The Nervous System Bingo

Introduction

The Nervous System Bingo reinforces terminology and understanding of the nervous system in students’ minds by presenting descriptions of various components of the nervous system and identifying each by name or diagram.

Concepts

• Nervous system
• Human physiology
• Action potentials

Materials

Prelab Preparation

1. Before beginning this activity, laminate the nervous system bingo choice sheets or place them into sheet protectors. This will greatly increase their durability and longevity.
2. Permanently mark any items that are not covered in class with an “X” on the choice sheets. These may be given as free spaces on the bingo cards.

Procedure

1. Give each student a bingo card and approximately 25 bingo chips. Small containers such as paper cups or plastic bags may be helpful for distributing and holding the bingo chips.
2. Give the name of any items on the Nervous System Bingo Choice Sheet that were not covered in class. Instruct students to place bingo chips on these items and use them as free spaces.
3. Remind students that they should place a bingo chip on any square that matches the item being described. The match may be the name of the term, a picture or a graph matching the description.
4. Remind students that “bingo” should only be called if they have five squares in a row covered, whether vertically, horizontally or diagonally.
5. Remind students to leave their bingo chips in place after “bingo” is called until the win has been verified by the teacher.
6. Call out the description of an item from the Nervous System Choice Sheet. Mark the item with a light pencil mark on paper or with a transparency marking pen if the choice sheet has been laminated or is in a sheet protector.
7. Instruct students to find the item’s name or picture described on their bingo card and mark it with a bingo chip.
8. Continue to call out different descriptions from the choice sheet until a win has been confirmed. Erase all pencil marks or use a damp paper towel to erase the transparency between each round.
9. The winner of each round may get extra credit points or a small prize as you deem appropriate.
10. Consider finishing the game with a “cover-all” round, where the winner is the first person to cover the entire card.

Student Worksheet PDF

10967_Teacher1.pdf

10967_Teacher2.pdf

Lab Hints

• This kit includes enough materials for 30 students. All materials are reusable. The activity may reasonably be completed in one 50-minute class period.
• In order to verify understanding, encourage students to raise their hands if they can identify one of the nervous system components, even if that item does not appear on their card.
• Use student volunteers for calling out the component descriptions. Saying the words aloud helps reinforce the terms.
• The Nervous System Bingo Choice Sheet can also be used as an impromptu quiz. Instead of using bingo cards, simply call out 10 names and have students write the definition of the term. You may also call out the description and have students fill in the name.

References

Silverthorn, D. U. Human Physiology—An Integrated Approach, 3rd edition; Pearson Benjamin Cummings: San Francisco, CA: 2004.