Ledyard Public Schools

Grade 5 Science Curriculum

Unit of Study: Life

Suggested Time: 8 Weeks

Content Standard 5.2 Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms. The sense organs perceive stimuli from the environment and send signals to the brain through the nervous system.

Essential Question:How are organisms structured to ensure efficiency and survival?

Focus Question #1 What are the structures and functions of the human nervous system?

Expected performances (B21)  The student will be able to:

a. identify the organs that make up the nervous system (i.e. brain, spinal cord, sense organs, nerves.)

b. describe the function of each part of the nervous system.

 

Required Activities:

Teacher notes:  It is suggested that students keep science journals/notebooks.  (Refer to teacher resource Science Notebooks, Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell for appropriate models for written response and scientific drawings.)

Teachers should preview this site and select student activities that correlate to the above performance objectives.

1. Students will investigate the nervous system through teacher directed activities on the following websites: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html, http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/body/brain_noSW.html  (B21a,b  BINQ2,6,8)  (Technology Standard 5)

 

Assessment:

Students will draw and label the nervous system and write a brief explanation of the function for each part.

 

Optional Activities:

 

Focus Question #2 How do our sensory organs perceive stimuli and send signals to the brain in order to insure survival?

Expected performances (B21)  The student will be able to:

a. describe and draw a diagram showing how the eye receives light and creates an image that can be transmitted to the brain.

b. describe and draw a diagram to show how the ear receives sound and transmits that information to the brain.

c. describe and draw a diagram to show how the tongue distinguishes tastes and transmits that information to the brain.

d. describe and draw a diagram to show how the nose receives smell and transmits that information to the brain.

e. describe how the body receives information about pressure, pain and temperature and how that information is transmitted to the brain.

f. describe the structure and function of the human senses and the signals they perceive.

 

Required Activities:

Teacher notes:  All the following activities were taken from http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html.  Each activity contains a TEACHER RESOURCE (including summary, background concepts, planning and teaching the lab, references and science education standard), TEACHER GUIDE, CLASS EXPERIMENT, TRY YOUR OWN EXPERIMENT, and STUDENT GUIDE.  For your convenience, copies of all materials can be found in the Appendix.  Always refer to safety precautions as suggested in all activities.

Keeping in mind both the essential question and this focus question, teachers should have students compare animal senses to human senses.  However, the main focus of this unit is on humans.

1. Students will design experiments to measure visual fields.  “Out of Sight!”  (Neuroscience for Kids – see Appendix)  (B21a  BINQ1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10)

Teacher notes:  Prior preparation of vision hats required.  You may use the template for the vision hat in the activity, or use the Vision Disk from Carolina Biological as a template.

2. Students will design experiments to predict and measure people’s ability to locate sound.  “What’s That Noise?”  Our Sense of Hearing (Neuroscience for Kids – see Appendix)  (B21b  BINQ1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10)

Teacher notes:  This activity requires students to wear blindfolds.  Modify activities for those unwilling to wear a blindfold.  Safety note:  Blindfolds should not be shared.

3. Students will design experiments to predict and measure ability to discriminate skin sensitivity.  “How Sensitive is My Skin?”  Our Sense of Touch  (Neuroscience for Kids – see Appendix)  (B21e  BINQ1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10)

Teacher notes:  Rather than using corks, use clay or bent paperclip.

4. Students will design experiments to determine olfactory fatigue.  “Our Chemical Senses:  Olfaction”  (Neuroscience for Kids – see Appendix)  (B21d  BINQ1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10)

Safety note:  Check for allergies and be sure students are properly fanning the odorants.  Also, number the containers and keep a code sheet.

5. Students will investigate the sense of taste by reading informational text.  (B21c)  (Technology Standard 5)

6. Students will gather information about their senses through video sources.  (Technology Standard 1,3,5)

7. Students compare the reaction times of different people and design an investigation to answer the question “What Affects Reaction Time?”  State Embedded Performance Task “Catch It!”  See Appendix.

 

Assessment:

Students will research and create scientific drawings with labels of our sense organs and describe in writing how signals from these senses are perceived.  (B21f)

NOTE:  The testable items refer to structure and function of human senses

 

Optional Activities:

Students will design a poster illustrating eye safety.

Students will research animals’ senses.

Focus Question #3 How do we perceive shapes and colors?

Expected performances (B20)  The student will be able to:

a. explain how reflected light illuminates objects and produces the appearance of color.

b. relate the appearance and disappearance of color to the brightness of light and its color and to rods and cones in the eye.

c. describe how light absorption and reflection allow us to see shapes and colors of objects.

Required Activities:

Students use a light lab from shoeboxes, view objects inside, and record results.  Students then place the light lab in a darkened area and repeat the procedure.  See Appendix  (B20a,c  BINQ1,3,6)

Teacher notes:  Light is only visible when it is the source of light (a luminous object) or when it is reflected off something (an illuminated object.)  The brightness of light depends on the distance of the source to the observer and the brightness of the source itself.

 

Vocabulary

• Brain – the organ in the nervous system that is the control center of the body

• Cones – cells in the retina that allow us to see in color and detail

• Iris – colored part of the eye, regulates the light entering the eye by expanding and contracting the pupil

• Lens – part of the eye that focuses light to produce an image on the retina

• Nerve – an organ in the nervous system that carries messages to and from the spinal cord to the brain

• Nervous system – a group of organs that control all body activities

• Optic nerve – a nerve which carries information about light to the brain

• Pupil – the dark circular opening at the center of the iris in the eye, where light enters the eye

• Response – something an organism does when it senses a stimulus

• Retina – light sensitive membrane in the back of the eye

• Rods – cells in the retina that allows us to see black and white only

• Sense organ – a body structure that takes in information from the environment and sends the information to the brain

• Sense organs – a body structure that takes in information from the environment and sends the information to the brain

• Spinal cord – a bundle of nerves inside the backbone that carries messages to and from the brain

• Stimulus – anything an organism can sense

 

Optional Activities:

 

Resources Needed:

Student:

Teacher:

Internet:

Superb content, student activities and lessons:  http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html (Neuroscience for Kids)

Content for students:  http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/body/eye_noSW.html

Lesson plans on brain and senses:  http://www.omsi.edu/visit/life/obp/unit01_index.html

Lesson plans (Grade 6 – 8):  http://www.school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/thebrain-perception

Lesson plans:  http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson183.shtml

 

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Health: Research near/far-sightedness and possible ways to correct vision.

Language Arts: Create poetry using sense words. Use analogies to describe images seen through loupes (see The Private Eye).

Mathematics: Record, graph and analyze data.

 

Bold face indicates CORE expected performances to be assessed by CMT.

 

Ledyard Public Schools

Approved by Instructional Council on 4/10/2006