SENSE ORGANS and the NERVOUS SYSTEM (WJEC GCSE Biology)

This resource contains a detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets, all of which have been designed to cover points 2.5 (a & b) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification. This specification point states that students should be able to apply their knowledge and understanding of sense organs responding to specific stimuli and the CNS and nerves forming the nervous system.

The lesson begins by introducing the term stimuli and then a quick quiz is used to get their competitive juices flowing as they have to react 1st to recognise the 5 different stimuli. Students will learn that sense organs are groups of receptor cells that respond to one or a few of these stimuli and they will form sentences to describe this role. Moving forwards, the link is made to the nervous system and how electrical impulses conducted on neurones allows communication between these receptors and the CNS and between the CNS and the effectors. At this point, students are challenged on their understanding of the functions of the structures in a nervous reaction as they have to put them into the correct order. They are given a quick and easy way to recognise the difference between a sensory and motor neurone on a diagram and how to use the function to show the direction of conduction. Time is taken to look at the role of a synapse in a reaction. The main task challenges the students to apply their knowledge to the example of a fly being flicked off the arm by forming a full description.

This lesson contains a wide range of activities which include quiz competitions to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way as well as understanding and prior knowledge checks so that students can assess their grasp of the critical content.

It has been written for students studying the WJEC GCSE Biology course but is also suitable for younger students looking at the nervous system or A-level students who need to recall the key details and structures