Two-page PDF lesson plan, plus PDF and Word document versions of worksheets
KS3
Years 7-9
Inspire students to engage with new scientific research about a topic that’s extremely relevant for teens…
In recent news, scientists have discovered that our brains are bathed in fluid as we sleep. Tidal waves of this fluid flow and ripple across the surface of the brain with an effect that resembles washing.
Engaging with recent scientific research and literature can both enthuse and inspire. It gives students a sense of what it is like to be a scientist at the forefront of scientific discovery and promotes creativity.
Engaging with complex language is hugely important for literacy development, especially as students’ exposure to technical non-fiction is regularly reduced to snippets, headlines and tweets.
The activities you might explore through this lesson could help them to decode more complex words and phrases and promote better application of knowledge.
Why teach this?
More research than ever demonstrates the links between cognitive performance and sleep. At a time when your students’ sleep is more squeezed than ever by 24-hour device availability and social media, make some time to talk about why this matters.
Key curriculum links
Sleep is one of the most important biological processes our body undergoes. Excite your KS3 students by sharing groundbreaking scientific research into sleep, and support them with activities designed to help them assess and improve their own sleep habits.
Download includes
- Full PDF lesson plan
- 3 worksheets as PDFs and Word docs, the first of which is differentiated three ways
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