IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND

Transcription

1 An Elementary Brain Hat Activity Activity 1H: Atop Your Head Grade 3 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION In this activity, you will make a brain hat as you learn about the brain. You will discuss the location and purpose of the three main sections of the brain: the cerebellum, the cerebrum, and the brain stem. You will then color in the parts of the brain and put together your very own brain hat. So display your brain power for everyone to see! BACKGROUND THE BRAIN AND ITS PARTS The brain weighs about three pounds. It is about the size of a coconut. The brain fills most of the top half of your head. The brain is a complex organ, made up of millions of cells. These cells include nerve cells called neurons (nur-rons). The neurons communicate with each other to help us breath, talk, think, and walk. All of these millions of neurons form the brain. 1. What are neurons and what do they do? Cerebrum IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND Brain Stem Cerebellum 1

2 IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND The brain can be studied in three main sections: the cerebrum (suh-ree-brum), the cerebellum (sara-bell-lum), and the brain stem. The cerebrum (suh-ree-brum) helps us make choices that need thought, touch, and voluntary movement. The cerebellum (sara-bell-lum) controls balance and coordination. The brain stem takes care of involuntary actions. An involuntary action is something that does not need to be thought about. The brain stem takes care of breathing and heartbeats. Imagine if you had to think about taking every breath! It would make it harder to focus on doing anything else! 2. Show a partner one action that is controlled by the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem. Describe what you did and what part of your brain helped you. What was the first thing you did? What part of your brain did you use? What was the second thing you did? What part of your brain did you use? What was the third thing you did? What part of your brain did you use? 2

3 THE CEREBRUM Scientists call the upper brain the cerebrum. The cerebrum is the biggest part of the brain. It is so big that it makes up two-thirds of our brain. The cerebrum has two halves called hemispheres (hem-ah-sfears). The hemispheres are divided by a deep split known as a fissure (fish-er). The fissure does not go all the way through the cerebrum. Both hemispheres are connected by bundles of neurons, just like cables that connect a computer to a printer. Cables between the computer and the printer help the computer to communicate with the printer. The bundles of neurons allow both hemispheres to communicate with each other. This is very important since each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body. The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. 3. Raise your right arm. What side of your brain (which hemisphere) is helping you raise your right arm? 4. Describe how the different sides of your brain use to communicate. IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND The cerebrum has a surface that looks like a crumpled piece of paper. These crumples form small, shallow fissures. These shallow fissures make more surface area, which means more brain cells can fit into a small space. The cerebrum has so many fissures, that if it could be unfolded and flattened out, it would be about half a square yard (half a square meter) about the size of a newspaper folded in half. 3

4 MAKING THE BRAIN HAT To complete this part of the activity, you will need the following materials: Colored pencils, markers, or crayons (3 colors) Scissors IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND Tape or glue stick STEP 1 Complete the color code below for the different parts of the brain. Use the information and figures from the class discussion to color in the different parts of your brain hat. BRAIN PART 1. Cerebrum COLOR CODE 2. Cerebellum 3. Brain stem 4

5 STEP 2 a. Before cutting out the brain hat, use your color code to label and color the parts of the brain. STEP 3 a. Carefully, cut out the brain model pieces using the cut lines to guide you. STEP 4 a. Place the top of the hat or cap on the newly formed head band. Be sure the word front is pointing toward the front of the brain hat! Fold tabs and tape the top to the inside of the headband. If adjustments were made to the band size, the top of the brain hat may also need adjusting. IT S ALL IN YOUR MIND 5

6 FRONT 6

7 Cut Cut 7

8 Cut C 8

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