This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of the body's Brain/Nervous System. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme. Please read our disclaimer.

Access Excellence

Access Excellence is an archive of the favorite classroom activities submitted by high school biology and life sciences teachers.

Better Body Books High school students are challenged to learn the structures and functions of a body system thoroughly so that they will be able to pass on the concepts and ideas to younger students in the form of children's books.

Effects of Environment on Memory A lab for high school students in which they investigate the varying effects of changing environment on the brain's memory capacity.

Mapping the Homunculus Secondary students following this lesson plan learn about touch receptors on the skin and how the brain functions in interpreting touch stimulation.

Remember to Stop and Smell the Roses High school students investigate the relationship between memory and olfaction.

Travel Brochure of the Body Systems In this lesson plan for grades 9-12, students produce a travel brochure for a tour through each of 8 body systems and a working model of one of the systems.

American Medical Association

This site has a wide ranging set of diagrams that serve as "road maps" of the various systems of the human body. See their links to the Brain and to the Nervous System.

Body Quest

A 1997 Think Quest award winner, this site is designed for students ages 11-16 wishing to learn more about anatomy. This link is to the main page which contains 18 sub-selections. Click on 'Nervous System' and 'Brain' for brief summaries and graphics of the systems.

Brain Facts and Figures

Brain data.

[The] Brain is the Boss

An introduction to the parts of the brain.

CLN Theme Pages

Other CLN Theme Pages which have information related to the Nervous System

• Sense of Hearing Theme Page
  
• Sense of Sight Theme Page
  
• Sense of Smell Theme Page
  
• Sense of Taste Theme Page
  
• Sense of Touch Theme Page
  

Human Body Systems

The British Broadcasting Corporation's Online Science site is a series of highly interactive pages on the human body, including systems and various body parts. You may also choose the non-Flash version for faster loading.

[The] Human Brain

Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation's site allows students from the upper elementary grades to read articles about various parts of the brain/nervous system, see images of the human brain (from four different viewpoints), and listen to a narrated explanation. (Requires Shockwave)

Mind and Machine

Information at this site addresses the question of whether or not a computer could be built to model the design and operation of the brain. Included is a description of the overall structure of the human brain and its elements.

Nature's Best: The Human Body

This link is to the home page of Nature's Best: The Human Body - a site intended for high school students. After selecting an appropriate level of bandwidth, you'll be taken to a menu page offering information on all 8 human body systems (Circulatory, Digestive, Immune, Muscular, Nervous, Reproductive, Respiratory and Skeletal). Select "Nervous" for information on nervous system functions, cells, impulse movement, supporting cells, and special senses. (Note: You may have difficulty with the middle and high bandwidth options)

Neuroscience for Kids

Created especially for elementary and secondary students, this page has an extensive set of curricular resources (facts and information) and teaching activities (experiments, activities and games).

Newton's Apple

Newton's Apple is a national science program for kids and adults produced by KTCA-TV in the Twin Cities and sponsored by 3M. Their teaching guides are designed to accompany the television show but can also be used as a stand-alone resource.

• Brain
  
• Hearing
  
• Memory
  
• Reflexes
  
• Taste and Smell
  

Science Role Plays

A lesson plan illustrating how students can role-play a part in a bodily system. The author suggests some activities that require minimal preparation.

Smile Program Biology Index

Teachers participating in the SMILE (Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement) summer session programs each create a single concept lesson plan. This database has 60 lesson plans in the section on Anatomy & Physiology that deal directly with the human body's senses and systems. Caution: Since there is a wide number of authors who have contributed to the database, the detail and quality of the lesson plans will vary.

TrackStar

TrackStar is an online interface which allows instructors to create lessons for students by sequencing existing instructional content in various web sites within a lesson. Students explore one topic at a particular location within one web site then move on to the next topic at another web site. The list of topics remains visible throughout the lesson so that students can remain on track. Explorations of the web sites beyond the designated instructional content are also possible.

This link is to their search page from where a keyword search on "brain" will produce numerous hits. The term "nervous and system" will also be useful but to a lesser degree. Caution #1: Many of the web sites that these lessons access may already be on this CLN page - it's the creation of lesson objectives and the sequencing of the tours through the sites that make the lesson potentially useful to your students. Caution #2: The quality of the lessons (e.g., definining objectives, finding web sites, sequencing the tours) will vary widely within the TrackStar collection.

Virtual Anatomy Textbook: The Nervous System

Brief descriptions of the functions of the nervous system accompanied by pictures and diagrams and intended for high school students.

What Machine Could Do All of This?

Would you like to find out how many time your heart beats in a day, or a month? Perhaps you would like to know the volume of air you inhale in a day, or a month? This site provides you with a range of information about your body systems.

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a source of curricular content in the body's Brain/Nervous System. For other resources in Science (e.g., curricular content in Earth Science, General Science, Life Science, or Physical Science), or for lesson plans and theme pages, click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.