Below are the Neuroseeds lesson plans. Click on the lesson title or photo below to go the lesson page where you can download lesson plans and see related resources.
General documents (click to download): Introduction to the Lessons, Lesson Appendix, MouseMath, Prefix-suffix crossword puzzle
Connect with other teachers- visit our Neuroseeds Facebook Group
In this interactive lesson, students will learn the basic anatomy and
physiology of the nervous system. Starting with structure of the brain,
spinal cord, and nerve cells, students will learn about
neurotransmission and the electrochemical process by which neurons send
signals. They will participate in several activities that model the
functions of neurons.
In this lesson, students learn that many plants contain chemicals with
medicinal properties, including neuroactive properties. In the lab
portion, they use either an infusion or decoction laboratory procedure
to make a liquid that contains these plant chemicals. These plant
extracts will be used in other labs in the Sowing the Seeds of
Neuroscience curriculum.
In this lesson, students will explore how plant extracts act as stimulants or depressants and affect planaria movement.
This lesson is designed to introduce students to the concepts of stem cells
and regeneration using planaria as a model organism. In the lab
portion, students will explore how the plant extracts they made
previously in the Infusions & Decoctions: Preparing Plant Extracts
lesson affect planaria regeneration.
In
this lesson, students learn that bacteria can cause illness, including
neurological diseases such as meningitis. In the lab portion, they
examine whether some plant extracts are effective at slowing down the
growth of bacteria.
In
this lesson, students will observe and count the heart rate of
Lumbriculus worms
with and without the addition of a plant extract.
In
this lesson, students learn that plant extracts are mixtures of many
chemical compounds and it is possible to separate these compounds using
chromatography.
In this lab, students investigate how cayenne pepper extract affects the electrical
activity in a cockroach leg nerve. They will use a SpikerBox, a “bioamplifier”
that allows them to hear the spikes (action potentials) of live neurons in a
cockroach’s leg.
