January 14

1/11 New Brain Unit

Last week was our first week back at school after break. I was really tired but very excited to start our new unit on the brain. On Monday we did some fun activities. We dropped a dollar bill from up high and tried to catch it as it swayed back and forth. The brain tries to guess where the bill is going to fall and then sends your hands out to try and catch it. The dollar bill is unpredictable in the beginning but your brain slowly learns the pattern of its fall. It becomes easier everytime you do it.

We also played around with dominos that were taped to a ruler. Only one side of each domino was attached to the ruler, so when we knocked them down they would only fall down one direction. When we took out one of the dominos in the middle, they would only fall halfway across the ruler. This represented parilization of the lower half of your body. If the spinal cord is broken then the brain’s movement signals don’t travel all the way through your body.

How do you break your spinal cord?

How long will this unit last?

How much will I learn?