We began this week with the essential question: Why do we need a brain? After collecting creative answers, we had a challenge activity using our nondominant hand to do relatively simple tasks such as cutting out a symmetrical heart on a fold and then writing our name on it. The children began a discussion on what our brains allow us to do and what part of the brain controls normal functions. We watched a video clip introducing the Nervous System as well as read a story comparing the brain to a computer. We were able to complete a Venn diagram comparing a brain to a computer and how both assist us to live our lives. We used our Unit notebooks to label the main parts of the Central Nervous System and compared it to the job of the Peripheral Nervous System and its miles of nerves. We then went "back to the basics" and learned about the basic building block of a nerve and that is a neuron or nerve cell. We learned the major parts of the neuron and each student constructed one out of play-dough. We then read a story about how neurons use a "synapse" to transfer the message(s) to the nearby neurons and then arranged our neurons to be close, but not touching, to illustrate this process. The afternoon was filled with our Nervous System research time. We alternated between reading and finding "juicy" facts out of books to looking for these facts off of the computers. The students were convinced that they worked their brains to the point of doubling their size! Thank you for sharing your child with me today!
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