Life Sciences Learning Center
Copyright © 2013, University of Rochester
May be copied for classroom use
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Suggested Class Procedure:
1. Distribute a copy of Nerve Cell Communication to each student.
2. Ask one student to read aloud the information in the Biology Brief: Neurons.
3. Explain that, for many people, just listening to or reading the information in the Biology
Brief is not enough to really understand and remember the information.
4. Explain that they will use a manipulative model to help them visualize and remember the
information in the Biology Brief.
5. Distribute to each team of 2-4 students:
o Two large neuron diagrams (one with label boxes and one without label boxes) to
teams of 2-4 students.
o Bag containing beads, pink (+/-) cut-outs, white structure label cards, and blue
function cards to each team.
6. Ask students to work in teams of 2-4 students to follow the instructions for Part 1: What
are the parts of a neuron? Encourage students to use the information in the Biology
Brief: Neurons as they work.
7. Check students’ structure label cards on the neuron. Initial on the line for teacher initials.
8. Students follow the instructions for Part 2: What are the functions of the parts of a neuron?
Encourage students to use the information in the Biology Brief: Neurons as they work.
9. Check students’ blue function cards on the neuron. Initial on the line for teacher initials.
10. Students follow the instructions for Part 3: How do nerve cells communicate?
Encourage students to read Biology Brief: Two Types of Neuron Signals as they work.
11. Students follow the instructions for Part 4: Review and apply what you learned. This
may be completed in class or for homework.
Optional Consider using:
A Nerve Cell Communication Animation is available for downloading from the Life Sciences
Learning Center website at http://lifesciences.envmed.rochester.edu. This animation
introduces several new terms and concepts including nodes of Ranvier and the recovery
that occurs after an impulse has passed a region on the axon.
The animation Crossing the Divide: How Neurons Talk to Each Other relates nerve cell
communication to the effects of drugs on synaptic transmission.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/reward/neurontalk.html
The Mouse Party activity at
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html is both engaging and
informative way to explore the effects of different drugs on nerve cell communication. There
is a worksheet to accompany this activity at
http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/mouseparty.html