SEL Lesson-Parts Of My Brain! (6 Lessons)

Let's learn about our brain! Students will learn about different parts of their brain in this product. They will learn about the Wise Owl (prefrontal cortex), Hippo The Librarian (hippocampus), Scared Dog (Amygdala), and the Excited Puppy (Amygdala).

Lesson One-Students will be given a brief overview of the 3 parts of the brain. Primarily in lesson one, students will learn about the Wise Owl-the prefrontal cortex. They will unpack the difference between automatic and controlled thinking-slow and fast thinking. In partners, they will attempt the Stroop Test. This is a hands-on activity that challenges them to say the color, not read the word. There is a link to a video as well about fast and slow thinking. In lesson one, students can color the black and white handout on the slide and glue it to a folder to collect future handouts.

Lesson Two and Three-In lessons 2 and 3, students will dive into aspects of their amygdala. They will learn about Scared Dog and Excited Puppy. Scared dog represents the fight, flight, and freeze alarm system in our amygdala. The Excited puppy is the pleasure and reward center in the amygdala. There is a link to a video and an activity involving paint chip colors-showing the difference in intensity levels of feelings and emotions. Students will also learn the concepts of avoiding and seeking. This helps students identify what they avoid or seek in a variety or areas such as friendship, school, etc.

Lesson Four-This lesson will focus on reacting and responding behaviors. Reacting behaviors are automatic-without stopping and thinking first. For example, touching a hot stove-one would pull away quickly. Responding is more like stopping and thinking and making a smart choice.

Lesson Five-Students in lesson 5 will learn about the hippocampus-explored through Hippo The Librarian. This lesson is all about how our memories help us remember important lessons in the past.

Lesson Six-Putting it all together in a final lesson! In lesson 6, students will be putting what they learned into play. They will be role-playing different scenarios and acting out parts of the brain.

There are 2 optional activities as well; a fortune teller and a personalized mindfulness coloring sheet for each student. Directions on the slide notes on how to do this.

Each lesson has slide notes to help guide the conversation.

When you download the product, click on the image for Google Slides access. When prompted to make a copy, click "yes".

For an engaging Boom Deck companion lesson, check out https://teachsimple.com/product/sel-boom-cards-lets-learn-about-our-brain-with-audio Let's Learn About Our Brain Boom Cards with Audio!