Brain Hats

Teach your students about the four lobes of the brain with this fun coloring activity.

Synopsis

Students will listen to a talk about brain anatomy while coloring in a Brain Hat. Each hat will show the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the brain, and can be used to identify where each section of the brain sits in the skull.

Objectives

At the end of this activity students will:

• Learn basic brain anatomy
• Be able to identify the four main lobes of the brain
• Understand the basic function of each of the four main brain lobes

Teacher Background

BrainFacts.org worked with a team of neuroscientists from Michigan State University to create the webinar Brain Awareness Week Online. During this webinar Zachary Grieb, a graduate student in the Neuroscience Program at Michigan State University, explains the anatomy of the human brain. This video was transformed into the Brain Hat activity.

Using the instructions as a guide, teach your students about the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the brain. Engage your students by having them color in their brain hat as you talk about each section of the brain. Once your students have completed their brain hats, they can place them on the side of their heads to get a better understanding of how the brain sits in their skull, and to expand their knowledge on the different functions of the brain.

Materials Needed

• Printed brain hats (one for each student) Download
• Coloring materials (marker, crayons, colored pencils)
• Scissors 
• Yarn, ribbon, or strips of paper. Enough for each student to use when tying their Brain Hat to their head.
• Hole punch, tape, staples
• Detailed instructions for educators Download

About the Author

Emma Lindberg

Emma is the former Outreach Associate at the Society for Neuroscience. She helped find and create Educator Resources for BrainFacts.org, as well as promote the site at conferences and events across the country.