The Respiratory System (Free Spanish Lessons for Kids)
Teaching your little ones about the respiratory system in Spanish is essential for them to comprehend the importance of staying healthy and how breathing functions.
Breathing allows you to live. It’s one of the main functions of the human body and allows you to obtain oxygen and produce the necessary energy you need to function. The respiratory system interconnects different parts of the body and requires the proper functionality of each of the organs involved.
Join me in this educational and practical lesson for teaching your kids the meaning of the respiratory system in Spanish packed with engaging activities to immerse them in the topic.
What is the Respiratory System?
Breathing is essential for all life forms. Your body breathes without you having to remind it to do it. It’s a process that happens naturally throughout your day, your sleep, and pretty much all the time.
Translated to Spanish, the respiratory system is el sistema respiratorio or el aparato respiratorio. It’s divided into two main movements known as inspiración (inspiration) and espiración (expiration).
The full meaning of la inspiración is when you take air and oxygen and carry it into our lungs. This can be done from your nose and mouth. La expiración, on the other hand, stands for that moment when you expel the air from your lungs transformed into carbon dioxide.
Oxygen Vs Carbon Dioxide
El oxígeno (oxygen) is a natural gas the human body requires to work. All human cells require oxygen to produce energy. Your body acquires oxygen through the air it breathes and is distributed to other organs, the blood tract, and body tissues.
El dióxido de carbono (carbon dioxide) is another form of gas that your body expels through exhalation or expiration. Once your body’s cells are done processing oxygen, it generates carbon dioxide. An excess of carbon dioxide in the human body is a signal of an unhealthy respiratory system. It’s a gas that produces a greenhouse effect and can be harmful, exactly the reason why the human body discards it.
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Type your name and email below to get three activities for kids about the respiratory system in Spanish! You will receive: -The organs of the respiratory system in Spanish worksheet -Complete the sentences worksheet -Deeper breathing activities worksheet
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Respiratory System in Spanish Vocabulary
Let’s examine this list of body organs and medical Spanish vocabulary that involves the respiratory system.
| English | Spanish |
| Respiratory system | El aparato respiratorio / el sistema respiratorio |
| To breathe | Respirar |
| Air | El aire |
| Oxygen | El oxígeno |
| Carbon dioxide | El dióxido de carbono |
| Inhalation / inspiration | Inhalación / inspiración |
| To inhale | Inhalar |
| Exhalation / expiration | Exhalación / expiración |
| To exhale | Exhalar |
| Nose | La nariz |
| Mouth | La boca |
| Pharynx | La faringe |
| Larynx | La laringe |
| Windpipe | La tráquea |
| Bronchi | Los bronquios |
| Bronchioles | Los bronquiolos |
| Heart | El corazón |
| Diaphragm | El diafragma |
| Lungs | Los pulmones |
| Alveolus | Los alvéolos |
Un sistema respiratorio funcional es necesario para una vida saludable.
A functional respiratory system is necessary for a healthy life.
El cuerpo humano respira oxigeno.
The human body breathes oxygen.
Los movimientos del sistema respiratorio son la inhalación y la exhalación.
The movements of the respiratory system are inhalation and exhalation.
El sistema respiratorio transforma el oxígeno en dióxido de carbon.
The respiratory system transforms oxygen into carbon dioxide.
Los pulmones son el órgano más importante del sistema respiratorio.
The lungs are the most important organ of the respiratory system.
Parts of the Respiratory System in Spanish
The respiratory system in Spanish and organs involved are distributed into el aparato respiratorio superior (upper respiratory system) and el aparato respiratorio inferior (lower respiratory system).
Upper Respiratory System in Spanish
El aparato respiratorio superior includes la nariz (nose), cavidad nasal (nasal cavity), la boca (mouth), la faringe (pharynx), and la laringe (larynx).
Lower Respiratory System in Spanish
The main tubes and structures of el aparato respiratorio inferior include:
- la tráquea (windpipe)
- los pulmones (lungs)
- los bronquios (bronchi)
- los alvéolos (alveoli)
How the Respiratory System Works
As you breathe in, your diafragma (diaphragm) contracts and flattens out. This allows the air to go down, so your lungs have more space to expand and grow larger as they fill up with air.
It all begins with las fosas nasales (nostrils) and the mouth. The air you breathe goes into your body through the nostrils or mouth and passes through the body through la faringe (pharynx), an organ that connects the nose to la laringe (larynx). La faringe transports it further down to la laringe, a tube located right behind las cuerdas vocales (vocal chords).
Las cuerdas vocales allow you to speak and create sound waves thanks to the air that passes through your body. The air continues to travel through la traquea and moves further down to another set of tubes called los bronquios.
Los bronquios transport the air to los alvéolos and to los pulmones. It’s finally in the lungs where the magic happens and the oxygen your body produces is stored.
How the Lungs Work: Breathing In
The lungs are two cone-shaped organs that are made of pinkish-gray spongy tissue. They take the majority of space in the chest. The chest is the part of the human body that is located between the base of the neck and the diaphragm.
Once the air you breathe passes la traquea, it passes los bronquios into the lungs. Los bronquios distribute the air into both the left and right lungs. Los bronquios continue within the lungs into smaller ducts known as los bronquiolos. The lungs contain up to 30,000 bronquiolos inside and they’re as thin as human hairs are.
At the end of each bronquiolo, you’ll find small sacks known as los alveolos. The lungs have up to 600 million alveoli. Each of them is covered in vasos sanguineos (blood vessels). Once those millions of alveoli fill up with air the lungs expand.
Los alveolos allow oxygen to travel through the blood to the whole human body. The blood vessels in the alveoli distribute the oxygen using red blood cells until it reaches el corazón (the heart).
El corazón then distributes the oxygenated blood to all of the body’s organs and cells.
How the Lungs Work: Breathing Out
Let’s focus now on how air exits your body. When the time comes to exhale, the respiratory system works the other way around.
The diaphragm relaxes and moves up, pushing out the air from your lungs. The muscles in the ribcage also relax and leave a smaller space for the lungs. At this point of the process your body has used up all the oxygen it needs and the blood tract is transporting carbon dioxide and other scraps that need to leave your body.
The blood enters once again through the blood vessels in los alveolos. Once again it passes los bronquiolos, then on to los bronquios and la traquea, and finally comes out through the nostrils or mouth.
The air you breathe out not only contains carbon dioxide and residues, but it’s also warm because it picks up heat as it travels the body. Give it a shot and breathe in and out. Once you breathe out, if you place your hand over your mouth you’ll be able to feel the warm carbon dioxide exiting your body.
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Taking Care of Your Respiratory System
Tus pulmones (your lungs) allow you to breathe, speak with friends, sing, laugh, cry, and much more!
It’s important to teach your kids to take care of them. This includes teaching them to avoid habits like smoking or being around others who smoke. The chemicals inside cigarettes, carbon emissions, chemicals, and pollution can produce terrible damage to your lungs that can ultimately lead to severe illnesses like lung cancer.
The best way your kids can take care of their respiratory system is by doing constant exercise. When you work out, your body demands more air and oxygen. The deeper you breathe, the stronger your lungs get and your body works more efficiently.
Respiratory System in Spanish Activities
Crea tus Propios Pulmones (Create your Own Set of Lungs)
Explain to your students or kids how the lungs work with this fun arts and crafts activity for home or the classroom.
You’ll need:
- 2 liter empty plastic bottle with cap
- 2 9-inch balloons
- 2 bendy or biodegradable drinking straws
- 1 larger balloon
- 2 rubber bands
- Masking tape and scissors
Begin this activity by having the kids remove any labels from the plastic bottle. The bottle is meant to represent the human chest cavity. Make a hole in the bottle cap and insert two drinking straws through the cap. Use one of the 9 inch balloons at the end of each of the straws and secure them using the rubber bands.
The straws are meant to represent los bronquios and the balloons represent los pulmones. The bottle cap should be located in the middle of the straws and the cap should be secured at the top. Cut the lower end of the bottle, stretch the large balloon over it and secure it with masking tape. This larger balloon represents el diafragma. Now the model is finished.
For trying it, have the kids pull out the larger balloon to see how the diaphragm works and inflates the lungs. This experiment is fun and engaging, it’s a great visual resource where your kids can use their creativity and repeat the name and definition of each of the respiratory systems in Spanish organs.
You can view this video to see the full experiment and replicate it at home.
The Organs of the Respiratory System in Spanish
Print out our template and have your kids identify the different body parts that are part of the respiratory system in the diagram. Our template allows your kids to color the different tubes and organs as they label them in Spanish. Make sure they practice their spelling and writing in Spanish as they go along.
Complete the Sentences Worksheet
Use our sentences in Spanish worksheet as a practice exercise of vocabulary, writing, and reading in Spanish comprehension. The template has ten different sentences for the students to complete and comes with an answer sheet to review together.
Deeper Breathing Activities
Use our template as a way for the kids to identify different activities that affect the respiratory system. The template comes with three blank spaces for the kids to draw images of healthy activities like sports, exercises, or games. This activity is great for teaching students the value of taking care of their lungs and body. Take advantage of the opportunity by teaching them about the other harmful activities that affect their respiratory system.
El Viaje del Oxígeno a Través del Cuerpo (The Journey of Oxygen Through the Body)
Use the useful video in Spanish below to teach your kids the journey oxygen makes through the human body. The video teaches the kids how to say the different body parts and functions of the respiratory system in Spanish. Videos are a fantastic resource for visual learners, they also help with listening skills and with pronunciation.
Keep Breathing and Speak Spanish!
The respiratory system in Spanish is a fun topic that teaches your children and students the value of staying healthy at a young age. Use this lesson as a resource for teaching them healthy habits and how to take care of their body.
Healthy habits are essential to a child’s development and future. Including Spanish learning at a young age also contributes to developing a better foundation for school. Sign them up for a free trial class with our native Spanish-speaking teachers. By the time they reach high school they’ll already have the foundation for Advanced Placement tests and for Spanish as an SAT II subject test.
Becoming Spanish speakers at a young age allows kids to tackle these courses with confidence and with a stress-free approach.
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