Brain Work

Our first science unit that we are working is learning more about our brain!  This goes along with MindUp, the new social/community program the entire school has started using this year.  We have done  a lot of work around it, which I wan to keep under wraps for now.  Only because, we have something to present to parents at Back to School night, and I don't want to give too much away!

But, there is one activity that I can share with you.  I printed an article about the brain from National Geographic- KIDS.  We split the article into 5 sections.  Each table got a section of the article.  Their job was to become an expert on their section.  They read the section and highlighted the most important parts.

Then, each student shared their section of the article with someone from another group.  They discussed their facts in their section and compared notes. 

The next day, we took the main facts from the article and put them on posters.  The kids were given a sticker and they had to decide which brain fact was the MOST important fact out of all them.  There was much discussion about which fact was the most important and why.  

Next, the kids were able to select facts to add to the project we are working on.

Looking at an article in different ways not only teaches us more facts about the brain, but also allows us to talk about what we are learning with each other.  We always take our learning to a deeper level when we discuss what we know with others.  It 'cements' the learning in ways that just reading about it can't do.  Our kids are not just learners, they are thinkers!