Frankenstein’s Lab: A Halloween Review for Unit 1

Hello there, psychology teachers!

I hope you are all doing well. Halloween is right around the corner, and I thought this could be a great time to review concepts from Unit 1. I realize there is a lot to learn in Unit 1. Between all the vocab, the brain structures, sensation, and the sleep cycle, it is easy for students to get overwhelmed.

So I decided to create a fun and a little random Frankenstein’s Lab review activity! Just like the other activities I have posted this year, there is no login or signup required. The activity runs in the student’s web browser, so it will work on virtually any device. (Computers work the best.)

One quick note: student work is saved locally in the browser on the device they are using. If students switch devices, their previous work will not transfer.

What is the activity?

The activity has 15 cases, with each case consisting of a short investigation into AP Psychology Unit 1, Biological Bases of Behavior. The cases cover the nervous system and neural firing, brain structures, sleep, sensation, and heredity and environment.

How each case works

The cases were created with the idea that students have already learned the information. If students forget a term or concept there is a field guide that can help give them hints, but the goal of this is to help students review.

Each case follows the same investigation structure:

• Observe the incident — something goes wrong, and students look at the evidence.
• Choose the tests — students decide which tests to run.
• Predict the result — students commit to a prediction before they see what happens.
• Write the field note — students explain, in their own words, what the evidence supports.

Creating a custom assignment for your class

As a teacher, you can pre-select which cases you want your students to complete. All you need to do is select the cases you want, copy the assignment link, and share it with your students. When students open the link, the cases you selected will already be chosen for them.

This makes it easy to fit the activity into the time you have.

Please note: students can still add other cases or clear the cases you selected.

Grading

When students finish a case, the lab report collects every answer and written field note in one place. Students can print it or save it to hand in, which makes it easy for you to check their work or confirm they completed the cases you assigned.

The report will also tell you if the student got the answer correct on the first try, or if it took them multiple attempts.

How I would use this in my classroom

I personally like having students work in pairs. This gives students someone to bounce ideas off of if they get stuck. You could have students work individually or in larger groups. However, I often find that if groups get too large, students are more likely to get distracted and fewer students end up doing the actual work.

A few other options:

• Halloween week. If Unit 1 lands near the end of October, this is an easy way to lean into the season without losing a review day.
• Sub plans. Every case stands alone and work saves in the browser, so a set of assigned cases runs itself.
• Early finishers. Fast groups can keep exploring cases they were not assigned.

Feedback and future projects

If you have time, I would love to hear your feedback on the activity. This month the activity is a little different and more for fun. But I want to create more activities that are focused on helping students learn specific topics. Your feedback helps me understand what is working, what could be improved, and how I can make future activities more useful for both students and teachers.

Also, if you have an idea for a future AP Psychology activity, feel free to send it my way!

Thank you for your time and for everything you do for your students. Happy Halloween, and good luck with Unit 1!

Check out Frankenstein’s Lab and see if it works for you and your classroom.

Mr. Sinn