<![CDATA[General Background: Science instruction in elementary schools requires concrete pedagogical approaches to facilitate active exploration and understanding of natural phenomena. Specific Background: Teaching abstract physiological processes, such as the human respiratory mechanism, traditionally relies on verbal lectures and textbooks, leading to passive memorization and low academic comprehension. Knowledge Gap: While general anatomical models are widely recognized, limited empirical research investigates how utilizing highly accessible materials—like balloons and plastic straws—as hands-on simulation tools specifically advances higher-order cognitive analysis in fifth-grade classrooms. Aims: This classroom action research investigates the application of accessible respiratory models to advance elementary students' cognitive learning outcomes regarding human breathing mechanisms at SDN Tunggal Pager. Results: Conducted across two cycles with 20 participants, the intervention shifted instruction from teacher demonstration to independent exploration, elevating the average assessment score from a pre-cycle baseline of 78.4 to 97.7 in the final cycle, achieving 100% classical completion. Novelty: The pedagogical approach distinctly maps the physical manipulation of familiar, low-cost materials directly to Bloom's taxonomy, successfully pushing student capabilities from basic recall to complex causal analysis of diaphragm movements. Implications: Integrating accessible experiential tools provides educators with a practical strategy to convert passive instruction into meaningful knowledge construction without relying on expensive laboratory facilities. Highlights: Accessible balloon and straw models successfully convert abstract physiological processes into concrete experiential learning. Shifting instruction from teacher demonstrations to independent exploration maximizes class-wide assessment scores. Physical manipulation of familiar objects directly advances analytical thinking capabilities regarding human anatomy. Keywords: Classroom Action Research, Experiential Pedagogy, Higher Order Thinking, Anatomical Models, Concrete Learning Tools]]>
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