Imaginative Education
Lesson Plan Assignment
AP Psychology 12
Unit 3B: Structures & Functions of the Brain
Corine Carey
Social Studies Department Head
AP Psychology 12 Teacher
Burnaby North Secondary
www.mscareyswebsite.com
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
Romantic Framework
Topic:
THE BRAIN: AP Psychology 12
Unit 3B: Structures and Functions of the Brain
Finding a Narrative – The Story of Phineas Gage (1848)
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
By: Corine Carey
Heroic Qualities
Heroic Image
What “heroic” qualities or values are
central to the topic? What makes the
characters in this story full of wonder?
What image captures the
heroic qualities of the topic?
-
Adaptability
- the brain is a complex machine and even
if pieces do not work or are damaged, your
brain can adapt (brain plasticity)
-
Accountability
- the brain structures need to work together
in order to work (neural communication) so
if a part is damaged or doesn’t process,
then the behaviour will change.
In the narrative of Phineas Gage, he has an
iron rod shoot up through his face and
brain. Yet… he stands up after the accident
and walks to the medical office.
What students wonder:
-
How can that even happen? (him
getting up & walking after that)
What parts of his brain were
damaged?
Did his behaviour change?
What abilities did he loose?
Did his brain ‘go back to normal’?
What about our brains?
Headaches? Concussions?
Picture of the iron
tampering rod with
explosive powder.
Image of rod in Gage’s
skull
Picture of Gage after
the
accident
Organizing Content into Story Form
What “heroic narrative” will allow us to integrate the
content we wish to cover?
The Story of Phineas Gage…
On September 13, 1848, the then 25-year-old Gage was
working as the foreman of a crew preparing a railroad bed
near Cavendish, Vermont. He was using an iron tamping
rod to pack explosive powder into a hole. Unfortunately,
the powder detonated, sending the 43 inch long and 1.25
inch diameter rod hurtling upward. The rod penetrated
Gage's left cheek, tore through his brain, and exited his
skull before reportedly landing some 80 feet away.
Shockingly, Gage not only survived the initial injury but
was able to speak and walk to a nearby cart so he could be
taken into town to be seen by a doctor. How could he have
done this? After months of recovery, he was allowed to go
home.
Unable to return to his railroad job, Gage held a series of
jobs including work in a livery stable, a stagecoach driver
in Chile and farm work in California. Popular reports of
Gage often depict him as a hardworking, pleasant man
prior to the accident. Post-accident, these reports describe
him as a changed man, suggesting that the injury had
transformed him into a surly, aggressive drunkard who
was unable to hold down a job…. His entire personality and
behavior changed. His entire personality and behavior
changed and his family claimed he was not the same
person.
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
Developing Cognitive Tools
THE BRAIN – Generating Curiousity about the Brain
Discussion of what brain injuries we are
familiar with today and how they impact
people? Personal stories…
Concussions (sports related)
 Discuss the top sports that cause concussions
and then examine the symptoms of a
concussion. What is happening in your
brain to cause these symptoms? What
has been damaged?
The most common sports for a concussion in
2008: (connect it to them-humanizing)
Cycling
Football
Basketball
Playground activities
Soccer
Headaches and migranes
(what causes them and what is happening
inside your brain when you get one? We have
all had one before so why do we get them?)
HOW do we know what causes these to
happen? By studying the strutures and
functions
of all parts of
the brain.
Discussion and images of
interesting facts about the
brain:
- Einstein’s brain different
from other brains (visual
images and how it is
different)
- Weight and size of
average brain
- An awake brain can power
a light bulb (10-23 Watts)
- Animal with the largest
brain (Sperm Whale)
- Animal with the smallest
brain (Mouse Lemur)
What parts of the topic can students best
explore in exhaustive detail? How can
students present their knowledge in some
systematic form?
THE BRAIN LAB:
Have the students ‘build a brain’ out of candy
parts and an orange. Their collection will be the
candy ‘parts’ of the brain that they have to put
back together in proper parts. As they go
through the orange brain lab, they must answer
the lab questions and fill in the diagrams,
functions, etc. (they are now surgeons)
- They must organize the parts (based on their
previous readings, notes, and lessons) and after
hearing the story of Phineas Gage, replicate a
proper brain. They cannot eat the brain (the
reward for building a correct brain) until they
answer 5 random brain questions by the ‘head
doctor’ (the teacher). They must then hand in
their completed lab and can then eat their brains
Is your brain a super
computer? Extreme technology! (orange and candy).
- Then they must do the final written summary
- Explore how your brain
(see assessment below) refering back to
and a computer work
Phineas Gage and what happened to his
(encoding, storage, and
brain/behaviour.
-
retrieval) and have
students create a venndiagram on how their
brain is similar or
different from a computer.
This would lead into a
discussion on artificial
intelligence and can we
create a ‘computer brain’?
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
Student-led/open-ended





What extremes of reality are
related to the topic – biggest,
hottest, oldest, richest?
Collecting & Organizing
Teacher-led/strructured
How can students understand the human
hopes, fears, passions or struggles that
have shaped our knowledge of this topic?
Extremes of Reality
St
Exploring Human Strengths & Emotions
What parts would we
need for the brain to
work? Watson computer.
Looking Forward and Concluding
Concluding Activities and Assessment for Brain Lab
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
Towards Further Understanding
A Celebratory Ending
Assessment
How can the unit develop embryonic forms
of Philosophic and Ironic understanding?
What cognitive tools characteristic of the
disciplines or embodied self-awareness can
be introduced here?
What is the best way of resolving the
dramatic tension inherent in the unit (in
this case the lesson)? What communal
project or activity will enable the students
to experience and share this resolution?
How can one know whether the topic
has been understood, its importance
grasped and the content learned?
Start to poke holes in what they know about
the brain and get them thinking about more
specific psychological behaviours and links
to the brain:
 What causes fear? (amygdala)
 Why do some people ‘freeze’ in an
emergency? What is happening in your
brain? (Fear Response)
 Why does behaviour change when you are
attracted/flirting with someone?
 What happens when your body goes into
shock? (Gate Control Theory)
 What causes anger? Aggression? Stress?
 Why do people ‘think’ differently? (How
people process and interpret info differently)
THE ORANGE LAB:
Building the Orange Brain (they become
surgeons) and then eating the candy/orange
(parts of the brain) when they get the correct
answers on their lab/discussion questions.
This is only a lesson (over 1-2 days) and
the assessment pieces are:
FINAL SUMMARY WRITTEN ACTIVITY:
Now that they have learned the key
parts/structures and functions of the brain, we
will revisit the Phineas Gage story and the
students then write a ‘final report’ explaining
what parts of his brain were damaged and
why his behaviour changed after the
accident. (wrap up summary activity)
This will set up the next unit which is
Emotion and Stress.
R
E
F
 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.
1) The Brain Lab
 are all sections complete and correct
 are the diagrams clearly labelled
 are the functions correct
2) The Final Written Piece:
* The summary of Phineas Gage and the
students ability to attempt to identify key
parts of the brain that were damaged and
how that affected his behaviour after the
accident.
* This will let me know if they understand
the structural parts that were damaged
AND how their function was impaired and
therefore affected his behaviour.
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 2004 IERG. Protected under GNU Free Documentation License.