Career and Technology Studies Grades 10-12

A series of short animated videos that explain how systems in the body work. Created by a high school science teacher.

Now that we've discussed blood, we're beginning our look at how it gets around your body. Today Hank explains your blood vessels and their basic three-layer structure of your blood vessels.

n this episode, we start discussing what blood pressure is, how it can become "high", and what that means for our health. One of the more interesting points is that your body has ways of dealing with high blood pressure, but they're not ways we want our bodies to operate on a full-time basis.

Hank takes us on a trip around the body - we follow the circulatory and respiratory systems as they deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from cells, and help make it possible for our bodies to function.

We continue our look at your bones and skeletal system, skipping over the silly kid's song in favor of a more detailed look at your axial and appendicular skeleton. This episode also talks about the structural and functional classifications of your joints and the major types of body movement that they facilitate.

We're kicking off our exploration of muscles with a look at the complex and important relationship between actin and myosin. Your smooth, cardiac, and skeletal muscles create movement by contracting and releasing in a process called the sliding filament model. Your skeletal muscles are constructed like a rope made of bundles of protein fibers, and the smallest strands are your actin and myosin myofilaments. It's their use of calcium and ATP that causes the binding and unbinding that makes sarcomeres contract and relax.

Your heart gets a lot of attention from poets, songwriters, and storytellers, but today Hank's gonna tell you how it really works. The heart’s ventricles, atria, and valves create a pump that maintains both high and low pressure to circulate blood from the heart to the body through your arteries and bring it back to the heart through your veins.

Today we're talking about the heart and heartthrobs -- both literal and those of the televised variety. Hank explains how your heart’s pacemaker cells use leaky membranes to generate their own action potentials, and how the resulting electricity travels through the cardiac conduction pathway from SA Node to Purkinje fibers, allowing your heart to contract.

Today Hank explains the skeletal system and why astronauts Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are out in space studying it. He talks about the anatomy of the skeletal system, including the flat, short, and irregular bones, and their individual arrangements of compact and spongy bone. He'll also cover the microanatomy of bones, particularly the osteons and their inner lamella.

This site provides high-quality images of bones and an interactive environment in which to examine and learn about skeletal anatomy. View the bones of a human, gorilla, and baboon and to gather information about them from the osteology database.

This online exhibit describes the structure and function of the human heart and lungs. There are animated diagrams and videos that demonstrate how these organs work.

We all do it. Notice something odd about our body and we Google it to find out if we're sick. But how do you know if you're finding good information or a quack site? Learn how to figure that out!

Joints come in many shapes, sizes and types throughout your body. They give your skeleton its shape and help you move. No matter what you’re doing throughout your day, your joints make it possible.

When you breathe, you transport oxygen to the body’s cells to keep them working, while also clearing your system of the carbon dioxide that this work generates. How do we accomplish this crucial and complex task without even thinking about it?

This TED Talk video, with bonus quiz and resources, investigates how the heart "works by taking a closer look at the heart’s highly efficient ventricle system." (site)

Are sports as good for us as we make them out to be, or are they just a fun and entertaining pastime? Leah Lagos and Jaspal Ricky Singh show what science has to say on the matter.

Typically, athletes stretch before physical activity to avoid injuries like strains and tears. But does stretching actually prevent these issues? And if so, how long do the benefits of stretching last? Dig into the science of stretching, and find out what it actually does to your muscles and how you can improve your flexibility.

Yoga is a blend of physical and mental exercise is widely believed to have a unique set of health advantages. But is yoga actually beneficial to your health? Krishna Sudhir examines how this ancient tradition impacts the body and mind.

Leading a more active lifestyle takes time, effort, and determination, but in the end, it's really worth the shot. Here's what will happen to your body when you exercise regularly.

While there are loads of sport psychologists out there helping and supporting athletes, it is also important for coaches to have a basic understanding of this area. This allows you to support your athletes as best as you can – so, what do you need to know?

The Coaching Association of Canada's has lots of great resources for coaching sports for any age athlete.

Useful information about athletes with disabilities for PE teachers and coaches

The skills page is intended to be a forum for gymnasts, coaches, or anyone who just wants to learn about gymnastics skills. It was created because I noticed a lack of this kind of information on the net.

A fun way to introduce outdoor adventure skills to participants aged 5-12 years!

My focus with this website is in providing the best youth baseball coaching information that I can. I want you to become a successful youth baseball coach and just as importantly I want you to enjoy coaching and being part of a team.

A resource on the psychology of sports coaching

A useful guide to all types of sports injuries

Our nationally-recognized not for profit organization consists of sport and physical literacy experts with the long-term vision necessary to be catalysts for lasting change within the sport and physical activity ecosystem and beyond.

Whether you’re pushing a grocery cart or putting on shoes, you use your core to accomplish a lot of everyday activities. Contrary to popular belief, your core doesn’t just include your abdominal muscles. It also consists of muscles in your back and around your pelvis.

Core-strength exercises strengthen the core muscles. Core muscles include the abdominal muscles, back muscles and the muscles around the pelvis. Strong core muscles make it easier to do many physical activities.

These are flexibility exercises for all age levels and fitness levels.

Staying injury-free throughout the sports season requires a proper stretching program. Flexibility is a key component to preventing injury. Stretching before athletic activity helps prepare the muscles for exercise. Stretching after exercise has proven to be even more important for preventing injury.

A collection of traditional Indigenous games and activities to help introduce or reconnect children to recreational and sport activities that reflect the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Each game includes information about the Nation who invented it and how the game was traditionally played.

A useful guide about teaching children the basics of canoeing and kayaking.

A useful guide about teaching children the basics of canoeing and kayaking.

A fun way to introduce outdoor adventure skills to participants aged 5-12 years!

These activities help to develop appreciation and enjoyment of the great outdoors. They also help children foster a healthy attitude to the environment around them.

The PE games you will find on this site are used by professional physical education teachers as part of successful programs in K-8 gyms.

A exercise series created by the Coeur D'Alene tribe that is based on traditional Indigenous dances.

Videos from the Exercise & Sport Science Initiative at the University of Michigan. Children have access to 20-minute cardio workout videos that are developmentally appropriate and approved by pediatric exercise physiologists and physical education specialists.

Tradition indigenous culture and values are linked with physical education activities for kids.

Do you know if your school’s physical education classes and sports programs are safe and fun for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression? This project is here to help you evaluate your school and to implement changes, ensuring your school is respectful and safe for all.

Useful information about athletes with disabilities for PE teachers and coaches

An article on how students with disabilities can be included in physical education. Note: The clickable table of contents for the article is on the right side of the page.

A collection of traditional Indigenous games and activities to help introduce or reconnect children to recreational and sport activities that reflect the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Each game includes information about the Nation who invented it and how the game was traditionally played.

transathlete is a resource for students, athletes, coaches, and administrators to find information about trans inclusion in athletics at various levels of play.

Information for teachers about the Youth Wellness Leadership Program and how it can be brought out to your community

This link is to Chapter 5 of an open access textbook on tourism. Students will learn about the recreation, outdoor recreation, adventure tourism, and nature-based tourism industries in Canada and their challenges.

Protein tells your body that you're full, so it's good to get protein in a snack when you're hungry. Here are 30 easy ways to do that.

This online agricultural magazine for educators is produced in Alberta and covers topics such as food security, nutrition, climate change and sustainability and learn how they can take action.

Skipping the morning meal can throw off your body’s rhythm of fasting and eating. When you wake up, the blood sugar your body needs to make your muscles and brain work their best is usually low. Breakfast helps replenish it.

This food guide promotes healthy eating and overall nutritional well-being, and support improvements to the Canadian food environment

This video explores some of its key parts, including vital nutrients (water, vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats, and proteins) and describes two different reactions: anabolic and catabolic.

In this Crash Course video, learn about human metabolism including cellular respiration, atp, glycogenesis, and how insulin regulates our blood sugar levels.

In this article, you'll learn the aspects of sports nutrition, including basic advice, information on supplements, and the truth about a few common myths.

Tips on healthy snacking from the Government of Canada

This reliable health web site offers a collection excellent resources about nutrition

Learn how to use nutrition information to make informed choices about the foods you buy.

Nutrition talks, exercises, and lessons from TedEd

Lesson plans and tools from Alberta Health Servers that include background information for teachers and student activities on nutrition and Canada's Food Guide.

The link between good health and good nutrition is well established. Whether you are a competing athlete, a weekend sports player or a dedicated daily exerciser, the foundation to improved performance is a nutritionally adequate diet.

Almost every year, the western world is introduced to a new superfood that boasts extraordinary nutritional benefits. The documentary examines its unintended effects this has on food security, health, sustainable farming, and fair-trade food practices.

Water is essentially everywhere in our world, and the average human is composed of between 55 and 60% water. So what role does water play in our bodies, and how much do we actually need to drink to stay healthy?

What do you, the trees, and a hamster have in common? Learn about our need for water.

Our traditional foods have nourished us well since the time of our creation and have been of fundamental importance to our culture. We developed sophisticated techniques to preserve a variety of foods year round to keep our bodies strong and this knowledge has carried us well into our current place

Exploration is a primary drive of humanity but it only works if you know where you are at any given time. Not so easy when you are out at sea with no visible landmarks and the stars above you are in constant motion. It turns out that the key to solving this puzzle is understanding that in order to know WHERE you are, you have to first know WHEN you are.

Learning how to use a map and compass to travel in unknown terrain can be fun and rewarding. It could even save your life if you become lost while out hunting, fishing or just exploring.

A series of videos that teach the basics of map and compass use, triangulation, and strategies for getting unlost!

Have you ever gotten lost? Don't panic, have some bannock! Wilfred Buck, a Knowledge Keeper and science facilitator, tells a story of how he got lost in the bush and shares how he used orienteering to get out safely using his knowledge of sky science

Watching this video will teach you to use a map and taking directional bearings with a compass.

Orienteering is an exciting and challenging adventure sport. It's easy for anyone to start and fun to do. You learn to navigate, develop confidence and discover new places. Orienteering is a sport that exercises both your mind and body.

You can check for park closures, construction notifications, warning about bears and cougars, and water warnings on this site.

Before going camping or out for a long hike, it's important to check about fire bans in the area.

On this site you'll find up-to-date information about the condition of trails in provincial parks.

Alberta River Basins provides real-time information for Alberta's river basins. Remote monitoring stations provide information related to precipitation, river flow, runoff conditions etc. Specific links include advisories & warnings, forecaster's comments, water supply outlook, and maps.

Weather forecasts for all areas in Alberta from Environment Canada

Information about wildfire statuses and fire bans in Alberta

Maps and status updates of avalanche conditions in the Rocky Mountains

Information for staying safe while visiting the backcountry in Alberta

Fire safety practices to follow when you are camping or staying in Alberta parks.

Sound advice for preparing for any hike.

An online tutorial for teachers and students to learn the basics of recreational avalanche safety

Tips from Parks Canada about what to do when you encounter a bear

Information from the Special Olympics about how to recognize the signs of a concussion and what to do for an athlete who might have one.

A resource for PE teachers and coaches from the Special Olympics

Sports injuries is a term that refers to injuries that occur in active individuals. This guide focuses on the most common types of sports injuries—those that affect the musculoskeletal system.

Sports injuries can happen to anyone, anytime. Here’s how to best deal with them for a speedy recovery.

This video explains the science behind concussions. How dangerous is a concussion? The answer is complicated and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it.

A page written for teens about sports safety and how to use sports safety equipment

To keep sports safe and fun for kids, here are some tips to help prevent common injuries among youth athletes.