Make Your Own Paper Bag Lungs Activity

Simple hands on science ideas are often the best and most memorable science projects that you can do with your child. Including them on the project from start to finish helps it really sink in and stick the way a worksheet might not be able to.

These paper bag lungs are fun and give kids a really great idea of how our respiratory system works. They are the perfect addition to a homeschool human body unit and I love that they are usable from preschool up to older children to demonstrate how our bodies work.

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Paper Bag Lungs Supplies

• 2 paper bags
• 2 straws
• Strong tape (duct or electrical work well)
• Black marker

Paper Bag Lungs Instructions

The first thing you want to do is show your child a picture of your lungs that show the bronchioles and alveoli. Give your child a marker and let them draw what they see on the smooth side of the bag, without the flap. Be sure to include the alveoli and the bronchiole.

Open the bags fully, slip the straw in the bag 2-3” in and gather the top of the bag around the straw. Tape tightly, be sure you get a good seal so that it will work well.

As we blew the the lungs up I explained to the kids that what was happening with the paper lungs was the exact opposite of what was happening with the lungs in their body. As they exhaled, the paper lungs filled up and their own lungs “deflated”.

When doing science experiments like this I like to keep books on hand to help us understand and see what we are studying from a different perspective, it helps to find out the correct terminology and see where everything is.

Here are some great books that help illustrate the form and function of our lungs to go along with this science project…

 Look Inside: Your Heart and Lungs (TIME FOR KIDS® Nonfiction Readers) Lungs (Science Readers: A Closer Look) How Do Your Lungs Work? (Rookie Read-About Health (Paperback)) LOUD LUNGS Designer Plush Figure – I Lung Rock n’ Roll! from the I Heart Guts Series Toponechoice Educational Assembled 4D Human Body Skeleton Anatomy Skull Puzzle Medical Science Doll Toys Respiratory System Model Lung Model Floating Ball Game 1Pipe+2Balls Early Learning Intelligence Lung’s Capacity Training Kids Toys

Need more human body activities? The Human Body book for Early Learning is available now!

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Monique

I share educational printables and activities to help teachers make learning about math and science fun!