2. Lesson Overview
Students will learn how sleep affects the
brain. They will then analyze an article on
sleep zones and determine the changes
they can make to their sleep zones at
home to improve their sleep. Students will
then implement the appropriate changes
at home and analyze how the changes
affect the quality of their sleep on a
qualitative level.
3. Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
Identify the negative consequences of not
getting appropriate sleep
Design the perfect sleep zone for themselves
Implement sleep zone changes at home and
record and analyze results
4. National Science Education
Standards
4ASI1.4 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry: Use data
to construct a reasonable explanation
4ASI2.1 Understandings about scientific inquiry: Asking and
answering a question
4FSPSP1.2 Individuals have some responsibility for their
own health. Students should engage in personal care - dental
hygiene, cleanliness, and exercise - that will maintain and
improve health. Understandings include how communicable
diseases, such as colds, are transmitted and some of the
body’s defense mechanisms that prevent or overcome
illness.
5. National Education
Technology Standards
3. Research and Information Fluency
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize,
and ethically use information from a variety of
sources and media.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students
demonstrate a sound understanding of technology
concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
b. Select and use applications effectively and
productively.
6. Fit Takeaways
Your body and mind need sleep. Choose to get
the sleep you need.
Getting enough sleep impacts my ability to
make good food and move choices.
7. Fit Resources
Your Head-to-Toe Guide to Sleep (article)
http://fit.webmd.com/kids/recharge/article/sleep-guide
What’s Sleep Got to Do With Weight?
http://fit.webmd.com/kids/recharge/article/balance-weight-sleep
Make the Perfect Sleep Zone (article)
http://fit.webmd.com/kids/recharge/article/create-sleep-zone
Picture of the Brain
http://www.webmd.com/brain/picture-of-the-brain
8. Time Frame
This lesson requires one 45-minute session for
students to learn about the importance of sleep
and design changes to their sleep zone. After
students to implement changes for 2-3 weeks,
another 30 to 45-minute session is
recommended to review results.
9. Teacher Prep/Materials
Teachers need to gather a picture of a brain and
a person who is sleeping for each group.
Students will need plain paper to draw their
sleep zones prior to creating digital versions on
the computer.
11. Classroom Activities
1. Show students a picture of a brain and a picture of
someone who is sleeping. Ask students how they think the
two pictures might be related. After several suggestions,
explain to students that sleep affects our brains. Students
might be surprised to learn that when we sleep, both our
bodies and our brains remain active.
2. Pose the following questions to students and provide time
for them to brainstorm and then discuss their answers.
What time do you usually go to bed? Awaken?
How many hours of sleep do you get a night on average?
Do you think you’re getting enough sleep?
12. Continued…
Divide students into small groups and have them read the article
Your Head-to-Toe Guide to Sleep. Students should take notes about
how sleep affects the body and the brain. Ask students to pay
particular attention to all that goes on while they are sleeping.
4. Ask students to share their findings in their groups and then
share out to the entire class the one piece of information they found
most interesting or surprising. Ensure that students understand
that the brain needs not just sleep but good sleep in order to
perform its functions correctly.
5. Explain to students that they are going to carry out an experiment
to attempt to improve their sleep.
13. Explore
1. Have students read the article What's Sleep Got to Do With Weight?
2. Ask students to discuss negative things that happen to people when they
don’t get good sleep. Ask how this new information relates to what they
learned from the first article.
3. Ensure that students understand that getting poor or insufficient sleep
affects both the mind and body.
4. Pose the following questions and give students a few minutes to
brainstorm and write down their answers.
Describe what your bedroom or the place where you sleep looks like.
Do you think the place where you sleep is affecting how well you sleep? Why
or why not?
5. Hand out blank paper and have students draw the area where they sleep
every night.
14. Continued…
6. Have students read the article Make the Perfect Sleep Zone. Have students
compare their picture of their own sleep zone to what the article describes
as the perfect sleep zone. What is similar? What is different that they could
improve upon?
7. Encourage students to create a list of potential changes to their sleep
zones. They should organize the items on their list into two categories:
changes that cost money and changes that cost nothing.
8. Have students create plans to improve their own sleep zones based on
what they learned from the article. Once students have brainstormed the
elements of a perfect sleep zone, they can use Kerpoof or another free Web-
based authoring tool to design their ideal sleep zones.
9. Ask students to go home and make at least one significant change to their
sleep zone. Encourage them to initiate the changes with ones that cost
nothing, because these changes can be made immediate. They should talk to
their parents about changes they want to make that require an investment.
15. Continued…
10. Once students have made the change(s), have them
start collecting data on a chart resembling the following:
Day Sleep Time Awake Time Hours slept
How did you feel upon awakening? How did
you feel throughout the day?
Monday 9:00 PM 6:00 AM 9
Tired I got tired before lunch and again before
dinner.
11. Students should collect data for 1-2 weeks.
16. Explain
1. Place students into groups and have them compare their data to
that of other students. What is the average number of hours asleep
in their groups? Do they see any connections between the amount
of sleep and how they and their classmates felt upon waking and
throughout the day? What can they conclude about the relationship
between sleep and how our bodies and minds feel when we’re
awake?
2. Have students discuss the changes they made to their sleep zones
and which ones seemed to have the most positive impact.
3. Reinforce that students need at least 10 hours of good sleep each
night to be at their healthiest. Having the appropriate sleep zone
can improve sleep and guard against the negative consequences
associated with poor sleep.
17. Elaborate
1. Students can extend the experiment by making
additional changes to their sleep zones and/or recording
data for additional weeks, including prior to making
changes to their sleep zones.
2. Students can analyze all the sleep zones within their
own houses and use the articles to suggest changes to
improve parents and siblings’ sleep zones and sleep
experiences. Students can then report back to the class
about any observed differences improved sleeping zones
have made in the household.
18. Evaluate
1. Ask students to reflect on any differences they noticed in how
well they slept before and after their sleep zone changes.
2. Have students answer the following questions and support their
claims with evidence:
How many hours of sleep do you need each night?
Identify three negative consequences associated with poor sleep.
What kind of colors should you have in your room to improve your
sleep and why?
What parts of your sleep zone were in need of improvement and
how did you change them?
