Brain myths: Fact or Fiction?

What do you know about the brain. Or better yet, what do you THINK you know?

There are a lot of things people seem to think are facts about the brain, yet Science has proven them to be NOT true. 

Yet, there are other things that teachers should know to be fact about the brain. 

Let's have some fun with Brain Myths. Which of these are fact, and which are fiction?

We only use 10% of our brain: Fact or fiction? I've heard this one for years! What do you think? Do you think 90% of our brains are unused?

We all use all the parts of our brain! Sorry, Science says that's a myth.

Here's another one:

Men and Women Learn Differently: Fact or Fiction? Many feel that men are better at math and women are better at language. What does Science have to say about this?

Sorry, that's a myth! Men and women are capable of learning both, and any differences you might notice have nothing to do with the development of the brain!

Let's try this one:

Some people are left-brained, and some people are right-brained: Fact or Fiction? What does Science say?

All people use both sides of their brain! I know a few  people who will fight this one, but sorry, Science says no!

What about doing puzzles? Does that help the brain?

Doing crossword puzzles improves the memory: Fact or Fiction? There are people out there selling all sorts of games, puzzles, and challenges for the sake of improving the memory. Is it true?

Nope, don't waste your money! Science says puzzles and crosswords just won't do it!

Now, about the development of the brain:

 

The brain is fully mature at birth: Fact or Fiction?  What does Science have to say?

Oh, heavens, no! The brain isn't fully developed until a person is about 25. Think of your thought process when you were a teenager, or better yet, other teenagers you know. They still have some developing to do, don't they?

What about the size of the brain?

The size of your brain determines how smart you are: Fact or fiction? That age old question: Does size really matter?

Science says no to this one as well! If bigger brains made us smarter, wouldn't elephants be smarter than us? I'd really like to see an elephant doing scientific research!

How well does the brain work under pressure?

The Brain works better under pressure: Fact or fiction? Remember when you had that big project due? Didn't that motivate you to work harder?

 

 

 

Despite waiting until the last minute until getting that project done, Science has proved that stress is NOT good for the brain! Seriously, had you budgeted your time, you probably would have been a better job.

Ok, now how about this one?

Playing classical music makes infants smarter: Fact or fiction?
Did you play classical music for your children when they were babies?

  

Science says there is no evidence to back this up! But I'm sure they enjoyed the music anyway!

Well, how about this one. Do your memories get stored in files, like a computer?

 

 

The brain stores memories like a computer: Fact or fiction? What do you think?

 

 

Sorry, the brain is far more complex than a computer. In fact, many memories are far from accurate! (Judges, lawyers and eye witnesses need to explore this!)

We were always taught that a person's IQ was constant. Is this true?

Your IQ will always stay the same: Fact or fiction? I always believed this to be true! Was I right?

 

Well, Science has disproved this theory as well! A person's IQ will fluctuate throughout his or her whole life!

As teachers, we know that everyone has their own preferred learning style, right?

Everyone has a preferred learning style: Fact or fiction? As teachers, don't we know this to be the case?

Sorry, Science has proved this one to be incorrect as well. It's true that including visuals, sound, or hands-on activities WILL help a person learn, but no one person has one preferred style.

Here are links to some articles that back up this information:

12 Popular Facts About the Brain That Aren’t Actually True

7 Myths About Your Brain

 50 Surprising Things About Your Brain We Bet You Didn’t Know

10 Brain Myths Busted

Top Ten Myths About the Brain

Debunking 10 Brain MythsD

Debunking 10 Brain Myths

10 Surprising Facts About Your Brain

 

So, you want to know some TRUE facts about the brain? Try some of these posts:

• Ten Brain Based Learning Strategies
  

• The Brain, Baseball, and Geography 

• Ten Key Points About the Brain
  

• Seven Brain Based Learning Principles
  

•  Twelve Strategies to Get From Working Memory to Long Term Memory

• Brain Facts

• Seven Benefits of Teaching Handwriting
  

• Predictability and Novelty
  

• 5 Tricks to Help Them Remember Sight Words
  

• The Brain, Memory, Emotions, and Hurricanes

• Routine and Novelty: How Can We Keep a Balance?

• Five Hints to Help Avoid False Praise and Give Valuable Feedback 
  

• Seven Ways to Brain Fitness for Kids! 

• Categorical Thinking 

• The Importance of Failure
  

What facts do you know to be true about the brain?

Three Things to Do When a Student Gets Frustrated

School can be very frustrating. 

Some children find school frustrating once in a while, 

and others find school frustrating quite often.

Frustration happens often with math concepts, but it can happen in many areas of the curriculum as well in social issues. No matter what causes the frustration, here are a few things a teacher can do if a child becomes frustrated.

1. Show some empathy! 

Seriously, we've all been there!

I'll bet you could easily name at least 5 things that you found frustrating in your past. Here are a few of mine: sports, (That should count as 5 by itself!) making friends, (I was painfully shy as a child.) teaching, (As much as I love it, we all know it has its frustrating moments!) parenting, (Who really knows all the answers?) and relationships! I often told students about how I was expected to play sports, but was horrible, no matter how I tried. 

It's pretty tough for children to feel frustrated in school. It matters to them that we care. It might also help to remind them of times when they had successes after working hard on something!

2. Practice stress relief strategies! 

When something is causing stress, the kiddos need to release that stress! 

Here are some of my favorites for children:

-deep breathing

-exercise (Don't you love Go Noodle?)

-music

-a snack

-coloring

-laughter

3. Put it to the side. 

If something is frustrating you, or a child, it's not always best to keep drilling that concept at that moment. The brain often works better by putting it aside. 

If possible, leave it until the next day. A good night's sleep will give the brain the chance to process the information and make sense of it all. More often than not, a quick review will bring those favorite words of a teacher, "Oh, now I get it!"

The brain really does go to work when the body sleeps, and often works things out by the next day!

Music: a Key to the Brain!

Brain research tells us that listening to music actually helps the brain. 

There are many ways to use music in the classroom, and here are a few to get you going!

   

Did you know that music boosts brain organization? It affects our moods and emotions. Playing music in the classroom really makes a difference. Different kinds of music work at different times. Playing slow, classical music helps kids focus and concentrate. Fun, upbeat music helps them find energy during those sleepy times of day (after lunch?) or just plain makes the kids feel good. Putting important information to a familiar tune helps them remember things. There is no end to the possibilities of music in the classroom.

Although I have a huge collection of music for the classroom that I've downloaded or bought in CD form, (See THIS link, and THIS link.) there are other sources for music that are much more appropriate for a teacher's salary!

1. Free downloads! I found THIS link, 10 places to go to get free music downloads, including Free Music Archive and Amazon! It's worth exploring!😉)

2.  You-Tube! Just search You-Tube for the kind of music you want, and you'll see several options pop up! As long as I don't need my classroom projection system for something else, I'll find a long video and let it go on in the background to help the kiddos focus. Here's one I found when I searched "Calming Music for Kids"

Then I searched "Happy Music for Kids" and got this. This is great music for kids to hear when they're entering the class in the morning, because it makes them feel good!

 

 

Here's one I played often at the end of the school year, especially when we had our "seacoast week." I searched "Ocean Sounds with music." (This one is 31/2 hours long!)

 

 

 

I searched this one for Cinco de Mayo. ("Mexican music")

and, of course for St. Patrick's Day I might play this one! ("Irish Music")

Honestly, you can find just about anything on You-Tube, but be careful to check it ahead of time. As you know, there are things you DON'T want to share with the children! (For example, the Irish music category has plenty of Irish drinking songs!)

 

Where do you find music for the classroom?

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain!

This is an awesome read for the first day of school!

 

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak, Ph.D is appropriate for kids K-3.

 

If you've ever read my blog before, you'll know that I am absolutely fascinated by the brain and how it works. This book explains how the brain works in kid-friendly language! 

It tells the specific parts of the brain and the specific jobs they have, and how each brain is different, which makes us all uniquely different. 

I particularly love the part that discusses things that kids have learned, such as playing soccer, that were hard at first, but with practice, got easier! They might have even made mistakes, but the mistakes helped them learn!

If that's all it was about, this book could be used any time of year. The reason this makes a great beginning-of-the-year book is because it tells the reader they can stretch their own brain! 

Who wouldn't want to stretch their brain? 

Isn't that our job as teachers? To stretch their brains?

(I refuse to believe that our job is to have the kiddos score well on tests!)

I feel it's our job as teachers to teach the children to be better learners,  and to stretch their brains as much as they can!  

That leads me to this fun resource, based on this awesome book.

It has some activities to let the children tell what's already in their brain, a chance to challenge their brains a bit more, and a few coloring pages to give them a chance to think about their brains! See the image or see HERE for the link to this fun resource! Enjoy! I Can Stretch My Brain!

What Do They Really Remember?

Years after they leave your class, what do your students remember?

One of the things my kids always remember is when we go from class to class, singing Day 100 songs.

Yesterday was Day 100 in our school, and we carried on my little tradition. Many of the teachers look forward to our visits every year, and it's a real treat to go into the other classrooms in the school. (We NEVER go into each others' rooms, it's such a treat!)

Today at Morning Meeting, I asked my class to share how they truly felt about singing in front of all the different classes. I was thrilled with their honesty. Some said they felt nervous, excited, scared, embarrassed, or shy. When I asked each child, "But did you like it?" Every single child nodded an enthusiastic, "Yes!" 

I could tell most of the children absolutely loved it.  There were a couple of kids that I knew singing just wasn't their "thing", but I was hoping it would be a positive experience.  They said they loved it!

As someone who is fascinated by how the brain works, I find myself pondering what it is about this experience that puts it permanently into the memory. Here's my theory:

•  Singing in front of other classes uses strong emotions, which are directly connected to the memory.  
• It's something they never have done before. Novelty is directly connected to the memory.
• It's music!  Music is amazing when it come to the brain.
• It involves social interaction. Again, connections with memory and learning.

What do your students remember about your class?