Unit 2.1 Getting Nervous: Nervous system structure, brain anatomy, neurons, signaling, sheep brain or virtual alternative.
Your PLTW coursework: Human Body Systems ▸ Unit 2: Research Ready ▸ Lesson 2.1 Getting Nervous ▸ "Activity 2.1.1 Who's Who in the Lab"
What to do if absent- 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.
Week overview - Getting Nervous: the brain, neurons, and how signals travel
Explore nervous system structure and brain , and explain how neurons send signals across synapses using neurotransmitters.
- 1Identify the and other major brain regions on a model, , or virtual brain.
- 2Label the , axon, and on a diagram.
- 3Trace the path of a signal from one to the next and mark where neurotransmitters cross.
- 4Sort a list of body functions into central nervous system and peripheral nervous system control.
- 5Connect one brain region to a function a patient might lose if it were injured.
- 6Write two sentences explaining how a passes a message to its neighbor.
- • You will be able to identify major brain regions including the .
- • You will be able to label a and describe how a signal crosses a .
- • You will be able to distinguish central from peripheral nervous system roles.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
One-paragraph CER taking a position on whether brain-scan data should be used by courts or schools to predict future behavior.
Labeled diagram (all five parts with signal-direction arrow) and a two-sentence explanation of synaptic .
Labeled brain-region map identifying , cerebellum, and brainstem with one function each, plus gray and white matter boundary marked on an internal view.
CNS/PNS sorting table (five body actions classified with justification) plus three brain-region-to-function matches referenced from the Wednesday map.
Complete nervous-system evidence packet: diagram, brain-region map, CNS/PNS sorting table, and two-sentence reflection.
Quick intro to the week
- Hook: the brain you are studying today is the most complex object we know of in the universe.
- Today's goal: see how structure and function connect in the brain and trace a signal to neuron.
- Monday bioethics tie-in: should neuroscience be used to predict behavior, and who should have access to brain data?
- Reminder: your graded brain check is submitted on the class site.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW HBS online benchmark through Unit 2.1 Getting Nervous.
- • Neurons carry signals using dendrites, an axon, and synapses.
- • Neurotransmitters carry a signal across the between neurons.
- • The central nervous system and peripheral nervous system have different roles.
- • Identify major brain regions including the .
- • Explain how a signal travels across a .
📋 PLTW evidence due this week: your brain check connecting regions to signaling.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment: this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Tue, Mar 9 | Bioethics: brain data and consent | One-paragraph CER taking a position on whether brain-scan data should be used by courts or schools to predict future behavior. |
| Thursday | Thu, Mar 11 | Neuron parts and the synapse | Labeled neuron diagram (all five parts with signal-direction arrow) and a two-sentence explanation of synaptic transmission. |
| Friday | Fri, Mar 12 | Brain dissection or virtual | Labeled brain-region map identifying cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem with one function each, plus gray and white matter boundary marked on an internal view. |
| Thursday | - | CNS, PNS, and brain regions | CNS/PNS sorting table (five body actions classified with justification) plus three brain-region-to-function matches referenced from the Wednesday map. |
| Friday | - | Submit nervous-system evidence | Complete nervous-system evidence packet: neuron diagram, brain-region map, CNS/PNS sorting table, and two-sentence reflection. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: Brain structure-function check.
5 panels from the illustrated semester.
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.
Lab day: what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol: watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework: and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: nervous system; BioDigital if available.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan: complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Khan Academy: Nervous SystemVocabulary
Resources & readings
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).