Create a Picture of What Happens in the Lungs

Introduce the topic

We will now learn what happens in your lungs.

The purpose of this activity is to help children visualize what happens in their lungs.

Encourage the children to talk about something they have experienced.

Who likes to go to the beach or swimming pool? What do you remember most about the beach or swimming pool?

Encourage responses from the children.

Well, I remember the sunburn I got. Has anyone had a sunburn before? What did it look like and feel like?

Invite responses like red, sore, puffy/swollen, sensitive, etc.

What triggered, or caused, the sunburn? How can you avoid getting a sunburn?

Once again, encourage the children to respond. Too much sun triggers sunburns. You can avoid a sunburn by avoiding the trigger—stay inside, wear a hat and proper clothing or use sunblock cream.

Sunblock cream and asthma preventer medication both offer protection from triggers.

Sunblock cream is a protective coating for your skin. It protects you from the trigger for a sunburn—too much sun. You avoid having a sunburn by protecting yourself from the trigger. This is like the way we control our asthma. How is sunblock cream similar to your preventer medication?

Encourage discussion about preventer medications being a protective coating for the lungs that protects them from asthma triggers.

Review the preventer medications used by the children.

Do you use sunblock cream before or after you get a sunburn? Sunblock cream is just like your preventer medication. You must use it whether you feel good or not. Your Fun Book has a list of preventer medications. Find and circle your preventer medication.

Give the children an opportunity to locate their medication.

What do you use to protect your lungs and prevent swelling in your airways? What colour are your preventer medications?

Ask each child to name or hold up their preventer medication and to name its colour.

When do you use these preventer medications?

Ensure that each child responds and that each child's response correlates with the doctor's recommendation, such as daily or seasonal usage.

Review the reliever medications and lead-in to the next activity.

Hold up your hand if you a medication that is a different colour than your preventer medication. What colour is it?

These medications are usually blue, such as Ventolin, Bricanyl and Atrovent. Verify whether anyone has a different colour.

These medications are like the creams you put on after you already have a sunburn to relieve the symptoms. These are reliever medications. Reliever medication relieves your symptoms by relaxing the muscles around your airways. Let's take another look at the airway models you made last class. Let's try to clear the airways with asthma medication.