Name that Peripheral Nervous System

 

The purpose of this activity is to allow students to apply their knowledge of the peripheral nervous system to activities common to them. There are four PowerPoint slides with a picture on each that accompanies this activity.

​

1. The first picture shows someone relaxing in a pool.

2. The second picture shows someone running away from a bull.

3. The third picture shows a boxing match.

4. The fourth picture shows typing.

​​

I ask students to participate by raising their hands to indicate their responses for either the sympathetic, parasympathetic, or somatic nervous system. After student participation, I ask students to explain their answers and reason the correct answer with their help. I also ask students to list possible physiological reactions to each situation and the nervous system involved. I then ask students to provide examples of other scenarios in which parts of the peripheral nervous system may be involved.

This serves the purpose of providing real-world and functional examples for scenarios in which parts of the peripheral nervous system may be involved. This activity also requires students to think critically about the information learned and apply it to various real-life scenarios. By providing examples, students are linking the class material to relatable scenarios in their own lives.