Endocrine glands and signaling
Do now
Students will map the major endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete using teacher notes and the PLTW online task.
- Hand in
- Annotated body diagram labeling at least four endocrine glands with their primary hormones, plus definitions of hormone, target cell, and receptor.
- Where
- Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
The thyroid sits in your neck but sets the metabolic pace of your whole body; how does a signal made in the neck reach and change a cell in your foot?
Students will map the major endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete using teacher notes and the PLTW online task.
- • Body diagram labels at least four glands with correct hormones.
- • PLTW online task is submitted with all matches attempted.
- Name one gland you already know and one thing it does.
- If a travels through the blood and reaches every cell, why does it only change some of them?
- 1Take guided notes on the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands.
- 2Define , target cell, and in your own words.
- 3Complete the assigned PLTW online gland-and- matching activity.
- 4Annotate a body diagram with each gland and its primary .
- 5Write one question about a gland you still find confusing.
What did this day actually feel like?
Endocrine glands and signaling
Four glands minimum on a body diagram with the hormone each releases. The endocrine system is the slow control system, chemical instead of electrical, and it reaches everywhere the blood does.
The comparison that landed: the nervous system is a phone call, the endocrine system is a letter to everybody at once.
Turned in: annotated gland diagram → recorded in Class Records
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
Four glands minimum on a body diagram with the hormone each releases. The endocrine system is the slow control system, chemical instead of electrical, and it reaches everywhere the blood does.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
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🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
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💡 Big idea: The endocrine system can coordinate distant organs because hormones travel through shared blood, so that any cell can be reached, while receptors decide which cells actually respond.
- 0-10Warm-up: name one gland and guess what it does
- 10-30Guided notes: pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands and their primary hormones
- 30-45Vocabulary pair-work: , target cell, in own words
- 45-60PLTW online gland-and- matching activity
- 60-72Annotate body diagram with glands and hormones
- 72-80Write one confusing question; share and submit diagram
- • Your endocrine system is sending chemical messages through your blood right now.
- • Today you will build a map of which glands send which messages and why.
- • Knowing gland- pairs is foundational for the WebXam /Physiology/Pathophysiology domain.
- • By the end you will have an annotated body diagram and a completed PLTW online activity.
- • Major endocrine glands include the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands, each secreting distinct hormones.
- • A only affects a target cell that carries the matching .
- • Medical terminology for endocrine pathophysiology links organ names to dysfunction (e.g., hypo/hyperthyroidism).
Unit 2.2 Everything Endocrine: Endocrine glands, hormones, feedback loops, blood sugar/insulin model. · Endocrine glands and signaling
Day 2 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: Complete the gland-and- matching activity in Lesson 2.2 Everything Endocrine on myPLTW; work through all matching items during the 45-60 minute window.
Mark the matching activity complete in myPLTW after submitting your annotated body diagram.
Introductory task is done; today the gland-and- task should show complete in your progress bar.
Screenshot or note of completion status for your weekly tracker.
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 2.2 Everything Endocrine: Endocrine glands, hormones, feedback loops, blood sugar/insulin model. · Endocrine glands and signaling
Complete the gland-and- matching activity in Lesson 2.2 Everything Endocrine on myPLTW; work through all matching items during the 45-60 minute window.
Introductory task is done; today the gland-and- task should show complete in your progress bar.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Students will map the major endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete using teacher notes and the PLTW online task.
- Take guided notes on the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands.
- Define , target cell, and in your own words.
- Complete the assigned PLTW online gland-and- matching activity.
- Annotate a body diagram with each gland and its primary .
- Write one question about a gland you still find confusing.
Vocabulary task: Annotated body diagram labeling at least four endocrine glands with their primary hormones, plus definitions of , target cell, and .
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Take guided notes on the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands. | _______ |
| Define , target cell, and in your own words. | _______ |
| Complete the assigned PLTW online gland-and- matching activity. | _______ |
| Annotate a body diagram with each gland and its primary . | _______ |
| Write one question about a gland you still find confusing. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- Body diagram labels at least four glands with correct hormones.
- PLTW online task is submitted with all matches attempted.
- 1Do thisStudents will map the major endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete using teacher notes and the PLTW online task.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisVocabulary task: Annotated body diagram labeling at least four endocrine glands with their primary hormones, plus definitions of hormone, target cell, and receptor.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the drop folder.
- 2Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 3Upload the file, named Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.
- 4Your own upload panel says Uploaded with a green check: that is your receipt.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Human Anatomy & Physiology (Human Body Systems) › Unit 2.2 Everything Endocrine: Endocrine glands, hormones, feedback loops, blood sugar/insulin model. › Vocabulary taskOpen the drop folder
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
Medical decisions require weighing benefit, risk, and rights together, because a treatment that helps one goal can harm another, and no single stakeholder's wishes settle the question on their own.
The endocrine system can coordinate distant organs because hormones travel through shared blood, so that any cell can be reached, while receptors decide which cells actually respond.
A mechanic studies a tool whose shape allows one job but limits another.
- Which feature makes the tool work?
- What changes if that feature bends or breaks?
- Which observation shows function rather than appearance?
Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
Living tissues adapt and interact with other systems; a metal tool does not.
- • Tool shape maps to .
- • The job maps to physiological function.
- • Damage maps to a predicted functional change.
Driving question: The thyroid sits in your neck but sets the metabolic pace of your whole body; how does a signal made in the neck reach and change a cell in your foot?
What you already know: Medical decisions require weighing benefit, risk, and rights together, because a treatment that helps one goal can harm another, and no single stakeholder's wishes settle the question on their own.
New idea: The endocrine system can coordinate distant organs because hormones travel through shared blood, so that any cell can be reached, while receptors decide which cells actually respond.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Endocrine glands and signaling. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in Endocrine glands and signaling.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: Structure creates possibilities and limits for function.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: The thyroid sits in your neck but sets the metabolic pace of your whole body; how does a signal made in the neck reach and change a cell in your foot?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : A chemical messenger made by glands and carried in the blood to distant organs, where it controls processes like growth, , and mood.
- • : An organ that releases hormones directly into the bloodstream to control distant body processes such as growth and .
- • : A control cycle in which the output of a process feeds back to adjust that same process, helping the body keep conditions stable.
- • : A made by the pancreas that lowers blood sugar by signaling cells to take in glucose from the blood.
- • : A made by the pancreas that raises blood sugar by signaling the liver to release stored glucose when levels drop.
- • : The body's ongoing process of keeping internal conditions like temperature, blood sugar, and pH steady despite changes in the outside environment.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
Major endocrine glands include the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands, each secreting distinct hormones.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
The endocrine system can coordinate distant organs because hormones travel through shared blood, so that any cell can be reached, while receptors decide which cells actually respond.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
Body diagram labels at least four glands with correct hormones.
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-HAP-2027-03-23 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: anatomy and physiology consultant
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from Endocrine glands and signaling supports before submitting the vocabulary application named on the lesson page.
- • Select the option best supported by E1-E3.
- • Select a reasonable alternative and name the evidence it would require.
- • Delay the claim because the evidence does not distinguish the options.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the vocabulary application.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Endocrine glands and signaling. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Reason for review: Your team must decide what the evidence from Endocrine glands and signaling supports before submitting the vocabulary application named on the lesson page.
Context: The endocrine system coordinates organs that never touch by releasing hormones into the blood, and each only moves the cells built to receive it.
- • T1: Take guided notes on the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands.
- • T2: Define , target cell, and in your own words.
- • T3: Complete the assigned PLTW online gland-and- matching activity.
- • T4: Annotate a body diagram with each gland and its primary .
- • T5: Write one question about a gland you still find confusing.
- • E1: Major endocrine glands include the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands, each secreting distinct hormones.
- • E2: The endocrine system can coordinate distant organs because hormones travel through shared blood, so that any cell can be reached, while receptors decide which cells actually respond.
- • E3: Body diagram labels at least four glands with correct hormones.
Measurements: No patient measurement is supplied unless it appears explicitly in E1-E3 or F1. Do not invent a value.
Figure finding: Teaching diagram for Endocrine glands and signaling. Trace the labeled structure, movement, or system relationship that connects form to function. This is a teaching model, not patient or experimental data.
Uncertainty: This is a composite classroom scenario. Missing history, measurements, or confirmation tests remain unknown and limit the conclusion.
Students often think Students think a released into the blood acts on whatever organ it reaches, so the gland must aim it at a target.. The trap: The blood carries a everywhere, but only cells with the matching respond, so targeting is done by the lock-and-key receptor on the cell, not by the gland aiming the signal. Miss this and endocrine signaling looks like guesswork instead of a specific match.
Annotated glands and primary hormones:
- Pituitary: growth hormone (also signals other glands).
- Thyroid: thyroid hormone (sets metabolic rate).
- Pancreas: insulin (and glucagon) for blood sugar.
- Adrenal glands: adrenaline (the stress response).
Vocabulary in my own words:
- Hormone: a chemical messenger that travels in the blood to change how a distant organ works.
- Target cell: the specific cell a hormone is meant to affect.
- Receptor: the matching dock on a target cell that the hormone binds to; without the right receptor, the hormone has no effect on that cell.
My lingering question: how does one gland (the pituitary) control several others at once?
| Gland | Primary hormone | Main job |
|---|---|---|
| Pituitary | Growth hormone | Growth, signals other glands |
| Thyroid | Thyroid hormone | Sets metabolic rate |
| Pancreas | Insulin | Lowers blood glucose |
| Adrenal | Adrenaline | Stress response |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: An annotated body diagram labeling at least four endocrine glands with their primary hormones, plus student-worded definitions of hormone, target cell, and receptor.
- Define the term in plain scientific language.
- Connect it to the current investigation.
- Use it accurately in a new example or contrast.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit your annotated diagram on the class site, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Endocrine glands and signaling. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Hand-picked readings, videos, and interactives for this lesson, all free and from authoritative open organizations (NIH, CDC, OpenStax, Khan Academy, PhET, HHMI, and more).
A fillable, Cornell-style notebook for Unit 2: Research Ready. Type your notes, cues, and summaries right in the PDF, or print it and write by hand. Each lesson page has a cue column, a notes column, and a summary box, plus dated lab-record pages you can turn in.
HBS Unit 2 notebook: Research Ready Fillable PDFCornell notes + lab recordsOpenVetted readings and references for this unit. Use them to prepare, to catch up if you were absent, or to go deeper on today's target.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Endocrine glands and signaling. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Insulin travels in the blood past your muscle cells, liver cells, and skin cells. Why does it change how muscle and liver cells handle glucose but not, say, a hair follicle in the same way?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Today is individual work you can do from home: complete the same target above, then submit your Vocabulary task.
Open the drop folderTurn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
MedlinePlus: Endocrine DiseasesYou've passed Unit 2, so the optional extra-credit track is open. Complete reserved-unit work from home, including virtual labs, for extra credit. Each item shows its correct submission route.
Open the extra-credit track- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way, on the class site or handed to Mr. Mendoza in class, and confirmed. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.