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Your Amazing Brain (Module 3)
Introductory Story for Module 3
The kids are all sitting around the club house when Corty appears. “Hi, kids! It’s time to get your brains in gear. I want you to find out how your body knows how to think and move and breathe, and what kind of mood you are in.”
“Wow, that’s a hard one,” Juan says.
Beth chimes in, “Well, our bodies must get information from somewhere. But where do they get the message that tells them what to do and how to feel?”
The kids are stumped, so Corty comes to the rescue. “Here are some hints:
- I live in your head, but I’m not your eyes,
Though without me, you couldn’t see.
I’m not your nose, but without me, you couldn’t breathe.
And I’m not your mouth, but without me, you couldn’t speak.”
“I know! You’re a brain!” exclaims Julia.
“And it’s our brain that tells our bodies what to do!” says Beth.
Corty gives a wink and disappears.
“Now, we need to use our own brains to figure out what kinds of things our brains tell our bodies to do,” says Juan.
Beth says, “I have an idea. But we need a big piece of paper, some scissors, crayons, paste, magazines, and . . . Max!”
Max lies down on the floor, and Beth traces the outline of his body. Julia and Juan cut pictures out of magazines. When Beth is finished, Max gets up and Beth draws a brain in the head of Max’s body outline.
“Now, what kinds of pictures do you have showing what our brains tell us to do?” asks Beth.
Julia gives Beth a picture of someone sleeping, and Beth puts it near the brain on the outline. “Our brains tell us when to sleep,” says Julia.
Max gives Beth a picture of a math problem and says, “Our brains help us think and solve problems.”
Juan gives Beth a picture of a soccer player and says, “Our brains tell us how and when to kick and run, so we can play soccer.”
Julia hands Beth a picture of people at a birthday party and says, “Our brains tell us when we’re happy—or sad.”
Max hands Beth a picture of someone eating and says, “And they tell us when we’re hungry and what we want to eat.”
Beth says, “Wow, our brains are pretty busy and very important. Without them, we wouldn’t be alive because our brains tell our lungs when to breathe and our hearts when to beat.”
“And that’s why we have to keep our brains healthy,” says Juan.
“How do we do that?” asks Max.
“That’s our next mission, so stay tuned,” says Beth.
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Module 3 Contents
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Module 3 Documents
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Contact Information
For questions regarding NIDA's Science Education Program and Materials, contact
Cathrine Sasek, Ph.D., e-mail: csasek@nih.gov.
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