Psychology Lesson Plan

Target Audience of the Lesson:
Junior or senior high school students.

Big Idea of the Lesson:
To give the students the opportunity to experience and really grasp the idea of behavioral psychology.
Overall Goal for the Lesson:
To have the students engage in the material rather than act as a passive audience.


Indiana Content Standards Addressed: (Copy and paste entire standard from http://www.indianastandards.org/)
Standard 4 — Personality, Assessment, and Mental Health
Students will recognize that personality is the distinctive and relatively stable pattern of behaviors, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterize an individual. They will also identify the different types and functions of assessment
instruments; understand the factors that contribute to mental health, stress, and mental illness, and identify approaches for treatment of mental health problems.

P.4.1 Identify the factors that may influence the formation of personality.
P.4.2 Identify and describe the characteristics of the major personality theories.
P.4.7 Describe the common characteristics of abnormal behavior.
P.4.8 Explain how culture influences the definition of abnormal behavior.
P.4.9 Identify and describe the theories of abnormality.
P.4.10 Discuss major categories of abnormal behavior.
P.4.11 Describe availability and appropriateness of various modes of treatment for people
with psychological disorders.
P.4.12 Describe characteristics of effective treatment and prevention.
P.4.14 Evaluate the influence of variables, such as culture, family, and genetics, on personality development.
P.4.19 Explain how one’s outlook (positive or negative) can influence mental health.


Standard 6 — Biological Bases of Behavior
Students will investigate the structure, biochemistry, and circuitry of the brain and the nervous system to understand their roles in affecting behavior, including the ability to distinguish between sensation and perception.

P.6.1 List and describe the structure and function of the major regions of the brain.
P.6.2 Identify the role of the corpus callosum.
P.6.6 Understand the structure and function of the endocrine system.
P.6.7 Explain how heredity interacts with the environment to influence behavior.
P.6.8 Distinguish between conscious and unconscious perception.
P.6.11 Compare and contrast the influence of the left and right hemispheres on the function of the brain.
P.6.12 Explain sensory adaptation, sensory deprivation, and the importance of selective attention.
P.6.14 Compare the effects of certain drugs or toxins with the effects of neurotransmitters in relation to synaptic transmission.
P.6.19 Explain the function of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system on heart rate or other physiological responses in an emotional situation.




ISTE CNETS Student Standards Addressed (Copy and paste from http://cnets.iste.org/students/)
Technology productivity tools
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.


Student Objectives for the lesson. (Given a condition, the students will, to what level).


Length of Lesson: (minutes, number of class periods, or days or weeks needed).

2 weeks.
Schedule of Activities: (Break down your activity into a timeline of events. Focus on what students will be doing and what teachers will be doing during each part of the activity.)

Week 1:
-Day 1- Introduce the chapter on abnormal psychology.
- Have the students take notes and assign reading from the textbook for homework.
-Day 2- Break the students into groups and have them read an article and have them answer questions that include symptoms and diagnosis.
-Day 3- Discuss the psychological disorders in a more in depth discussion providing them with images of the brain and what parts of the brain are affected.
-Homework: a worksheet copy of the brain, label the parts and identify all of the disorders that affect that part of the brain.
-Day 4- Have the students work in groups to engage in an in-class project where I assign each group a disorder and a picture of the brain on large paper.
-Have the students’ research all they know about their disorder and explain what part of the brain is affected most.
-Day 5- Show the video Sibel.

Week 2:
-Day 1: Introduce the week activity of getting a feel for what it is like to be a person with a disorder.
How will these activities be assessed? (Go back to your objectives, what will the students do? Make sure that each objective is paired to an assessment measure that allows students to show it).

Have the students write a 3-4 page paper that reflects what they learned through the exercise. Also the students will take a chapter test that will cover material from the textbook, discussion and the articles that the students read.
Adaptations: How might the lesson need to be adapted for students with special needs?

Pair them up with someone who can assist them in the activities.
Materials Needed: Go through each activity and identify what items (both technology and not) are needed to complete this lesson. Include a breakdown according to individual student or student groups.
-Computers with internet access.
-A TV with a VCR/DVD connection.
-Copy machine that allows me to enlarge pictures.