Nervous System - Study Resources

Over the past few months we've slowly been working on a study of the human nervous system. Amber has a condition called dysautonomia, where her autonomic nervous system does not function properly. It's difficult to understand why this condition can be so far reaching in the body and even more complex to explain to someone else. Amber wanted to know enough about her illness to be capable of explaining it to others, therefore we embarked on a study of the system that is failing in her body.

The majority of the resources we used are available free online, however the books are readily available at many libraries.

(If you are going to use any of these resources, please preview them before assigning to your child. Keep in mind Amber was in eighth grade (13/14 years old) when working on this study and already knew quite a bit about the human body because of her illnesses.)

HelpTeaching.com - The Nervous System.
This particular lesson is rated for 11th grade, however Amber had no problem with understanding the information. It uses a mix of written text and videos from Khan Academy and Crash Course.

Crash Course - Anatomy and Physiology
These are video only lessons available through YouTube. The Anatomy and Physiology course covers much more than the nervous system if you are interested in other topics. Our main interest was the eight videos on the nervous system, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, and sympathetic nervous system. This is probably Amber's favorite resource.

Khan Academy - The Neuron and Nervous System

This set of videos linked under the Biology section explains in a little more detail how the nervous system communicates. There is also a more advanced Khan Academy course on Advanced Nervous System Physiology which may or may not be appropriate for your student. Amber also went through the advanced videos, but said they could be a little confusing.

Neuroscience for Kids - Autonomic Nervous System
This website is created by the University of Washington and has quite a few fun ways to learn all about the complete human nervous system. We found the autonomic nervous system page the most useful, but they even have experiments, games and lesson plans for studying the nervous system.

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science
An encyclopedia type book with several pages dedicated to the human nervous system, including helpful illustrations that bring everything together.

The Electrifying Nervous System
Part of God's Wondrous Machine series. The book is geared for middle and upper elementary students, but that does not preclude it's use for middle school students either. Amber found it's unique format to be informative and interesting.

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Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm & Meg @ Adventures with Jude