Lesson Plan/Activity
Touch-a-Brain, Grades 6-8
September 25, 2023
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Who this is for:
Educators
Science Communicators
Background
This is an extension exercise, entitled “Touch-a-Brain,” and is to be coupled with the “Design an Imaginary Animal” lesson plan. This interactive plan builds on the information learned in “Design an Imaginary Animal” by giving students the opportunity to touch a real brain! Teachers will use vocabulary from “Design an Imaginary Animal” to explore different sections and areas of the brain with their hands. “Design an Imaginary Animal” is to be presented on Day 1, and this plan is to be presented the following day (Day 2). This lesson plan gives two distinct options for touching a brain: a sheep brain and/or a human brain if available in your area.
Student Objectives
- Utilize knowledge learned in the “Design An Imaginary Animal” lesson plan to navigate touching a sheep or human brain
- Learn how to safely and respectfully examine the organ of a previously living organism.
- Touch and identify the four different lobes and other structures of the brain.
- Feel the bumps (gyri) and grooves (sulci) on the brain and understand what purpose they serve.
Lesson Plan
- Title: Touch-A-Brain
- Setting: In Classroom Subject: Biology – Neuroscience
- Grade Level: 6-8
- Time Frame: 1 Hour
- Paired Dana Foundation Fact Sheets: 6th-8th Grade How Does the Brain Work?
- Next Generation Science Standards: Meets MS-LS1-1 & MS-LS1-8