LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Identify key differences between teen and adult brains; distinguish fact from myth about teen brains; read about how teens can take care of their brains.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 1: Comprehend concepts related to health promotion to enhance health.

CASEL: Self-management; responsible decision-making

KEY VOCAB

spontaneous

capacity

consequences

Lesson Plan: Your Amazing Brain

Your brain is different from an adult’s brain. Take this fun quiz to find out how.

PREPARING TO READ

Before you read the article “Your Amazing Brain,” ask your students the following pre-reading questions:

How are teens’ and adults’ brains different, and how can teens take care of their brains?

READING AND DISCUSSION

  • Have your students read the article “Your Amazing Brain” independently; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading questions. Have their answers changed?

BUILDING COMPREHENSION AND VOCAB

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Comprehension Quiz
  • Vocab Builder

EXPANDING SEL OPPORTUNITIES

Continue the learning journey with the following writing prompt:

Have students imagine they are the hosts of a podcast about teen health. In this activity, they should write a two- to three-page script for an episode called THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TEEN BRAIN. To start their script, the hosts should introduce themselves and any guests participating in the episode. They should also introduce the topic of the episode by listing a few myths that listeners may have heard about the teen brain. Have students continue by debunking some of these myths using what they learned in the article. Encourage your class to use the additional ideas in the student-facing prompt for more inspiration!

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech