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Introductory Unit

GO! PART III.

LESSON AND MATERIAL GUIDES

FOR TEACHERS

www.mindsetworks.com

COPYRIGHT © 2002-2015 MINDSET WORKS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

www.brainology.us

Building Students’ Confidence, Fulfillment, and Achievement

Through the Understanding of Expandable Intelligence

http://www.mindsetworks.com/

Introductory Unit

www.mindsetworks.com Copyright © 2002-2015 Mindset Works, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

PART III. LESSONS & MATERIAL GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

Overview: This section of the Implementation Guide contains detailed information about the

content of each unit of the Brainology® Online Curriculum, as follows:

The Introduction to Brainology® presents the curriculum and its purpose, the characters that will

guide the students throughout the program and the tools available (e.g. the e-Journal, Map, Brain

Book and Help). Users also create an inventory of their personal challenges so they can more easily

relate the Brainology® lessons to their lives.

Unit 1: Brain Basics introduces the basics of brain structure and function. This unit also explains

what is required to maintain readiness to learn and how attention and concentration are supported.

This unit teaches students the physical aspect of thinking and learning, which underlie a growth

mindset.

In Unit 2: Brain Behavior, students learn that the brain functions by sending chemical messages

through a network of nerve cells, and that these cells are responsible for thought. This insight

provides a foundation for understanding how learning changes the brain. Students also learn how

emotions can influence the brain and are taught strategies for managing their negative emotions.

In Unit 3: Brain Building, students discover how learning changes the brain through the growth of

connections in neural networks with repeated use, the key to the growth mindset. Students learn that

intelligence can be developed through mental exercise, and they are introduced to activities that

promote learning.

Unit 4: Brain Boosters extends the concept of the malleable brain to understand the processes of

memory. The unit introduces a variety of study strategies to capitalize on the way the brain works

and learns to deepen and reinforce the students’ understanding of the growth mindset, and to guide

the student to the study skills resources.

Differentiating Instruction: Throughout the next five Go! Curriculum Guides, many lessons

have been modified so that you can differentiate and scaffold your instruction for the unique

needs of your students. Several lessons have two options: Option A is intended for On-Level or

Advanced Learners, and Option B is intended for Below-Level Learners (based on a 7th grade

level).

Whenever you see the icon, look for tips to differentiate your instruction for process,

product, or content, and ways to scaffold the material for all learners.

Process refers to how a student comes to understand the material.

Product refers to the work product in which the student demonstrates mastery.

Content refers to adjusting the material based on prior knowledge of the student.


Introductory Unit


Organization: Each unit of the Teachers’ Guide contains the following sections:

I. Overview and Goals provides a description of the instructional goal of the unit, the key

challenge in student motivation, recommended readings, and key content contained in the

unit.

II. Lesson Plans has suggestions for teacher practice, and an explanation of the research-

based principals underlying these recommendations, and a sample outline of lessons for that

unit.

III. Reproducibles and Handouts contains instructions and printable materials for

classroom activities that support the learning of the key concepts in that unit of Brainology.

These activities are organized as follows:

Connect It activities are intended to be used before the introduction of a new unit of Brainology®.

In these activities, students activate their prior knowledge and/or prior learning in the Brainology®

program to heighten their readiness to learn and interest in the content of the upcoming unit. These

activities connect to students’ lives, to their experiences with other texts or learning, and to other

lessons in this program.

Check It quizzes are provided for the purpose of using as a formative assessment. The teacher can

allow the student to fill in the Check It while they complete the online lesson, to keep them focused

on a goal. They may also be used to diagnose the extent to which students have grasped the

information in each unit. If the Check It shows that students have gaps in their understanding and

need further practice, the teacher can differentiate and remediate using the Additional Activities

provided.

Practice It activities are provided for the purpose of deep practice. In these lessons, students have

the opportunity to interact with the information at an instructional level towards the goal of

increasing understanding of the content and learning to use their knowledge independently.

Apply It activities can be used to enhance metacognition by allowing students to apply their new

knowledge in a variety of ways. These scenarios can also be used to assess the depth of student

understanding in relation to the content in Brainology®.

Additional Activities are included at the end of each unit. While not a part of the core curriculum,

they are meant to deepen students’ understanding of the key concepts. The Additional Activities

provide opportunities to express this understanding through a wider variety of learning modalities,

and to apply them to their own learning.

Supplies: Please review the lesson plans prior to instruction to be sure you have the necessary

materials.


Introductory Unit


Introductory Unit

Table of Contents:

I. Overview and Goals

A. Introductory Unit: An Overview ................................ .................. 5

B. The Growth Mindset ................................ ................................ ..... 6

C. Brainology®: Developing a Growth Mindset ................................ . 7

II. Lesson Plans

A. Activity 1: Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) and Reflection ... 9

B. Activity 2: Check It – Formative Assessment ....................... 10-11

C. Activity 3: You Can Grow Your Intelligence ........................ 12-13

a. Option A: Plain Text Version .................................................................. 12

b. Option B: Interactive Text Version ........................................................ 13

D. Activity 4: What Are Your Values? ................................ ........... 14

III. Reproducibles and Handouts

A. Activity 1: Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) and Reflection 16-18

B. Activity 2: Check It – Formative Assessment ............................. 19

C. Activity 3: You Can Grow Your Intelligence ........................ 20-22

a. Option A: Plain Text Version ............................................................ 23-24

b. Option B: Interactive Text Version .................................................. 25-29

D. Activity 4: What Are Your Values? ................................ ..... 30-31

a. Option A: Advanced Version .................................................................. 30

b. Option B: Basic Version .......................................................................... 31


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INTRODUCTORY UNIT: AN OVERVIEW

Unit Goal Students complete a Mindset Assessment Profile which will explore their

beliefs and attitudes about learning, effort, and challenge. The MAP is

used as a pre- and post-program activity, with the expectation that once

students finish the Brainology® program, they will have moved toward a

growth mindset. In this unit, students are also introduced to the

Brainology® online program and resources, and to the concept of a growth

mindset through reading and reflecting on an article which presents

evidence of malleable intelligence.

Activities

Key Concepts Mindsets are those implicit beliefs we all hold about our most basic abilities

and intelligence. People with a fixed mindset believe their ability and

intelligence are largely fixed and outside of their control, whereas people

with a growth mindset believe that their intelligence and ability can be

developed through their own efforts. Having a growth mindset helps people

be motivated to push themselves to reach their true potential.

Suggested Teacher Reading

Dweck, Carol (2010). Mindsets and Equitable Education. Principal Leadership, pp. 26-29.

http://www.principals.org/Content.aspx?topic=61219

Activity

# Activity Lesson Plan Handout

Intro-1

“Connect It” – Complete both:

Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) survey

Brainology® Reflection Questions 1-6

9

16-18

Intro-2

“Check It” – Complete both, together:

Online Brainology® Introduction

Formative Assessment

10-11 19

Intro-3

“Practice It” - “You Can Grow Your Intelligence” - Choose one:

o Option A. Plain Text Version or

o Option B. Interactive Text Version

12-13 20-29

Intro-4

“Apply It” – Values Lesson & Reflection – Choose one:

o Option A. Advanced Version or

o Option B. Basic Version 14 30-31


http://www.principals.org/Content.aspx?topic=61219

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THE GROWTH MINDSET

Discovered by Professor Carol S. Dweck of Stanford in decades of research on motivation, achievement,

and success, Mindsets are beliefs individuals hold about their most basic qualities and abilities. In a

Growth Mindset, people believe they can develop their intelligence, abilities, and talents. This view creates

a love for learning, a drive for growth, and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishments. On the

contrary, people with a Fixed Mindset believe that basic qualities such as intelligence and abilities are

fixed, and can't be developed. They also believe that talent alone creates success, and see effort as a sign of

weakness rather than as an effective strategy needed to reach one's full potential. The following diagram

shows how people with different views of intelligence respond in different situations.


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BRAINOLOGY®: DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET

Brainology® is designed to help students to develop a Growth Mindset and, as a result, to reach a

higher level of academic achievement. Students with a growth mindset think of their intelligence as

something that they can develop through learning and study rather than as something fixed.

Cultivating a growth mindset can help increase students’ sense of self-efficacy and motivation to learn.

Brainology® is based on decades of research by leading experts in the area of motivation. Psychologists

Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. and Lisa Blackwell, Ph.D. discovered that developing a Growth Mindset

helps students to value learning, invest effort, and improve their academic performance. (See

Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007.) They developed the Brainology® program to help students

cultivate a Growth Mindset by teaching them the powerful combination of basic brain science and

study skills.

Brainology® helps students develop a growth mindset by teaching them how the brain functions, learns,

and remembers, and how it changes physically when we exercise it through study and learning. In

addition, the program teaches a practical set of skills for tackling academic challenges by discovering

how to apply what they have learned about the brain to their schoolwork.

The Brainology® program has been implemented in hundreds of schools with great results. When

students realize that they control their learning, they are motivated to apply effort and take an active

role in learning. Teachers note positive changes in students' behavior (becoming engaged in class,

reflecting, asking questions, doing homework), as well as in the higher student achievement that results

from more motivated students with higher expectations of themselves.

Brainology® is designed as a blended learning curriculum combining a challenge-based, interactive

multimedia online program and classroom activities. In the online program, consisting of an

introduction plus four 30-minute units, students follow animated teenaged characters Chris and Dahlia

as they tackle various problems in their most difficult subjects. They visit the lab of eccentric brain

scientist Dr. Cerebrus and learn about the basic structure and function of the brain: how thinking

occurs, how learning and memory work, how to develop and change the brain, and how to improve

their study habits and skills in light of this knowledge. They gain experience in visualizing and

applying these ideas through interactive activities and exercises. Throughout the program they reflect

on their challenges and their learning through an e-Journal. The classroom activities contained in this

guide provide opportunities to reinforce, apply, and practice what students learn in the online

component in the context of their own experience. The goal is for them to understand that they have

great, untapped potential and that the development of their mental ability is largely within their own

control, and to provide them with study habits and skills that will help them take action.

Through this Curriculum Guide for Teachers we hope to help you support your students by providing

information and strategies that you can use to reinforce their growth mindset development.


http://www.brainology.us/about/carol.aspx

http://www.brainology.us/about/lisa.aspx

http://www.brainology.us/webnav/program.aspx

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Introductory Unit:

Lesson Plans


Introductory Unit


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Introductory Unit Activity 1, “Connect It”: Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) and

Reflection

Description: Survey for getting a quick assessment of the students’ mindsets

Objective: Students will complete the MAP and reflection to get a baseline on what sort of

mindset they currently hold about learning.

Timeline: Before beginning Brainology® – 30 minutes

Instructions for the teacher:

This is a tool to get a quick assessment of your students’ mindsets—their beliefs about

the malleability of intelligence, the relative importance of learning and perfect

performance, and their attitudes toward effort and mistakes. It’s important that students

not feel labeled by this tool. The MAP categories just represent the way they are

thinking and feeling about these questions at the present time. They can change these

beliefs, and they may feel differently on different days.

You can use this assessment tool in a number of ways:

o Individual assessment, scored by the teacher

o Individual assessment, scored by the student

o Individual assessment, scored by a peer

Once students have completed the

assessment, you can follow up with a

class discussion. Here are some

questions that you might explore:

o Are there some subjects where you

don’t feel confident that you can

learn and do well?

o How do you think it feels to get a

bad grade if you believe that you

can’t do any better?

o Can you think of a time when you

learned to do something really

hard? How did you learn it?

o What would you be willing to work

hard to achieve if you knew it was

possible?

o If you knew that you could develop your intelligence through effort, what goals

would you set for yourself?

When students finish the MAP, ask them to complete the reflection. Keep the MAPs

and the reflections so that you can keep track of how your students were thinking when

they began the program. At the conclusion of the Brainology® program, re-administer

the MAP to measure the areas where students grew their mindset!

Differentiating Instruction:

Process A teacher could ask students to process

these questions in several different ways.

The class could do an “Ink-Pair-Share”

where students first write, then discuss with

a partner, then participate in a class

discussion. The teacher could have students

write about the questions and hold 1:1 mini-

conferences with some or all students. Last,

students could be put in groups to make a

poster answering each question with the

teacher choosing which groups get which

questions.


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Introductory Unit Activity 2, “Check It”: Online Lesson with Formative Assessment

Description: Brainology® Program Introductory Unit Formative Assessment

Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the concepts presented in the

Introductory Unit online lesson.

Timeline: Complete with Brainology® Introduction Online Lesson - 30 minutes


Distribute the “Check It” questions to the students.

Have students work silently and independently, completing the online lesson while

filling out the “Check It.”

See the next page for the ANSWER KEY.

When gaps are identified in student understanding, work with them individually to

reteach the concepts, or encourage them to go through the online lessons again for a

deeper understanding. Feel free to re-test if appropriate.


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Introductory Unit Activity 2, “Check It”: Formative Assessment ANSWER KEY

(1) Explain, draw or represent what you think you’ll be learning in the Brainology

program.

This is a free response question, but most students should write or draw a representation of

learning about the brain and how it works. The metaphor in the online lesson is that Brainology is

an instruction manual for your brain.

(2) What makes the brain grow stronger? Explain or draw a picture to represent your

answer.

Learning new things makes the brain grow stronger.

(3) Name the four levels of Brainology.

1. Brain Basics

2. Brain Behavior

3. Brain Building

4. Brain Boosters

(4) Which level do you think you’ll like the best? Why?

This is a free response question. Accept all reasonable answers.

(5) What are three different activities you can do in the e-Journal?

Accept any three:

Read about Chris’ challenges

Read about Dahlia’s challenges

Read Chris’ reflections

Read Dahlia’s reflections

List my challenges

Write and review my own challenges

(6) What is one reason you might use the Brain Book?

The Brain Book can be used for any of the following:

Researching the brain and its functions

Finding learning strategies

Learning about how to remember things better

Finding out how emotions are connected to learning

Figuring out how to learn new things more effectively


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Introductory Unit Activity 3, “Practice It”: You Can Grow Your Intelligence

Description: An introductory article about brain science with a follow up activity

Objective: Students will learn about the concept of expandable intelligence.

Timeline: Approximately 30 min

Instructions: There are 2 versions of the article: Option A (Plain Text Version) and Option

B (Interactive Text Version). Choose the one most appropriate for your learners.

Instructions for Option A (Plain Text Version):

To activate student’s prior knowledge, ask them to generate research questions about

intelligence. Record the research questions on chart paper. (Some examples are below.)

o What is intelligence?

o Do all humans have equal intelligence? How do we know?

o What are the most “intelligent” animals on Earth?

o What are the best ways to measure intelligence? How do we know?

Ask students if they would like to learn how to grow their intelligence, and explain that the

class will be reading research today about how to grow their intelligence.

Students will draw 6 pictures to help the students’ brains add this new information to their

long-term memories.

Pass out copies of the worksheet and discuss non-linguistic representations of concepts

(drawings) as a way to process and remember a new idea. You can connect the idea to the

saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and remind students that the brain has an

amazing ability to remember pictures.

Read the first section as a class and model the drawing and the response to the first one.

Ask students to read silently the next section and complete the second drawing.

Have students check for understanding with a partner using these frames:

o I made a connection to the article when I read… because…

o The article explores my research question… when it talks about…

o The article raises a new question for me, which is… because…

Students finish the article and record one

research question from the class list about

which they would like to independently

research (for homework or in a lab setting).

Students can report back their findings to the

class individually, with partners, or in small

groups. Use this opportunity to differentiate

for all levels of learners.

Differentiating Instruction:

Option A—Content & Process This lesson contains content intended for

On-Level and Advanced Learners. The

text is chunked by use of the graphic

organizer. Much of the lesson requires the

student to read the text independently, but

discuss ideas as a class. There are

scaffolding suggestions as well as

extension opportunities.


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Introductory Unit Activity 3, “Practice It”: You Can Grow Your Intelligence, cont.

Instructions for Option B (Interactive Text Version):

To activate student’s prior knowledge, ask them to generate research questions about

intelligence. Record the research questions on chart paper. (Some examples are below.)

o What is intelligence?

o Do all humans have equal intelligence? How do we know?

o What is animal intelligence measured as compared to human intelligence?

o What are the most “intelligent” animals on Earth?

o What are the best ways to measure intelligence? How do we know?

o What are some people more intelligent than others?

Ask students if they would like to learn how to grow their intelligence, and explain that the

class will be learning today how to grow their intelligence.

Pass out the copies of the Interactive Text and read as a class as the students complete the

prompts and thought bubbles.

Have students record one research question from the class list that they would like to

search for information about as independent practice (for homework or in a lab setting).

Students can report back their findings to the class individually, with partners, or in small

groups. Use this opportunity to differentiate for all levels of learners.

Differentiating Instruction: Option B

Content & Process This lesson contains content intended for Below-

Level Learners. The text is chunked throughout

the article with built-in processing boxes and

language response frames. The process is best

delivered in a whole class setting with some

read-alouds by the teacher, some by student

volunteers, and some independent reading.

The additional research component can be

modeled by the teacher using a projector or smart

phone and a simple Internet search. Show the

students how people do information searches on

one of the class research questions.


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Introductory Unit Activity 4, “Apply It”: What Are Your Values?

Description: Brainology® Unit 1 Academic Mindset Exercise

Objective: Students will identify their values and write a brief essay to affirm their

belonging in an academic learning community.

Timeline: After beginning Unit 1 online lesson – 25 minutes


Ask students to help you define the word “values.” Possible definition:

o Values: Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture

about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable.

Pass out copies of the Values word cloud Option A or Option B. Tell students to circle

between 5-10 values that are most important to them in life.

Give the students the following writing prompt:

o Writing Situation: People from many backgrounds bring a host of different values,

beliefs, and ideals to our world. Today, your teacher wants to hear a little bit about

what is really important to you.

o Writing Directions: Write a brief response (1-2 paragraphs) explaining which

value words you chose as most important to you. Describe what these values are

and explain about why these values are important to you. How do these values help

you and make your life better?

Collect the responses, read them, and write feedback for the students that helps them

connect their personal values to the academic mindset of “I belong in this learning

community.” Here are some suggestions for feedback when students share something

positive: o Thank you for sharing!

o It’s exciting to find this out about you.

o I hope that you will be able to bring this

value to our work this year.

o I really connect with this value because…

o I see how strongly you feel about this!

o It would be great to find out how many of

your classmates feel a similar way about

this.

o We are lucky to have someone with these

values in our classroom and learning

environment.

o Thank you, this helps me get to know you

a little better.

o I would love to discuss this more with you sometime.

Differentiating Instruction: Option A

Content & Process

This lesson can be differentiated by

content by selecting the best word cloud

for your learners. Review both and make

a choice. To differentiate for process, the

teacher can assign various types of

writing, such as paragraphs, a traditional

essay, a free-write, a poster or piece of

art, an online poster, blog, or webpage

like Glogster or Google Sites.


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Introductory Unit:

Reproducibles and Handouts


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 1, “Connect It”: MAP

MINDSET ASSESSMENT PROFILE TOOL

This is NOT a test! It is an opinion survey. It asks your opinion about things to do with

school and being a student. It is very important that you give your own opinion, not what

someone else thinks. Read each statement. Decide how much you agree or disagree with

the statement and circle your answer.

Do you Agree or Disagree? Disagree

A Lot

Disagree Disagree

A Little

Agree

A Little

Agree Agree

A Lot

Profile

Number

1. No matter how much intelligence

you have, you can always change it

a good amount.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

2. You can learn new things, but you

cannot really change your basic

amount of intelligence.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

3. I like school work best when

it makes me think hard.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

4. I like school work best when I can

do it really well without too much

trouble.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

5. I like school work that I'll learn

from even if I make a lot of mistakes.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

6. I like school work best when I can

do it perfectly without any mistakes.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

7. When something is hard, it just

makes me want to work more on it,

not less.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

8. To tell the truth, when I work hard

at my schoolwork, it makes me feel

like I'm not very smart.

1 2 2 3 4 5 6

MINDSET ASSESSMENT PROFILE NUMBER


Introductory Unit


Creating Your Mindset Assessment Profile

1. First, determine your Profile Number for each question.

For questions with odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7), write the number of your answer into the boxes in the right

column. For questions with even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8), use the table below to fill in the gray boxes in the right column.

If you chose this answer: Then write this number in the gray box on the right (Profile

Number).

Disagree A Lot (1) 6

Disagree (2) 5

Disagree A Little (3) 4

Agree A Little (4) 3

Agree (5) 2

Agree A Lot (6) 1

2. Now, add up all your Profile numbers. Add up all the numbers in the Profile column on the right, and write the total in the last box in the bottom right

corner. 3. What does your Mindset Profile Number mean?

Find the group that includes your number in the chart below and circle it.

Now, read what it says about your MAP group.

If your profile

number falls

into this

range:

Then your MAP (Mindset

Assessment Profile) group is:

People in this MAP group usually believe the

following things:

8-12

F5 You strongly believe that your intelligence is fixed—it

doesn’t change much. If you can’t perform perfectly you

would rather not do something. You think smart kids

don’t have to work hard. 13-16 F4

17-20

F3 You lean toward thinking that your intelligence doesn’t

change much. You prefer not to make mistakes if you

can help it and you also don’t really like to put in a lot of

work. You may think that learning should be easy. 21-24 F2

25-28

F1 You haven’t really decided for sure whether you can

change your intelligence. You care about your grades

and you also want to learn, but you don’t really want to

have to work too hard for it. 29-32 G1

33-36

G2 You believe that your intelligence is something that you

can increase. You care about learning and you’re willing

to work hard. You do want to do well, but you think it’s

more important to learn than to always score well. 37-40 G3

41-44

G4 You really feel sure that you can increase your

intelligence by learning and you like a challenge. You

believe that the best way to learn is to work hard, and

you don’t mind making mistakes while you do it. 45-48 G5


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 1, “Connect It”: MAP Reflection

Name____________________________________________Class__________________

MAP Reflection

1. Do you think the description under your MAP group matches the way you think and feel

about your school work? Which parts are true for you and which are not?

2. Now that you have taken the MAP, what do you think we will be learning about while we

do the Brainology® program?

3. What if we told you that Brainology® might teach us how to be excited about challenges,

how to learn from mistakes, and how to increase your intelligence. What do you think

about that?

4. Would you like to learn how to increase your intelligence? Why or why not?

5. Can you think of a time when you learned to do something really hard? How did you learn

it?

6. If you knew that you could develop your intelligence through effort, what goals would you

set for yourself?


Introductory Unit


1) Explain, draw or represent what you think you’ll be learning in the

Brainology program.

2) What makes the brain grow stronger? Explain or draw a picture to represent

your answer.

5) What are three different activities

you can do in the e-Journal?

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

6) What is one reason you might use

the Brain Book?

4) Which level do you think you’ll

like best? Why?

Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 2, “Check It”

Check It!

3) Name the four levels of Brainology.

1. ____________________________

2. ____________________________

3. ____________________________

4. ____________________________


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Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 3, “Practice It”: Reading for Activity Options A and B

You Can Grow Your Intelligence New Research Shows the Brain Can Be Developed Like a Muscle

Many people think of the brain as a mystery. They don’t know much about intelligence

and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is, many people believe that a person is born either smart, average, or dumb—and stays that way for life.

But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger

when you use it. And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.

Everyone knows that when you lift

weights, your muscles get bigger and you get stronger. A person who can’t lift 20 pounds when they start exercising can get

strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time. That’s because

the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise. And when you stop exercising, the muscles shrink and you get weaker. That’s

why people say “Use it or lose it!”

© 2010 Mindset Works

But most people don’t know that when

they practice and learn new things, parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like

muscles do when they exercise.

HEALTH & SCIENCE News You Can Use

© Fotosearch

A section of the cerebral cortex

Inside the cortex of the brain are billions

of tiny nerve cells, called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to

other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems.

Axon Dendrites © Fotosearch

A typical nerve cell

When you learn new things, these tiny

connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger. The more that you challenge your mind to learn, the more your brain cells

grow. Then, things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking

a foreign language or doing algebra—seem to become easy. The result is a stronger, smarter brain.


Introductory Unit


How Do We Know the Brain Can Grow Stronger?

Scientists started thinking that the

human brain could develop and change when they studied animals’ brains. They found out

that animals who lived in a challenging environment, with other animals and toys to

play with, were different from animals who lived alone in bare cages.

While the animals who lived alone just ate and slept all the time, the ones who lived

with different toys and other animals were always active. They spent a lot of time

figuring out how to use the toys and how to get along with the other animals.

Effect of an Enriched Environment


These animals had more connections between the nerve cells in their brains. The

connections were bigger and stronger, too. In fact, their whole brains were about 10%

heavier than the brains of the animals who lived alone without toys.

The animals who were exercising their brains by playing with toys and each other

were also “smarter”—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.


Even old animals got smarter and developed more connections in their brains

when they got the chance to play with new toys and other animals. When scientists put

very old animals in the cage with younger animals and new toys to explore, their brains also grew by about

10%!

Children’s Brain Growth

Another thing that got scientists thinking about the brain growing and changing was

babies. Everyone knows that babies are born without being able to talk or understand

language. But somehow, almost all babies learn to speak their parents’ language in the first few years of life. How do they do this?

The Key to Growing the Brain: Practice!

From the first day they are born, babies are hearing people around them talk—all

day, every day, to the baby and to each other. They have to try to make sense of these strange sounds and figure out what

they mean. In a way, babies are exercising their brains by listening hard.

Later, when they need to tell their parents

what they want, they start practicing talking themselves. At first, they just make goo-goo sounds. Then, words start coming. And by

the time they are three years old, most can say whole sentences almost perfectly.

Once children learn a language, they

don’t forget it. The child’s brain has changed—it has actually gotten smarter.

This can happen because learning causes

permanent changes in the brain. The babies’ brain cells get larger and grow new connections between them. These

new, stronger connections make the child’s brain stronger and smarter, just like a

weightlifter’s big muscles make them strong.

Nerves in brain of animal living in bare cage

Brain of animal living with other animals and toys


Introductory Unit


Growth of neuron connections in a child from birth to 6 years old

At birth At age 6


The Real Truth About “Smart” and “Dumb”

No one thinks babies are stupid because they can’t talk. They just haven’t learned how to yet. But some people will call a

person dumb if they can’t solve math problems, or spell a word right, or read fast—

even though all these things are learned with practice.

At first, no one can read or solve equations. But with practice, they can learn

to do it. And the more a person learns, the easier it gets to learn new things—because

their brain “muscles” have gotten stronger!

The students everyone thinks as the “smartest” may not have been born any

different from anyone else. But before they started school, they may have started to practice reading. They had already started

to build up their “reading muscles.” Then, in the classroom, everyone said, “That’s the

smartest student in the class.”


They don’t realize that any of the other students could learn to do as well if they

exercised and practiced reading as much. Remember, all of those other students

learned to speak at least one whole language already—something that grownups find

very hard to do. They just need to build up their “reading muscles” too.

What Can You Do to Get Smarter?

Just like a weightlifter or a basketball

player, to be a brain athlete, you have to exercise and practice. By practicing, you make your brain stronger. You also learn

skills that let you use your brain in a smarter way—just like a basketball player learns new

moves.

But many people miss out on the chance to grow a stronger brain because they think they can’t do it, or that it’s too hard. It does

take work, just like becoming stronger physically or becoming a better ball player

does. Sometimes it even hurts! But when you feel yourself get better and stronger, all the work is worth it!


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 3, “Practice It”: Plain Text Version - Option A

“You Can Grow Your Intelligence”

Directions: 1) Read each numbered section. 2) Draw a picture that represents the main ideas in that part

of the article. 3) Fill in the sentence frames to explain how your picture represents the idea.

This picture of a _________________________ represents the main

idea because ______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________.

My picture represents the branches (dendrites) growing between brain

cells because ______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________.

My picture represents the difference between animals who had toys and

stimulation and those animals that did not because _______________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________.


Introductory Unit


The way babies learn to speak is represented in my picture because

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________.

Everyone has a brain that can be exercised, and what I drew shows

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________.

Summary: Things that I learned from this article are _______________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

and are represented by my picture because_______________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________.


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 3, “Practice It”: Interactive Text Version - Option B

You Can Grow Your Intelligence New Research Shows the Brain Can Be Developed Like a Muscle

Many people think of the brain as a

mystery. They don’t know much

about intelligence and how it works.

When they do think about what

intelligence is, many people

believe that a person is born smart,

average, or dumb—and stays

that way for life.

That’s why people say, "Use it or lose it!"

What do YOU think??

GUESS WHAT?

New research shows that the brain is more like a

muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it!

But what happens to your muscles

when you STOP lifting weights? Everyone knows that when

you lift weights regularly,

your muscles get bigger and

you get stronger.

I think that when you stop lifting

weights….


Introductory Unit


Most people don’t know that when they practice and learn new things, part of their brain

changes, grows, and gets stronger and larger, a lot like muscles do when they exercise.

Scientists have actually been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you

learn.

Here’s the secret:

Inside the cortex of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells called neurons. The nerve cells have

branches connecting them to each other in a complicated network. Communication between

these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems.

When you learn new things, these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get

stronger.

The more that you challenge your mind to learn, the more neuron connections

you make in your brain.

If you continue to strengthen these connections, things that you once found very hard to do—

like remembering information for a test or doing algebra—seem to become easy. The result is

a stronger, smarter brain.

Use the information you have just read to complete the organizer below

IF… THEN…

So here is an analogy: Muscle is to exercise as the brain is to _________________.

In other words… Muscles will grow with exercise and the brain will grow with_______.


Introductory Unit


The Secret…. continued

Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied

animals’ brains. They found out that animals who lived in a challenging environment, with

other animals and toys to play with, were different from animals who lived alone in bare

cages.

While the animals that lived alone just ate and slept all the time, the ones that lived with different

toys and other animals spent a lot more time figuring out how to use the toys and how to get

along with other animals.

The animals who lived in the stimulating environment had more connections between nerve

cells in their brains. The connections were bigger and stronger, too. In fact, their whole brains

were about 10% heavier than the brains of the animals who lived alone without toys. The

animals who were exercising their brains by playing with toys and each other were also

“smarter”—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.

Even old animals got smarter and developed more connections in their brains when they got a

chance to play with new toys and other animals. When scientists put very old animals in cages

with younger animals and new toys to explore, their brains grew by about 10%.

© 2002-2013 Mindset Works, Inc. All rights reserved

Brain of animal living with other animals and toys

(stimulating environment)

Brain of animal living in bare cage

(non-stimulating environment)

Hmm... it is interesting to me that…


Introductory Unit


Children’s Brain Growth

Another thing that got scientists thinking about the brain growing and changing was babies.

Everyone knows that babies are born without being able to talk or understand language. But

somehow, almost all babies learn to speak their parents' language in the first few years of life.

How do they do this?

Neuron connections in a child from birth to 6 years old

The Real Truth about “Smart” and “Dumb”

No one thinks babies are stupid because they can't talk. They just haven't learned how to yet.

But some people will call a person dumb if they can't solve math problems, or

spell a word right, or read fast—even though all these things are learned with

practice. At first, no one can read or solve equations. But with practice, they can

learn to do it. And the more a person learns, the easier it gets to learn new

things—because their brain “muscles” have gotten stronger!

What Can YOU Do to Get Smarter?

Just like a weightlifter or a basketball player, you have to exercise and practice to make your

brain grow stronger. By practicing, you also learn skills that let you use your brain in a smarter

way—just like a basketball player learns new moves.

Do you think this child developed strong language

skills by the age of six? Why or why not?

How do you think this child grew all of those

neuron connections and pathways?

© 2002-2013 Mindset Works, Inc. All rights reserved

At birth At age 6


Introductory Unit


Why doesn’t EVERYBODY do this?

Many people miss out on the chance to grow a stronger brain because

they think they can't do it

they think it's too hard

they think it’s too much work

Reflection: Remember a time when you worked extremely hard on something that was at first

difficult, but after practice and effort you were able to succeed.

Can you relate?

At first, I couldn’t…. In order to get better, I… Finally, I was able to…

How did you feel when you were successful? Was it worth the effort? Explain.


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 4, “Apply It”: What Are Your Values? Option A


Introductory Unit


Brainology® Intro Unit Activity 4, “Apply It”: What Are Your Values? Option B


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