Lesson 16. Communication, Electrical Messages
Objective: To describe the means by which cells in unicellular and multicellular organisms communicate with each other- electrical messages
EQ: How do these tiny things communicate with each other when they don’t speak?
Bridge: Yesterday’s lesson focused on chemical messages and how they are used in organisms. But at the very beginning of the video, Mr. Anderson spoke of another way of delivering messages in the body.
- What was the system that delivered the messages called?
- How were those messages delivered, since they were not by hormones?
- Why do you think those messages had to move in one direction only?
Mini Lesson: Share out answers to the bridge. Record the answer to the last for everyone to see.
Now that you have built a base for the nervous system, ask students to write down how they think the nervous system works. Have them do this in at least pairs if not groups of 3 or 4. (5 minutes) They could draw it if they are having a hard time explaining it.
Videos:
Nervous System this one focuses on the structure of nerves and how the electric signal flows through, focus on the brain
After he has spoken about the action potential and Na/K pump creating a battery, you might want to remind the students about how we separated the water into hydrogen and oxygen components using the battery and that we had to add salt to the water for it to work…. The battery supplied the flow of e-s and the Na+ and the Cl- in the salt acted as electrolytes for the H+ ions and O- ions when we split the water.
Nervous System: this one quickly breaks down the difference between the central and peripheral nervous systems and introduces sensory vs motor neurons
Reflex Arc: this is a better description of sensory neurons vs motor neurons (called affectors and effectors)
As you watch the videos, create your own diagram of how the nervous system works (remind them that a diagram is a labeled picture not just a drawing). This might be done best in groups of 2 or 3 on a large piece of chart paper,
The first one is a 17 minute+ video….. show them 3-4 minutes at a time, let them discuss what it is they saw and then draw it out in pieces. Then repeat with the other videos that are much shorter (less than a minute then just over 4 minutes)
Do the nervous and endocrine systems ever work together?
Video: Fight or flight response this is really a tie it together, interdependence, showing how all the body systems learned so far work together to respond to a stimulus
Work Period: Add this to your large body poster.
Summary: Answer the EQ
Closing: This showed how the nervous system in animals, specifically mammals worked. Do you think that the different animal groups have nervous systems as well? How do you think they are the same? How are they different?
SPED and ELL Modifications:
- Allow students to work on diagram as the movie is going
- Provide a visual cue for lower functioning students to look at and model
- Make the diagram activity a drawing contest in which most well done and creative is given a prize.
Apps and Internet Activities:
- Nervous System – Jr. Animated Atlas Series App: Students can explore all different videos and drawings of the nervous system as well as learn about diseases of the nervous system. This app is intended for a reference but could make a fun game- you list different symptoms and they tell the neurological disorder.
- This is an interesting interactive activity for students to determine which part of the nervous system is used to trigger signals from different body parts:
- This is a neurological game page with many activities from word searches, puzzles, etc.. for varied ability levels:
Independent Practice: Reading with questions on the nervous systems of the different animal groups (1 paragraph per each of the group with a diagram)….. have students compare and contrast them and then talk about how this is an example of evolution…. Putting them in order of how they think these organisms evolved.