The nervous system: The brain, spinal cord, and nerve network
Engage: To understand how really amazing our sensory organs are, we need to review what we know about the nervous system and how our brain, spinal cord, and nerves work together to gather, process and respond to information from the environment.
Explore: Amazing Facts About the Brain http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/humanbody/brain.html
Explain: Reading Assignment and Videos We Watched in Class
Nonfiction Reading - The Brain
Bill Nye The Science Guy & Brain
Bill Nye The Science Guy & Brain: worksheet
How the Brain Works - video by KidsHealth.org
Parts of the Brain worksheet
Extend:
Exploration/Lab We Do In Class No. 1 - Reaction Time
Exploration/Lab We Do in Class No. 2 - The A-mazing Brain: short term, long term, ancestral or eidetic?
Study Guides:
The Nervous System (brain, spinal cord and neurons {nerve cells}) Word Journal and Study Guide
Parts of the Brain worksheet
Other Cool Websites and Resources
Your Amazing Brain - National Geographics
Baby getting over gate
Essential Understanding
Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.
Essential Question
Standards
5.2. Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.
5.2.a The organs perceive stimuli from the environment and send signals to the brain through the nervous system.
B 21. Describe the structure and function of the human senses and the signals they perceive.
Connecticut Curriculum Standards and Assessment Expectations: Grades 3 - 5, Science, B INQ.1-10
Next Generation Science Standards, Science and Engineering Practices 1-8, April 2013
Lesson Objectives
Key Concept
Explore: Amazing Facts About the Brain http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/humanbody/brain.html
- The human brain is like a powerful computer that stores our memory and controls how we as humans think and react. It has evolved over time and features some incredibly intricate parts that scientists still struggle to understand.
- The brain is the center of the human nervous system, controlling our thoughts, movements, memories and decisions.
- With evolution, the human brain has become more and more complicated, many of its interesting properties are still not well understood by scientists.
- The brain contains billions of nerve cells that send and receive information around the body.
- The human brain is over three times as big as the brain of other mammals that are of similar body size.
- Each side of the brain interacts largely with just one half of the body, but for reasons that are not yet fully understood, the interaction is with opposite sides, the right side of the brain interacts with the left side of the body, and vice versa.
- The largest part of the human brain is called the cerebrum. Other important parts include corpus callosum, cerebral cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, hypothalamus, hippocampus and brain stem.
- The human brain is protected by the skull (cranium), a protective casing made up of 22 bones that are joined together.
- The brain of an adult human weighs around 3 pounds (1.5 kg). Although it makes up just 2% of the body's weight, it uses around 20% of its energy.
- The brain is suspended in Cerebrospinal fluid, effectively floating in liquid that acts as both a cushion to physical impact and a barrier to infections.
- Diseases of the brain include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Diseases such as these can limit the normal function of the human brain.
- Most strokes result from a blood clot in the brain that blocks the local blood supply, this causes the damage or destruction of nearby brain tissue and a wide range of stroke symptoms.
Explain: Reading Assignment and Videos We Watched in Class
Nonfiction Reading - The Brain
Bill Nye The Science Guy & Brain
Bill Nye The Science Guy & Brain: worksheet
How the Brain Works - video by KidsHealth.org
Parts of the Brain worksheet
Extend:
Exploration/Lab We Do In Class No. 1 - Reaction Time
Exploration/Lab We Do in Class No. 2 - The A-mazing Brain: short term, long term, ancestral or eidetic?
Study Guides:
The Nervous System (brain, spinal cord and neurons {nerve cells}) Word Journal and Study Guide
Parts of the Brain worksheet
Other Cool Websites and Resources
Your Amazing Brain - National Geographics
Baby getting over gate
Essential Understanding
Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.
Essential Question
- What is the nervous system and what does it do?
Standards
5.2. Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.
5.2.a The organs perceive stimuli from the environment and send signals to the brain through the nervous system.
B 21. Describe the structure and function of the human senses and the signals they perceive.
Connecticut Curriculum Standards and Assessment Expectations: Grades 3 - 5, Science, B INQ.1-10
Next Generation Science Standards, Science and Engineering Practices 1-8, April 2013
Lesson Objectives
- Explain the role of sensory organs in perceiving stimuli (e.g., reaction time).
- Pose testable questions and design experiments to determine factors that affect human reaction time.
- Conduct simple tests to explore the capabilities of the human senses.
- Summarize nonfiction text to explain the role of the brain and spinal cord in responding to information received from the sense organs.
Key Concept
- The nervous system is made up of the brain, the spinal cord and nerves.
- The nervous system allows information collected by the sensory organs to be processed and responded to.