Students will build models to explain a thrombus, embolus, and hemorrhage.  If you want to review these concepts see the web activity.

  Healthy Artery Model- clear plastic tubing-  pour red hots through the tubing and show how they flow through easily.  (We poured the red hots out of  a glass with a heart on the outside to show that the blood comes from the heart.  We put a mason jar with a brain on the outside of it at the other end of the tube to show that the blood flowed into the brain)

  Unhealthy Artery- show how plaque builds up on the inside of the artery by placing a piece of red play-doh on the inside near the end.  Relate it to plaque building up on their teeth.

  Thrombus- pour the red hots through again with the plaque already in place and show how the red hots can't get through as easily.  We used a big enough piece of play-doh so that the red hots would get stuck and block the flow.

  Embolus- We used a Mentos (candy) as an embolus and showed how it would get stuck in the tube and the blood would build up behind it.

  Hemorrhage- We had another tube that we had cut a hole in and asked the kids what they thought would happen if the blood was poured into that tube.  "It will fall out"  "It won't get to the brain"  "The brain will die"

*During all of these we ask the kids what they think will happen.  "The brain will die" is the most common answer, but some will give different answers.

 All of these the strokes can lead to brain cell death.  This will cause areas of the brain to stop functioning.  We then had a picture of the brain divided by different areas of the brain in different colors.  We would talk about which areas are responsible for which major functions like movement, vision, hearing.

Then we explained to the kids that we were going to let them have a brain attack.  But first we would count to three and have all the kids yell "Brain Attack" as loud as they could.

Cards with the activities are written on one side and the children take turns choosing a card from the "deck".  A video game that is a race is used.

"You have just had a stroke.  You are unable to use your right arm. Can you win the race?"

The child may only use one hand to control the car.  Even children who have played before have a hard time using only one hand. Use the timer to compare a child who is racing with both hands on the controller with the child who is using only one hand.

"You have just had a stroke.  You can not move your right arm or your right leg.  Can you get up from lying on the floor?"

Place a sling on the child's dominant arm so they cannot use it. The child then lays down on the floor.  One of the other children is given a buzzer.  The child is then asked to try to get up with only one arm and leg. If they start to use the "impaired" arm or leg then the other child sounds the buzzer.  

During these activities ask the children why it is so hard for them and oither similar questions to make sure they are getting the point of the activity.

Blindfolded Sundae

1. Instruction card
2. Cookie sheet
3. Paper towels/napkins
4. Bowls
5. Whipped cream (used in place of ice cream)
6. Chocolate syrup
7. Cherries
8. Sprinkles
9. Aprin
10. Blindfold

Sensation Loss

1. Instruction card
2. Box or bag with several objects for students to identify: spoon, key, ball, pen, and paperclip
3. Thick gloves

Vision Impairment

Cards with the activities are written on one side and the children take turns choosing a card from the "deck".

"You have just had a stroke.  You can only see out of one eye.  Can you win the race?"

 A video game that is a race is used. Half of the TV screen is covered so the children can use only half of their visual field. Again, let them race and compare their performance to the time needed to complete the race when they can see the whole screen. This demonstrates visual deficits. Sometimes people who have strokes have partial visual loss.

"You have just had a stroke.  You have lost your vision in both eyes. Can you make an ice cream sundae?"

While blindfolded, the child is asked to top a bowl of whipped cream with chocolate syrup, sprinkles and a cherry.

Napkins or wet wipes are needed to clean off messy hands.  An apron is good to protect clothes.

Impairment of Touch Sensation

"You have just had a stroke.  You have lost some sensation in your hands.  Can you identify the objects in the bag?"

The child was blindfolded.  We put big gloves on their hands and then asked them to identify different objects such as a Kooshball, a watch, anything that we could find that we thought would be a little difficult.

During these activities ask the children why it is so hard for them and other similar questions to make sure they are getting the point of the activity.