Human Body: Brain, Nervous System, and The Senses Unit – Activities & Worksheets

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Most of our students are likely familiar with the 5 senses, but if you’re like me, you may have struggled with helping them delve deeper into the complex system of stimuli and response that is part of the NGSS MS-LS1-8 standard. Well, not any more!

This 4-week unit begins by having students collect data about their own learning styles and behaviors, an activity that will continue throughout the unit as they work to answer the unit questions:

➜ How does the brain process information from the environment?

➜ How can my understanding of the sensory processing system help me be successful in the classroom?

Throughout the unit, students will explore the ear, eye, and sensory receptors in the skin as the delve deep into an understanding of how our sensory receptors receive and respond to stimuli and how our nervous system processes the information. They’ll learn about the neurons in the nervous system responsible for transmitting messages and end the unit by completing a creative project as their assessment.

Individual lessons include activities, reading passages differentiated for various learning styles, and assessment questions. Also included are teacher PowerPoints and Google Drive links for digital lesson components.

While this unit works well anytime of the year, I like to use it at the start of the school year, in conjunction with teaching my classroom routines and procedures. It gives us a foundation of who we are as learners, helps us understand our own learning behaviors, and leads us to identify ways in which we can be most successful throughout the year. It also helps us appreciate the learning styles of others.

Bundle Bonus – the ENTIRE unit in an easy-to-navigate format with table of contents, hyperlinks, unit pacing guide, and bonus activities including a fantastic final project, perfect for assessing student knowledge.

Be sure to check out the unit preview to see everything included in this 4-week unit!

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