In this unit, students will consider the body structures, systems, and functions that contribute to the ability to play table tennis, particularly to the ability to return a fast serve of a table tennis ball. Vision and hearing provide the perception needed for the response. The interactions of the nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems produce the body’s motion in the response.

Students will build on their understanding from previous grades about human body structures and their functions. They also discover adaptive technologies that assist with different aspects of impaired sensorimotor function.

Over the course of the unit, students will determine what human senses are needed when moving during exercise and games. They will also study ways in which modern technology helps those whose senses or movements do not function optimally. Students will study the following:

• How does a human body return a table tennis serve?
• How does human hearing work?
• How does human vision work?
• How do muscles work in the human body?
• How does the skeleton work in the human body?
• How do nerves support senses and movement?
• How can inventions help with senses and movement?

CKSci is informed by the NGSS, which encourages student learning through hands-on activities and collecting data. This activity-centered approach requires, at times, that schools collect or purchase materials and equipment that will be needed to complete activities.

Complete materials supply list for CKSci Unit 5: Human Senses and Movement