The Brain - General information and video lessons for kids Gr 3-4
Have you ever thought about how important your brain is? We will not be able to do anything without our brain. We use it to think and the brain does a lot of things without us even thinking about it like blinking our eyes or breathing or picking up something.
The brain is made up of lots of cells that sends and receive messages the whole time to all the different parts of your body in order for your body and organs (like your heart,lungs, liver and kidneys) to function and do what they are suppose to do.
Most animals have brains and the size of the brain in different mammals differ from one another.
The brain is divided into two parts or lobes and each of the lobes controls the other side of the body. In other words the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. Scientists are still trying to find out why it works like this and what the function is. A lot of things about the brain is still a huge mistery.
Maybe you have heard that people say something like I am a right brain person or I am a left brain person. What does this mean? You do not use both parts of your brain equally. If you are better in maths or solving problems or writing stories or essays you will use the left side of your brain more.
If you are a person who loves painting and being creative or like to sing, you will use the right side of your brain more.
The brain consist of different parts each with their own function.
Enrichment - Have a look at all the parts your brain is divided into and their function - you do not have to learn this off by heart but it is important that you know that your brain have different parts each with its own function.
You can also get some extra information from the video
The brain is found on the inside of the skull and the main function of the skull (which are made out of 22 bones that are fused/joined together) is to protect the brain from damage.
We have to make sure that we also take care of our brain when we do certain activities. Even though the skull protects the brain, it is a good idea to wear a helmet if you go on a bike ride or horse ride or play certain sports.
There are different diseases that can affect the brain and you will have to go for certain tests or scans in order for the doctor to discover exactly what is wrong with your brain. We need our brain to function properly, so if something is wrong, it is a good thing to know about it because sometimes medication can help to make it better.
It is very important that you look after your brain and the same way in which your body needs exercise and healthy food and enough sleep, your brain also needs it.
You cannot take your brain out of your skull and take it for a run or walk, but you can give your brain some exercise by reading and learning and doing some maths or puzzles.
The more you exercise your brain the better your memory will become.
Here are some memory games you can play to give your brain some exercise http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/memory_games.html
You can watch the video and answer the trick questions to give your brain a good workout
For extra information to read and the research link used
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=152&id=1528
