breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and moves up, which pushes carbon dioxide-filled air out of your lungs.

The diaphragm, in green, sits below the lungs.
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This air that comes out of your lungs helps make the sounds you hear when you talk, sing and laugh. Your voice box is at the top of your trachea, and it contains your vocal cords. When air from your lungs moves over your vocal cords, they vibrate, which makes sound.

1. Main Points:

The diaphragm is a key muscle that controls breathing, allowing the body to breathe approximately 20,000 times each day; it also plays a role in speech, singing, and laughter.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: How does the diaphragm function in breathing?
• Contextual Analysis: When does the body handle breathing automatically?
• Thematic Analysis: What other functions does air coming out of the lungs serve besides just being breathed out?

3. Further Discussion:

How do you think our ability to control our breath differs when we are awake versus when we are asleep?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: The diaphragm is a “large, flat muscle found between your chest and belly.” When you breathe in, the diaphragm “tightens and moves down,” and when you breathe out, it “relaxes and moves up.”
• Contextual Analysis: The body takes care of breathing “as you sleep,” and it “breathes for you about 20,000 times each day.”
• Thematic Analysis: The air that comes out of your lungs “helps make the sounds you hear when you talk, sing and laugh.”

Isn’t it amazing how your diaphragm works without you even thinking about it? It’s like a superhero muscle that doesn’t need a break, even when you’re sleeping! What other ‘superhero’ parts do you think your body has?

Lesson Summary

Breathing is the pulling and releasing of air into the body. The part of your body that handles breathing is called the respiratory system. This system has different parts. You bring air in through your nose or mouth, which goes down your windpipe, or trachea. Your trachea splits into two branches that go into the lungs, which branch and branch and end in thin air sacs called alveoli. Alveoli are covered with tiny blood vessels, which take in the oxygen from breathing and sends it to the rest of your body. At the same time, carbon dioxide moves out of your blood and into the air sacs so it can be breathed out.

Your diaphragm is a large, flat muscle found between your chest and belly that tightens and moves down, pulling oxygen-filled air into your lungs. When you breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and moves up, which pushes carbon dioxide-filled air out of your lungs.