Hormones Lesson Plan: Identifying Cause and Effect

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

NOTE TO EDUCATORS: The movie featured in this lesson plan includes references to male and female reproductive organs. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, consider previewing the movie before showing it to the class.

This lesson plan, adaptable for grades 3-8, invites students to explore BrainPOP resources to learn about what hormones and how they affect the body. After identifying the effects of different hormones, students will create their own movies about one of the hormones featured in the BrainPOP movie.

Students will:

Take a pre-quiz to share to assess what they already know about hormones and their effects.
Identify the effects of various hormones.
Use their notes to create a movie about a hormone and its effects on the body.
Take the quiz again to assess what they learned.

Materials:

Internet access for BrainPOP
Interactive whiteboard

Vocabulary:

Endocrine system, gonadotropins, pituitary gland, estrogen, testosterone, growth hormone, insulin, pancreas, norepinephrine, epinephrine

Preparation:

Preview the movie Hormones to plan for adaptations.
Assign the Hormone Make-a-Map using Assignment Builder.
Assign the Hormone Make-a-Movie using Assignment Builder.
Assign the Hormone Quiz using Assignment Builder.

Lesson Procedure:

Open the Hormone Quiz in Review mode on the whiteboard. Take the quiz as a whole class, with volunteers offering answers to assess what they already know about hormones as they relate to puberty.
Tell students that today they will watch a movie about hormones, specifically the types of hormones that bodies release during puberty, such as those that make a body grow, deepen voices, cause reproductive organs to change, and bring about other physical and emotional changes.
After taking the quiz, show the movie Hormones on the whiteboard to the whole class. Turn on the closed caption option to aid in comprehension. Pause during the movie to explain points that may be complicated and/or to explain important key concepts and vocabulary.
Now have students open the Make-a-Map assignment. Explain that they will watch the movie again, independently. As they watch, they are to take note of the different featured hormones and identify the effects each has on the body. Before they begin, instruct them to create a cause-and-effect graphic organizer in Make-a-Map tool. It may look like this:
After completing their maps, instruct students to open their Make-a-Movie assignment. Have them select one of the hormones from their completed maps for which they will create a movie that describes what the hormone is and how it affects the body. Tell them the movie is to begin with a letter that asks what the hormone is and its effects. Or, they may choose the first letter that asks what estrogen and testosterone do if they want to write about both hormones. Circulate as students work, answering questions as needed.
When students finish making their movies, divide the class into small groups so that each group is covering multiple hormones. Have students share their movies with the small group.
Finally, have students open the Quiz assignment and challenge them to take the quiz again, this time in Graded mode to assess what they’ve learned.

Extension Activities:

Divide the class into small groups of four. Have each person in the group read a different Hormones Related Readings, including the comic. Then have them share what they learned with the group.

Filed as: 3-5, 6-8, Body Chemistry, BrainPOP, Endocrine System, Hormones, Lesson Plan, Puberty, Stress, Teacher Resources