Wednesday & Thursday: Opinion Line

Today students used what they have learned about the teenage brain to come up with opinions about the following statements:

How intelligent a person is is mostly due to the brain they were born with

How intelligent a person is is mostly due to the experiences they have had and the things they have learned.

Most peoples brains process information the same way

Middle schoolers are capable of making their own decisions

Middle schoolers should not be held responsible for their actions due to what we know about the middle school brain

Because of their underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, adults should make all of the decisions for middle schoolers.

Students shared their thinking with other students in class as well as this paper: Opinion Line Worksheet

Students also viewed this clip about research related to test anxiety: NOVA ScienceNOW – Journaling

ASSIGNMENT:

• Read and complete the questions for the article “The Teenage Brain” – due Thu for Core A and Friday for Core B, C, and D.
• Bring a science binder to class beginning next week

Tuesday & Wednesday: The Teenage Brain Article

Today in class students will learn more about the idea of synaptic pruning, also known as the idea of “use it or lose it.” Basically, around middle school your brain starts “pruning” away parts that you don’t use much in order to make it run more efficiently.  The activities you do as a young person actually shape and wire your brain for your whole life. We will watch a video clip about how Einstein’s brain was shaped, and think about what that means for our own brains.

Today’s assignment is to read and respond to the Science News for Students article “The Teenage Brain” Students are encouraged to read the article while listening to the audio recording of the text which is posted in Google Classroom.  Here are a few terms before you begin:

impulsive – doing something suddenly without careful thought

logical – using careful thought and reasoning to figure something out

illogical – the opposite of logical

adolescent – a young person who is on the way to becoming an adult

excerpt – a small piece of writing that comes from a longer piece of writing

pruning – cutting away of something to give it a specific shape

synapse – a connection in the brain

ASSIGNMENT:

• Read and complete the questions for the article “The Teenage Brain” – due Thu for Core A and Friday for Core B, C, and D.
• Bring a science binder to class beginning next week

 

Monday: The Teenage Brain

Hello students and families!  I am back from my leave.  This week we will have a short mini-unit that asks the question “What is so unusual about the teenage brain?”  We will focus on neuroscience research that explains the specific characteristics of the adolescent brain, as well as issues like test anxiety and the challenges of multitasking.  This week we will also reexamine our HOWLs focuses of Respect, Responsibility and Perseverance and try to understand them better through the lens of teenage brain development.

Here are resources from class:

• Ms Lea’s Middle School Brain Presentation
• Direct link to Frontline Special: Inside The Teenage Brain 

ASSIGNMENT:

• Find, clean, organize and/or get a new science binder by the end of this week

Ms Lea is coming back…

Beginning after February break, I am back from my leave.  Similar to last year, notes and resources from class will be posted here each day.  We will start right after break with a mini-unit focused on the teenage brain.  Beginning in March, students will be learning about genetics and heredity.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!