THE
NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE SENSES
A WebQuest for 5th-
6th Grade (SCIENCE)
Designed by
Jordi Bassa i Esteve
jbassa@xtec.cat
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page
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Introduction
Hi!
My name is Nervy, and I am going to help guide you on
an exploration of the human nervous system and the five senses.
Although I’m only an electric impulse, I know really well how your body
works on the inside.
LET’S GO !
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The Task
1. You should explore the listed sites and find important information,
articles, pictures, etc that help to answer the main questions about the
nervous system and the senses.
2. When you find information, you should check the copyright notice and/or
possibly ask for permission from the webmaster to use that material.
3. Copy any text you want by dragging across the words, then using the Edit
- Copy command on the menu bar. Paste what you highlighted into a basic text
editor, word processor, and create a folder called ‘Nervous system’ in
T:/level/Name/ Science
Project/
In
this folder you should save the ‘Nervous System Journal’, a word document where you should copy the texts that
you might need.
4. Save images you like by downloading them. Save the images you've
downloaded into the folder previously created.
5. Be prepared to cut anything that copyright owners tell you they don't
want you to have.
6.
Once you have collected your
information, you have to prepare a
presentation for your classmates.
The Process
After completing this Web Quest, you will be creating a presentation
of the nervous system, the senses and how they work.
Step 1: Work with a partner to begin your tour of the nervous system.
Step 2: Research the various parts of the nervous system and the five senses
by using the links provided throughout your tour.
Step 3: During your tour, you will need to use your “Nervous System Journal”
(Word) to take notes and to save pictures of each of the three (3) main parts
of the nervous system: the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
Step 4: Use your “Nervous System Journal” to take notes and to save pictures
of each of the five (5) senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Step 5: After completing your tour of the nervous system, you and your partner
will need to do a presentation of the nervous system. More information can be
found at the end of the tour.
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THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The body's nervous system has three (3) main
parts
Click on the three
word links to find out more about these main parts. You need to visit all three
because all the information is mixed.
All three (3)
of these parts work together to tell our bodies what to do. Do you
remember Nervy’s story?
Imagine that you are walking
around the street. Suddenly a traffic light appears in front of you. The
traffic light turns red and…..you stop!
This lasts only a half a
second, but in this short moment a lot of events happen.
First your eyes see the red
light and they give me the information. I catch the information and following
the nerves, and the spinal cord, I go to the brain and give it this
information.
Then your brain interprets
this code and thinks ‘Red light means STOP!’ and it gives me an order to the legs.
I start a new trip through the spinal cord and the nerves of the leg. I
give this order to the muscles and the legs stop.
Is it clear, now? Of
course, you are really clever if you understand this process. ‘
‘
THE FIVE
SENSES
Our nervous system
does a lot more than help us move. It also helps us with our five senses:
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The nervous system sends messages to the eyes
that help you see.
Click on the eye to learn about the parts of
the eye.
Click on these other eyes to learn how your
sight works.
As people, we can see all kinds of things and colours,
but did you know that some people cannot see every colour? Do you know why? Can
you always trust what your eyes see?
Explore these links to find out the answers.
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The nervous system sends messages to our
ears to help us hear.
Click
on the ear to learn about the parts of the ear.
How does the ear work?
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Smell
The nervous system sends messages to
our nose to help us smell.
Click on the nose to learn about the parts of the nose
and how these sense works.
When you breathe in, your nose sucks up smells with
the air. The smell travels up your nostrils and the smells are picked up by a
patch of smell sensors in your nasal cavity, the hollow space inside your nose.
Nerve fibres carry messages to the brain, and then your brain can tell you what
you are smelling. Click on the nose to find out more.
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Taste
Open your mouth: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Click on the mouth to find out more about how we
taste.
We use our mouths to eat, but it's the nervous system
that sends messages from our taste buds on our tongues to help us
taste.
Look at this tongue diagram. Each area has taste
buds, which sense certain types of flavours. Can you identify them? Remember
that umami flavour is caught by all your tongue.
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Touch
We can feel because the nervous system sends messages
through our skin to help us feel.
Click on a hand to find out more about our skin and
the sense of touch.
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I think that you have worked hard taking this
tour, and now it’s time for you to create your presentation, before having a
nap.
Have fun!
Do you remember how to open and use this
software?
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Evaluation
Now you will be graded on your level of expertise. Remember that the
project is done through English and the content has to be learned in this
language.
|
|
Expert 3 |
Apprentice 2 |
Beginner 1 |
Score |
|
The Nervous System |
I know ALL about the three main parts of the Nervous System. |
I know TWO parts of the Nervous System |
I know ONLY ONE part of the Nervous System. |
|
|
The five senses. |
I know ALL of the five senses. |
I know 3 or 4 of the five senses. |
I know 1 or 2 of the five senses. |
|
|
Groupwork |
Worked well with others all the time. |
Worked well with others most of the time. |
Worked well with others some of the time. |
|
|
Presentation Work |
Our presentation includes all the information about the 5 senses and
the nervous system. |
Our presentation includes not all the information about the 5 senses
and the nervous system. |
Our presentation includes little information about the 5 senses and
the nervous system. |
|
|
Our exposition |
I can explain to my classmates how the nervous system and the 5 senses
work. |
I can explain to my classmates some ideas about the nervous system and
the senses. |
I can explain to my classmates a few ideas about the nervous system
and the senses. |
|
|
Nervous System Journal |
Complete, accurate and neatly illustrated. |
Somewhat complete, accurate. Few or weak illustrations |
Incomplete. Inaccurate. Lacking illustration. |
|
Score
6- 10 - You are a beginner.
You must learn more about the Nervous System and the Senses. You have to read and
research more about this topic. Your
work can be better. You have to learn how to work in pairs or how to make a
presentation. I’m going to ask you in two weeks.
11-15 - You are an apprentice.
You know much information about the Nervous System and the Senses.
Nevertheless, you can improve your knowledge and your work. If you want you can
revise your work and present it again.
16-21 – You are an expert. Now
you are allowed to answer any question about the Nervous System and the Senses.
Your work has been near to be perfect. You only have to read few notes done by
the teacher and, if it’s necessary, correct them.
Conclusion
Scientists wonder about the
world around them. When you had questions about the nervous system and the
senses, you investigated, recorded what you learned, and shared with others
your findings. You are now an expert on the senses. Now if someone can't hear
their teachers talking, smell lunch cooking, see their schoolwork, taste their
lunch, or feel their pencil, you can share you expertise with them. You can
explain why things happen the way they do. Scientists never stop wondering
about why things are the way they are. Maybe this web quest will help you ask
new questions.
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Credits & References
Web pages
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=307&id=1528#1
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html
http://www.climatechangematters.net.au/LOTS/Bio/sub/nervous/print.htm
http://www.yorku.ca/eye/eye1.htm
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.asp
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/changingill/
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/hear/hear.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/smell/smell.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/sight/sight.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/taste/taste.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/touch/touch.html
BOOKS
-
Bingham,
C Human Body: Enter a world of discovery. DK Eyewonder. Penguin company.
London-2003
-
Hewitt,
Sally Hear this! Let’s start! Science
collection.QED Publishing. London 2005
-
Hewitt,
Sally Touch that! Let’s start!
Science collection.QED Publishing. London 2005
-
Hewitt,
Sally Look here! Let’s start! Science
collection.QED Publishing. London 2005
-
Hewitt,
Sally Tastes good! Let’s start!
Science collection.QED Publishing. London 2005
-
Hewitt,
Sally Smell it! Let’s start! Science
collection.QED Publishing. London 2005
-
Maynard,
C. How Your Body Works. Knowledge
MASTERS. Alligator Books Limited. London-2006
-
McMillan- Heinemann First Encyclopedia. 2008.
- Oxlade, C. Why, why, why does my heart begin to race? Miles Kelly Publishing.Essex-2005
-
Walker,
R. The Human Machine.
-
Wilkes,
Angela Human Body. Question Time
collection. Kingfisher Publishers. London-2001
-
--,
Quiz quest 2. Kingfisher
Publications.
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Teacher’s page
Introduction:
This lesson was designed as part of my lesson plans prepared for my Postgraduate
Certificate in CLIL( University of Nottingham-Spring 2009 programme).
This Web Quest is designed
to teach students about the Nervous System and the five senses through the
exploration of the internet.
Learners:
This Web Quest is designed to
be used in a CLIL science classroom. It teaches students about the nervous
system and the five senses but it also allows students to develop their
groupwork, writing, artistic, thinking , reading and speaking skills. At
the end of the Web Quest they have to assess their own work.
Considering the grade
level of the students, it is important to be sure the students have an
understanding of what the five senses and the nervous system are before completing
this Web Quest. We are learning
and at the same time
experimenting with the Nervous System
and the Five Senses, so I recommend using this Web Quest at the end of the unit
to solidify and to assess their learning and begin to think critically about
the five senses.
Skills or Competences:
KEY SKILLS:
To attain the competence of living together
harmoniously and to inhabit the world implies to:
- Bring up questions capable of being
investigated about the observable characteristics and changes in the living
beings.
- Explain phenomena with the help of models.
- Use scientific knowledge to understand relevant
situations related to the conservation of the health.
- Participate in the collective life of the
class, the school and the town, putting the social skills that promote the
interpersonal relationships in practice.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Communicative skills:
- Can
relate observations, explanations, thoughts, emotions, give accounts of
experiences, opinions and develop argument.
- Can
interact with other people and approach other cultures in a positive way
- Can
interpret and understand the situations she/he will encounter in everyday
contexts and beyond.
Methodological skills:
- Can access and communicate information using
different supports including ICT tools to learn.
- Can apply study skills that include strategic
thinking and cooperation and self-evaluation skills.
- Can handle effectively an array of resources
to transform information into personal knowledge.
Personal
skills:
- Can interpret and use the body of knowledge
about facts and processes to predict consequences and take reflective action in
order to preserve and improve living conditions for oneself for others and for other living things.
Process:
This Web Quest is to be
completed at the end of a Nervous System and Five Senses Unit. There are
numerous activities to do with students to explore their five senses before
completing this Web Quest. Searching the internet for "five
senses" brings up tons of lesson plans and activities to choose from
To begin the Web Quest
split the students into pair groups, each group researches one part of each
lesson. Since there is going to be English reading involved, make sure to
include at least one average or above average reader in each group to help
guide the non or below average readers along.
Once the students are in
their groups at a computer they can begin the Web Quest. They have to
open a folder into their own folder called ‘Nervous System. They have to copy
the most important ideas and the photos they would need to do a little
presentation.
Once the students have
completed the Web Quest they are to present their finding to the class.
After each group, and each student in each group, has presented have the class
vote on which group they really think is the best. After the students
have voted end the lesson by reminding them that although one group might have
won the vote for best sense it is a personal opinion and each and every group
is extremely important.
Resources:
In order to complete the
Web Quest you will need:
A computer for each group
with internet access.
Software: Word, Paint Shop and Power
Point.
Created in