The most popular and tangible exploration of the nervous system with primary students is through the senses. The senses provide a wonderful and exciting way to explore how body receives and reacts to stimuli. There is a wealth of information and units devoted to the senses. Because of this I have decided to focus on how to teach students how the nervous system works within the body. I will use some of the senses to illustrate this function, but the senses themselves will not be the focus. I have included some resources that focus on the senses at the back of this unit, but here I will concentrate on how the system works in the body and within the other systems we are exploring.
The brain works like a computer and answers questions and sends messages all over the body. The nerves are the brain's messengers. When exploring the nervous system make a brainstormed list of all the messages the nervous system needs to bring back and forth from the brain. This will not only show the complexity of the system, but how all the other systems rely on it.
The following activities are useful for students to have a full understanding of how the nervous system works. More activities can be found in the websites listed under 'The Senses' in the resources section.
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· Using diagrams and knowledge of their functions compare the circulatory system to the nervous system. It might be useful to dramatize the nervous system if this was done with the circulatory system
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· Do experiments with recognizing and remembering. Play memory games.
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· This exercise will prove nerves are all over the body and all of them must return their messages to the brain. Have the students use a stop watch and compare how long it takes them to react to a command given to the shoulder and then one to the foot.
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· Play Simon says to show how the nervous system helps the muscles.
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· List ways that our nervous system helps us to be safe.
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· Differentiate between conscious and unconscious activities.