Brain Structure and Function

Active learning helps students move beyond memorizing brain regions by connecting structure to real function. Hands-on tasks make abstract locations tangible and show how localized damage affects specific abilities.

• Year 9
• Science
• 4 activities
• 30 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze case studies of brain injuries to explain how specific brain regions correlate with particular behaviours and cognitive functions.
2. Compare and contrast the functions of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem in controlling voluntary and involuntary actions.
3. Evaluate the ethical considerations and scientific validity of non-invasive brain mapping techniques like fMRI.
4. Synthesize information to predict the potential impacts on personality, movement, and memory resulting from damage to specific brain lobes.

Stations Rotation

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Brain Region Models

Prepare stations with clay, diagrams, and videos for frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital lobes, cerebellum, and brainstem. Groups spend 7 minutes at each building or labeling a model, then present one function. Rotate and compare group designs.

Prepare & details

What can cases of brain injury tell us about how different regions of the brain control specific behaviours and abilities?

Facilitation Tip: During Station Rotation, circulate with a checklist to ensure each group links their model’s labeled parts to documented functions before moving on.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Jigsaw

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: Famous Brain Injuries

Divide class into expert groups on cases like Phineas Gage or Henry Molaison. Each group researches symptoms, damaged region, and functions affected, then jigsaw-teaches peers. Conclude with whole-class mapping on a shared brain diagram.

Prepare & details

How do scientists map which parts of the brain are responsible for different functions without ever opening the skull?

Facilitation Tip: For Case Study Jigsaw, assign each group one injury case and require them to present two symptoms and one inference about the damaged region using a template.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Concept Mapping

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Role-Play Simulation: Symptom Matching

Pairs draw a brain region card, role-play symptoms of damage (e.g., uncoordinated movements for cerebellum), while others guess the region and explain the role. Switch roles twice, discuss accuracy as a class.

Prepare & details

What might happen to a person's personality, movement, and memory if a particular brain region was damaged?

Facilitation Tip: In Role-Play Simulation, provide symptom cards with simple scenarios so students focus on matching deficits to lobe functions rather than improvising irrelevant details.

Setup: Tables with large paper, or wall space

Materials: Concept cards or sticky notes, Large paper, Markers, Example concept map

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Concept Mapping

⏱ 35 min·Individual

Digital Mapping: fMRI Data Analysis

Individuals use free online brain apps to view fMRI scans during tasks like reading or moving. Label active regions, note patterns, and share findings in a gallery walk.

Prepare & details

What can cases of brain injury tell us about how different regions of the brain control specific behaviours and abilities?

Facilitation Tip: During Digital Mapping, set a 5-minute timer for fMRI data analysis so students practice interpreting color-coded regions without getting lost in technical details.

Setup: Tables with large paper, or wall space

Materials: Concept cards or sticky notes, Large paper, Markers, Example concept map

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Teaching This Topic

Start with a quick sketch of the brain to activate prior knowledge, then use injury cases to highlight localization. Avoid rushing to label parts before students see why each region matters. Research shows students solidify understanding when they explain cases aloud in pairs before whole-group discussion.

What to Expect

Students will link brain regions to functions through models, cases, and simulations, using evidence to correct misconceptions about uniform brain function. They will explain how injury or imaging reveals localized roles.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Station Rotation: Brain Region Models, watch for students treating the brain as one uniform mass by labeling parts without linking them to functions.

What to Teach Instead

Before moving to the next station, require each group to verbally explain how a specific lobe’s damage would disrupt a targeted ability using their model and the provided function cards.

Common Misconception

During Case Study Jigsaw: Famous Brain Injuries, watch for students attributing all symptoms to one area regardless of the case details, indicating overgeneralization of localized function.

What to Teach Instead

During group presentations, prompt other groups to ask targeted questions like, ‘Which lobe handles speech according to your case?’ to push evidence-based reasoning.

Common Misconception

During Role-Play Simulation: Symptom Matching, watch for students assuming brain functions cannot change after injury, ignoring neuroplasticity.

What to Teach Instead

After each role-play, facilitate a 2-minute pair discussion asking students to suggest one way the brain might adapt to the injury, using the scenario as context.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Case Study Jigsaw: Famous Brain Injuries, present students with a new patient scenario involving temporal lobe damage and facilitate a class discussion where students use evidence from the jigsaw cases to predict the patient’s symptoms.

Quick Check

During Station Rotation: Brain Region Models, collect each group’s completed function labels and require one written sentence explaining how the parietal lobe supports spatial awareness using the model as reference.

Exit Ticket

After Digital Mapping: fMRI Data Analysis, ask students to write one sentence describing what the color patterns in an fMRI image indicate about brain activity, using the frontal lobe decision-making task as context.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to design an fMRI experiment to test a hypothesis about frontal lobe decision-making and present their protocol to the class.
• Scaffolding: Provide a partially completed brain diagram during the station rotation with key terms missing, so students focus on function rather than blank labeling.
• Deeper exploration: Have students research and compare neuroplasticity in children versus adults using real recovery case studies from reputable medical sources.

Key Vocabulary

Cerebrum	The largest part of the brain, responsible for higher-level functions such as thought, memory, and voluntary movement. It is divided into four lobes.
Cerebellum	Located at the back of the brain, beneath the cerebrum. It is primarily responsible for coordinating voluntary movements, posture, balance, and speech.
Brainstem	Connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord. It controls essential automatic functions like breathing, heart rate, sleep, and consciousness.
Frontal Lobe	The largest lobe of the cerebrum, located at the front of the head. It is associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem-solving.
fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)	A neuroimaging technique used to measure brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. It allows scientists to map brain function without invasive surgery.