Alabama Social Studies SS24.P.5

SS24.P.5 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• SS24.P.5a

  Describe communication between neurons and the electrochemical process, including the role of neurotransmitters in behavior.*

• SS24.P.5b

  Explain the effect of neurotransmitters on human behavior and compare the effects of drugs and toxins on the brain.

• SS24.P.5c

  Describe the specialized and interdependent functions of sections of the brain, including the lobes and hemispheres of the cerebral cortex.

• SS24.P.5d

  Describe technologies used to study the brain and nervous system.*

• SS24.P.5e

  Explain how psychoactive drugs affect people, including the mechanisms of addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students trace electrical signals through neurons and chemical messages across synapses. They connect brain regions and pathways to behavior and identify what brain tests measure. They compare how drugs and toxins affect signaling and explain addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student explains how sodium and potassium ions help create an impulse, then shows neurotransmitters binding to receptors across a synapse. They use a brain diagram to explain how lobes and both hemispheres work together during reading. They compare a drug with a toxin and distinguish tolerance, addiction, and withdrawal.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may think neurotransmitters travel the length of a neuron instead of crossing a synapse. They may treat each lobe or hemisphere as working alone, or think a brain scan shows thoughts directly. They may confuse tolerance, needing more for the same effect, with addiction, continuing use despite harm.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a neuron sketch and this case: A daily coffee drinker needs more caffeine for the same alertness and feels tired without it. Ask them to mark the synapse, name the receptor caffeine blocks, and explain tolerance and withdrawal.

1. 01

   On a paper neuron, move sodium cards in and potassium cards out, then move bead neurotransmitters across a synapse onto receptor stickers.

2. 02

   Ask: Why can caffeine increase alertness while lead exposure can harm learning? Write how each affects brain signaling.

3. 03

   Give pairs reading and ball-catching cards; have them label lobes on both hemispheres of a brain outline and draw connections each task needs.

4. 04

   Give pairs a mock concussion report; ask whether CT or EEG better checks for bleeding or abnormal electrical activity, and why.

• SS24.P.7a

  Explain the role of sensory systems in human behavior.