In this lesson, students will be introduced to the importance of sleep and its effects on the body. Students will complete a pre-test activity, which tests their prior knowledge of sleep. A class discussion on sleep allows the teacher to identify and clarify any misconceptions that students may have before beginning the sleep exploration. While the sleep journal activity is in progress, students should view the Scientastic- Are You Sleeping video. In addition to the sleep journal, students will be recording their relative sleepiness levels on three different days during the exploration. Students will maintain their sleep journals for 10 days, after which they will use the data collected to calculate their average sleep times. Afterwards, students will compare their results with to their classmates. This will be used to generate a "How Tired Are You Today?" graph. This activity can be used to show students how their sleepiness levels can change throughout the day and how they may not be consistent everyday of the week.
