Hello Families,
This month, we will be completing our 7th-grade unit on A Raisin in the Sun and will begin a new unit, The Brain.
In this unit, students explore a series of narrative nonfiction and informational texts that expose the workings of the brain, prompting them to reflect on what it means to be human, and encouraging them to consider how the development of their own brains during adolescence may impact their experiences and thinking.
This unit supports students as they build awareness of their unique cognitive strengths and challenges, and of the ways in which they can exert control over their own learning. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science documents the fascinating story of Phineas Gage, whose dramatic accident, injury, and recovery made him a famous case study in neuroscience. Students trace the impact of Phineas's extraordinary brain injury, the remarkable efforts of doctors and scientists to learn from his survival, and the early understanding of brain structure and function that grew from that knowledge.
Students then proceed to readings from "Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain," where they add information to their working model of the brain and consider whether and how adolescent behavior may be shaped by their developing brains. In excerpts from Oliver Sacks's book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, students apply their growing understanding of how the brain functions to modern brain injury cases.
Finally, the Perception Academy Quest enables students to apply their newly acquired knowledge in a fictional case of brain injury, diagnosing the affected region of the brain based on the patient's symptoms and behaviors.
To help you navigate the assignments due this month, I have included a picture that lists the tentative assignments for November.
