Lesson 9: Brain Business
Grade Level: K-6
Suggested Time: 120 mins
Overview
In this activity, students learn the anatomy of a brain as well as the function and composition of its various parts. Students will engage with the brain in fun and active ways. The role-playing project allows them to act out different parts of the brain, while using oranges as model brains. Finally, they will examine how music affects the brain and test Oliver Sachs’ experiment on their own brains.
Vocabulary
- Brain
- Cerebrum
- Cerebellum
- Diencephalon
- Brain stem/ medulla
- Nervous system
- Spinal cord
- Self-esteem
- Cognition
- Emotions
- Brain
- Hippocampus
- Amygdala
- Brain Stem
- Neurotransmitter
- Neuron
- Neuroscience
Objectives
- Students will be able to identify the four main sections of the brain, as well as the main function of each: the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brain stem. Finally, they will be able to describe and discuss the component parts of each.
- Students will be able to define and discuss the two hemispheres of the brain and contemporary theories about how they control behavior.
- Students will learn about the evolutionary history of brains by engaging with the neurological effects of music from ancient times to the present.
- Students will engage in a critical thinking exercise by testing how music affects their own brains and identifying areas of the brain that are affected by music in different ways.
Required Project Materials
- Diagram of the brain
- Oranges
- 1 stereo or iPod and speaker setup
- Contemporary, popular songs (appropriate for age level)
- (1 set of 12 per person) canvas flags (available at Discount School Supply)
- S&S Emotion Cards. Available at S&S Worldwide.
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
- Assigned reading for teacher: “Fats Build Your Brain.”http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/fats.html#fatsbuild Article
- “The Genetic Mystery of Music.” Discover Magazine article.http://discovermagazine.com/2001/aug/featmusic#.UuakGXl6jr8
- Make sure you make a free account at the National Geographic site and familiarizeyourself with the materials so that you can use them as visual aids in class.
- Print out a diagram of the brain and make copies to distribute to the class.
- Explore the online music-making games and applications. Make sure they work with your computers and software.
The Lesson
Part 1: Parts of the Brain
- Using the interactive National Geographic “Brain” site as a visual aid (projected onto a screen), review the structure of the brain, describing the function of its four main parts: the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brain stem. Work with the class to interact with the site.
- Watch “Nervous System”. Discuss what the students learned.
- Read The Brain: All About Our Nervous System and More with the class and go over main points from “Fats Build Your Brain” and “The Genetic Mystery of Music”.
- Show the NOVA short film, “Inside Oliver Sack’s Brain”.
- Have the students identify the parts of the Oliver’s brain that were stimulated by Bach, using peeled oranges as models of the brain.
Part 2: Brain Behavior: A Group Exercise
- Separate the students into four groups. Each group will role-play a different section of the brain: the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brain stem. Individuals within the group can pick a different component of their part of the brain to represent.
- Like the game, Charades, have each group act out their part of the brain in front of the class.
Part 3: Music Experiment
- Play a popular song (that the kids are likely to know and relate to) on a stereo.
- As they listen to each song, have them plant flags in the orange where they think their brains are responding to the song. In other words, if they enjoy the song, their brains are probably responding a lot like Oliver Sack’s brain responded to Bach! They can plant only a couple of flags if they only like the song a little bit, or many flags if they love it. They should stay silent while they’re doing this, then guess how others felt about the song based on how many flags they planted. Try the experiment with other songs, too.
Part 4: Making Music
- Ask: given what you now know about how music affects the brain, do you think it’s important to have music around? Why or why not? What about other arts?
- Have students compose songs on “Button Base”. They can choose what genre they want to use and experiment with different beats and sound loops. They can even record their music.Have them explore Incredibox and other applications too (optional).
Part 5: Brain Skits
- Teach the parts of the brain responsible for emotions—such as the amygdala and the hippocampus—and how a neurotransmitter works.
- Separate the students into groups of four or five.
- Randomly pass out the S&S Emotion Cards. Each student should receive one card.
- Each individual will decide what emotion is represented on the card and play that emotion in their group’s skit.
- Each group will work together to come up with a humorous or dramatic skit representing the full spectrum of emotions in the group. Instruct them to build a story line with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The plot will need to have a role for each individual’s assigned emotion.
- Give prizes to the groups for completed skits. Reserve a few minutes for class discussion. Ask the students to name the emotions that were represented by the other groups.
Accommodations
- Have subtitles for the video "Nervous System" and "Inside Oliver Sack's Brain".
- Print out the main points from "Fats Build Your Brain" and "The Genetic Mystery of Music".
- Provide a positive role model to help the student be prepared for the Charades type of game and for the S&S Emotion Cards.
Modifications
- Weight daily work higher than the final (Brain Skits).
- Can use a pass-fail when the student is assessed on his or her own growth.