Objectives
The unit will focus upon four key objectives. The first objective is for students to learn about the brain and the chemicals and nutrients it needs for optimal development and function. The students' knowledge of the brain will extend beyond what they may have learned in seventh grade life science about the nervous system, and focus on the molecular and chemical components responsible for our brain's structure and functions. Students will explore the relationship between two key nutrients, complex carbohydrates and fatty acids, selected as the focus of the unit because of their importance in brain development and function. Second, the unit will help students incorporate a better understanding of how and why atoms, elements, molecules and compounds are important in their daily lives by connecting their knowledge of these substances to functions and use of chemicals by the brain. Third, the unit will also engage students by helping them recognize how their diets have a direct connection to the function and development of their brains. The students will be able to demonstrate what they have learned about their diets and the connection it has to the function of their brain as it relates to their mental, emotional, and physical IQ's through inquiry based activities. Students will learn that the brain is not just a structure that determines their academic ability, but that it also controls their emotions and ability to operate from a physical standpoint. A final objective will be for students to make direct observations of an animal's brain and compare how development and function of the animal brain differs from their brain, and how diet might account for these differences.
Comments: