MODULE 2: LESSON 2 AND 3
June 26
TODAY'S MESSAGE
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TODAY'S ASSIGNMENTS:
#1. Begin Lesson 2 by reviewing the Notes on the Brain.
#2. Complete Lesson 2 Practice Activity and Lesson 2 Assignment. Use the resources in the Practice section of the lesson and apply the information you learned to the assignment. You will be asked to describe how you used specific parts of your brain today!
#3. Begin lesson 3 by reviewing the Notes on the Endocrine System.
#4. Complete the Endocrine Practice Quiz.
#5. Complete Lesson 3 Assignment (Name that Hormone assignment). For each of the scenarios, name the gland and/or hormone that would be active to cause the corresponding behavior.
TEACHER TALK 1
How do you remember the way to your high school? Why do your eyes blink without you ever thinking about it? Where do dreams come from? Your brain is in charge of these things and a lot more. In fact, your brain is the boss of your body. It runs the show and controls just about everything you do, even when you're asleep. Not bad for something that looks like a big, wrinkly, gray sponge.
The psychologist's favorite organ -- The brain. It is our topic for discussion today. The brain is where we do our thinking. It's why you turn your assignments in on time. All our senses are tied into our brain allowing us to experience the outside world. We remember, have emotions, solve problems, worry about stuff, dream about the future, and control our bodies in our brain.
For such an awesome organ, the brain doesn't look like much. It's a ball of gray looking wrinkled tissue about the size of two of your fists put together. The brain sits in our hard, thick skull with membranes and fluid around it to protect it.
The brain is part of the nervous system we have talked about so far in this module. Together with the spinal cord, it makes up the central nervous system. The brain connects to nerves that travel throughout the body. Nerves from our senses (hearing, seeing, touch, etc.) send signals to the brain to let the brain know what is going on in the outside world. The brain also sends signals using nerves to muscles in order to make our body move.
Parts of the Brain
Cerebrum - The cerebrum is the biggest part of the brain. It's the gray wrinkly upper part. The surface of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex. Different parts of the cerebrum deal with different parts of the body. The back part deals with vision while other parts deal with other functions like movement, hearing, language, and touch.
Cerebellum - At the back and bottom of the brain is the cerebellum. This part of brain deals with motor movement. It processes all the incoming motor messages from the nerves and figures out what to do with them. The cerebellum can learn motor movements with practice allowing us to do stuff like riding a bike or typing without even thinking about it. The cerebrum has two halves, with one on either side of the head. Scientists think that the right half helps you think about abstract things like music, colors, and shapes. The left half is said to be more analytical, helping you with math, logic, and speech. Scientists do know for sure that the right half of the cerebrum controls the left side of your body, and the left half controls the right side.
Brain Stem or Medulla - This is where the brain connects to the spinal cord. Also, many automatic functions are controlled here like keeping the heart beating, breathing, and digesting food.
The brain is one of the largest and most complex organs in the human body. It is made up of more than 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses. The brain is made up of many specialized areas that work together:
• The cortex is the outermost layer of brain cells. Thinking and voluntary movements begin in the cortex.
• The brain stem is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain. Basic functions like breathing and sleep are controlled here.
• The basal ganglia are a cluster of structures in the center of the brain. The basal ganglia coordinate messages between multiple other brain areas.
• The cerebellum is at the base and the back of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for coordination and balance.
The brain is also divided into several lobes:
• The frontal lobes are responsible for problem solving and judgment and motor function.
• The parietal lobes manage sensation, handwriting, and body position.
• The temporal lobes are involved with memory and hearing.
• The occipital lobes contain the brain's visual processing system.
The brain is surrounded by a layer of tissue called the meninges. The skull (cranium) helps protect the brain from injury.
(adapted from http://www.webmd.com/brain/picture-of-the-brain)
For a more detailed explanation of brain function I highly recommend checking out the link below by Body Map. It’s an excellent resource and shows you how the brain works.
TEACHER TALK 2
The endocrine system is made up of glands that secrete hormones. Those hormones carry chemical messages that travel through our bloodstream to our organs. Those “messages” help our growth, digestion, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction, homeostasis, stress response, and even our mood.
In today's lesson you learned how your body produces its own chemicals and uses them to control certain functions. The main system that coordinates these chemicals is called the endocrine system.
Although we rarely think about the endocrine system, it influences almost every cell, organ, and function of our bodies. The endocrine system plays a role in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, and sexual function and reproductive processes. In general, the endocrine system is in charge of body processes that happen slowly, such as cell growth. Faster processes like breathing and body movement are controlled by the nervous system we talked about last week. But even though the nervous system and endocrine system are separate systems, they often work together to help the body function properly.
The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. As the body's chemical messengers, hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. Many different hormones move through the bloodstream, but each type of hormone is designed to affect only certain cells.
A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes, or gives off, chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use somewhere in the body.
The hypothalamus is the main link between the endocrine and nervous systems. Nerve cells in the hypothalamus control the pituitary gland by producing chemicals that either stimulate or suppress hormone secretions from the pituitary.
Although it is no bigger than a pea, the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain just beneath the hypothalamus, is considered the most important part of the endocrine system. It's often called the "master gland" because it makes hormones that control several other endocrine glands.
The pituitary also secretes endorphins, chemicals that act on the nervous system and reduce feelings of pain. In addition, the pituitary secretes hormones that signal the reproductive organs to make sex hormones. The pituitary gland also controls ovulation and the menstrual cycle in women.
The thyroid, located in the front part of the lower neck, is shaped like a bow tie or butterfly and produces hormones that control the rate at which cells burn fuels from food to produce energy.
Why are thyroid hormones so important? There are several reasons — for example, they help kids' and teens' bones grow and develop, and they also play a role in the development of the brain and nervous system in kids.
Public Domain by CCO
Test yourself about your knowledge of the endocrine system using these interactive sites.
Module 2 -- Nervous and Endocrine Systems. Pikochart. Created by Amy Hood. https://magic.piktochart.com/output/13705100-module-2-nervous-endocrine-systems
SHOUT OUT:
IMPORTANT DATES THIS WEEK
6/28: Start Module 3 (Sensation and Perception)
6/30: End of Module 3; Take Module 3 Test and Honors Summative; End of Module 2 Grace Period
CONTACT ME
Text/Call: 919.602.5075
E-mail: christopher.watson@ncpublicschools.gov
Text anytime between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
NCVPS Psychology
CITATIONS
Today's Assignments (Book Icon Orange, David Peters, Wikpedia Education Program Case Studies.pdf, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Teacher Talk (Red Silhouette - Teacher, Ben from Openclipart, Openclipart, Creative Commons CCO 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license)
Shout Out (callout-quote-bull-speaking-bubble, Pixabay, Pixabay, CCO Public Domain license)
Important Dates This Week (Blank Calendar Page Icon, Jackaranga, Jackaranga, GNU Free Documentation License)
Contact Me (Smart phone mobile phone, Pixabay, Pizabay, CCO Public Domain)