The Brain Throughout Life Worksheet

Published2 Apr 2019
Author Emma Lindberg
Source BrainFacts/SfN

Cartoon of a brain dressed up as an elderly man with a cane and glasses

istock.com/grivina

Synopsis

How well do your students understand their growing brains? What about their parents’ brains? What about the brain of an infant? Have your students read 3 articles from the Brain Facts Book and complete the provided worksheet to help them better understand the lifetime of a brain.

Objectives

At the end of this activity students will:

Be able to identify how the brain changes during various stages of life
Identify healthy cognitive aging
Understand key vocabulary terms from the Brain Facts book

Integration into the Curriculum

Health
Biology, AP Biology
Anatomy and Physiology

Teacher Background

Even before we are born our brains are developing rapidly. During the early stages of life, our brains go through one of its most important growing stages or critical periods. But it doesn’t stop there. Teens’ brains don’t fully develop until they are young adults, and even older adults can see changes in their brains.

The following articles and worksheet will map out a timeline of the ever-changing human brain. During class or as an at home assignment, ask your students to read the following chapters and fill in the blanks of the Aging Worksheet:

Chapter 6 The Developing Brain
Chapter 7 Infant, Child & Adolescent Brain
Chapter 8 Adult & Aging Brain

Materials Needed

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.