Drugs Change the Way Neurons Communicate

What do you call a skull without neurons? A no-brainer! A hands-on activity asks scholars to build a model of a neuron using beads. They use their models to study the parts of the neuron and their functions.

Your class won't get on your nerves while doing this modeling activity! After teaching the structure and function of a neuron using the included diagrams, give individuals some clay and chenille stems so that they can make their own...

Is it really that big of a deal if the global climate undergoes a little change? Young environmentalists consider this very question as they discuss in small groups the impact of different climate change scenarios on their lives, their...

Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth instructional activity during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and...

What is causing the extreme weather happening around the planet? Middle and high schoolers read about climate change as a possible link to such phenomena. Then they form groups to discuss and research one of the types of weather events....

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...

Dumping iron in the oceans, placing mirrors in space, and painting mountains may sound like crazy ideas, but would they help climate change? The lesson presents creative geoengineering ideas. Scholars pick one and research how it works...

Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our mirror...

As part of a unit on the chemistry of the brain, thinkers learn how chemicals work to transmit messages between individual neurons and how controlled substances impact the synaptic cleft. They do so by playing a dice-and-card game in...

Injection, taking a pill, or inhaling are the three main ways to administer a drug. But how do these drugs affect the brain? Watch a video that explains how neurons use neurotransmitters to communicate to one another in the brain.