Y5/6 (A): Animals: Circulation and health
Exploring the heart and circulatory system through models and enquiries and considering how lifestyle choices affect our health.
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Recall factors that improve someone’s health and those that impact health negatively and suggest improvements to someone’s health.
- Describe the circulatory system as the heart and blood vessels transporting blood around the body and recall that the heart is a pump that pushes blood through the circulatory system.
- Describe the pathway of blood through the circulatory system, including passing through the heart twice in a complete circuit through the body.
- Describe some of the functions of blood, including transporting substances like oxygen, water and nutrients around the body.
- Recall what is meant by heart rate and research using multiple websites to find reliable animal masses.
- Identify the pattern between animals’ size and heart rate and quote values as evidence.
- Describe how different exercises affect heart rate and explain why heart rate changes during exercise.
- Describe what happens to heart rate during and after exercise and compare two sets of heart data to identify a link between heart rate and fitness.
When working scientifically, pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Evaluate the trustworthiness of secondary sources that provide health advice.
- Evaluate the model blood by considering a strength and a weakness when representing blood and suggesting improvements.
- Compare class values and recognise when they do not match.
- Use identified patterns to predict new values.
- Write a method for an enquiry with consideration of equipment, the different versions of the changed variable and how to complete the measured variable.
- Choose a suitable title and axis labels with units for the line graph and plot points on the line graph.
Suggested prior learning
Lessons
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 1: Factors affecting health
Knowledge
- To identify factors that affect our health and how to reduce their negative impact.
Working scientifically
- To evaluate sources of information.
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 2: The heart and circulatory system
Knowledge
- To summarise the key structures and purpose of the circulatory system.
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 3: Blood
Knowledge
- To identify the key roles of blood.
Working scientifically
- To evaluate a model.
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 4: Heart rate
Knowledge
- To explore the relationship between animal size and heart rate.
Working scientifically
- To interpret patterns in data.
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 5: Investigating exercise and heart rate
Knowledge
- To investigate the relationship between exercise and heart rate.
Working scientifically
- To write a method.
Y5/6 (A): Lesson 6: Heart rate and fitness
Knowledge
- To describe the relationship between heart rate and fitness.
Working scientifically
- To draw a line graph.
Key skills
Key knowledge
Related content
Unit resources

Knowledge organiser – Science Y6: Circulation and health
Aimed at pupils, a triple page which gives key facts and definition from the unit Circulation and health.

Vocabulary display – Science Y6: Circulation and health
A display version of the key vocabulary from the unit 'Circulation and health'.
Cross-curricular opportunities
English: Spoken language; Writing – composition; Reading.
Mathematics: Number – number and place value; Measurement; Statistics.
Design technology: Cooking and nutrition.
RSE: Mental wellbeing; Physical health and fitness; Healthy eating; Drugs, alcohol and tobacco; Health and prevention.
Physical education.
British values: Rule of law; Mutual respect.