Not-So-Silly Cilia Game

Who it is for

Secondary

What you need

Not-So-Silly-Cilia Game Set-Up
Foam balls (provided)
Cones or other corner markers (not provided)
Small puff balls (for size comparison during the discussion)

The words

Air Pollution, AQI

The manual states these. What it does not state is not here.

How it runs

The teaching sequence as the manual gives it.

01

In an open area, designate a trapezoid shape with cones or other obvious markers (see Not- So-Silly-Cilia Game Set-Up). Ask two students to be the Lungs. Divide the rest of class into Particulates and Cilia, choosing a few more students to be Particulates than Cilia. (If the class is large, it may be necessary to have some students observe.) Refer to the Not-So-Silly-Cilia Game Set-Up to place students as follows:
02

Have the Lungs stand on the short side of the trapezoid.
03

Have the Particulates line up along the longer edge of the area.
04

Have the Cilia stand in between the Particulates and the Lungs.
05

Ask students to take a deep breath and feel the air moving into their own lungs. Explain that Cilia are tiny little hair-like structures that line our respiratory tract. Their job is to keep all kinds of particles from entering the Lungs by waving around. Particles can be batted away or may be trapped (caught) by Cilia. In the game, the Cilia can stretch and wave their arms, but they must stand still with feet together. Have Cilia practice waving their arms and staying in one place.
06

Explain that the foam balls represent Particulate Matter (PM). Place all the balls near each of the student Particulates. Explain that, on cue from you, the Particulates will pick up and throw the PM toward the Lungs, and the Cilia will try to defend the Lungs by waving their arms and batting away or catching the PM to keep them from reaching the Lungs. (You may demonstrate by being a Cilia and having a Particulate student throw one of the foam balls at you.) Emphasize that the balls should NOT be thrown with too much force or anywhere near the face.
07

Begin the game by declaring the day bright and clear with little PM. The AQI is Green. Have two students throw their PM. (Note that even on Green days, there is PM in the air.)
08

The Cilia should be able to easily bat the PM away from the Lungs.
09

Ask the Lungs how they’re feeling. Declare another clear, Green AQI day, and have two other students throw the PM; again ask the Lungs how they are feeling. Did any of the PM reach the lungs?
10

Next, declare it’s a very hazy day. It is an AQI Orange day and is unhealthy for sensitive groups! Tell all of the Particulates to throw the PM as fast as they can. When all of the foam balls have been thrown, stop the game and allow time for students to calm down.
11

Ask the Lungs to count how many PM’s reached them (or got past the cilia). Have the Lungs share how they feel to have all that “stuff” in them. Ask the Cilia to tell how they felt during the game.
12

If desired, collect all the balls and play the game again. Students may want to take on different roles.

Talking about it

Discussion points, worked examples and the handouts the manual prints with this session.

Points for discussion

After students have quieted down from the game, pick up one or two of the foam balls and ask what they might represent. What kinds of things contribute to PM? (Forest fires, fireplaces, dust from roads, grinding and construction operations, and by-products of incomplete combustion of various fuels used in motor vehicles, power plants and other industries.)
Would it have been easier or harder on the Cilia if the PM had been much smaller?
Ask a few students to hold up some of the foam balls. Ask students if they think that is the actual size of particulate matter we might breathe in.
Have students imagine that the ball is the same diameter of a human hair. Have students look at a strand of their own hair. Remind them that if they cut a strand of hair and looked at it on end, they are looking at a cross-section of their hair and the width across that cross-section is its diameter. It is so tiny that we can’t measure it in inches, instead we use microns. There are 25,400 microns in one inch! Tell them that width of human hair is around 70 microns. Particulate matter is also measured in microns.
Again have students hold up the foam balls. Hand out the larger of the small puff balls to a student and have him/her hold it up next to the foam ball. Explain that if the foam ball were the size of a human hair (70 microns), this puff ball would be about 10 microns. Particles that are 10 microns or less can be breathed into the lungs.
Hand out the smallest of the puff balls to another student and have him/her hold it up next to the larger puff ball and foam ball. Explain that this ball would be around 2.5 microns.
Remind students that particles between 10 and 2.5 microns are called PM 10 or coarse PM and come from sources such as dusty roads and grinding operations. Particles that are less than 2.5 microns are called PM 2.5 or fine PM and come from all kinds of combustion including fires, motor vehicles, power plants, and some industrial processes.(Note: You might ask the team that created the “Wanted for Polluting Our Air” PM poster to help you with these explanations.)
Explain that those with sensitive lungs and heart conditions–children, older adults, people with asthma and other respiratory problems–can be affected by particulate matter. In an upcoming activity, the class will learn more about how the lungs

Where this comes from

Bridge the Gap is a compilation. This is what the manual records for this session.

The manual prints no source for this session. It is published here as Swechha has used it, adapted over years of classroom work; if you recognise its origin, tell us and we will credit it.

Before you start sets out where the compendium as a whole comes from.

Where to go from here.

Next session

Air Particle ExperimentBlowing in the Wind, 2 of 3

The theme

Blowing in the Wind3 sessions and the background reading

All eight themes

Teach43 sessions across 8 themes

Understand the data

The whole library · the A to Z