7th Grade Unit C: Science - s3. · PDF file7th Grade Unit C: Science. UNIT C: Science TABLE OF CONTENTS Unit C Software Terminology Guide 1 Lesson 1: Science vs. Fiction

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7th Grade Unit C: Science

UNIT C: ScienceTABLE OF CONTENTS

Unit C Software Terminology Guide 1

Lesson 1: Science vs. Fiction 5

Lesson 2: But Something Goes Wrong This Time 13

Lesson 3: Phineas Should Have Been Dead 21

Lesson 4: Phineas Has a Stroke of Luck 29

Lesson 5: The Life of Bacteria 38

Lesson 6: Phineas Is Declared Fully Recovered 47

Lesson 7: A Tour of the Brain 52

Lesson 8: Diagnose Phineas’ Brain Injury 57

Lesson 9: Phrenologists vs. Whole Brainers 63

Lesson 10: Digging Up the Body: Harlow Rethinks AGAIN! 68

Lesson 11: Brain Science 101 75

Lesson 12: Dopamine and the Adolescent Brain 87

Lesson 13: Hot Cognition and Cold Cognition 93

Neuroscience Quest Summary (Lessons 14–18) 104

Essay Lessons: 107

Lesson 19: Comparing “Visual Neglect” to “Eyes Right” 108

Lesson 20: Making a Claim 122

Lesson 21: Writing Body Paragraphs 131

Lesson 22: Flex Day 139

Lesson 23: Revising Body Paragraphs 149

Lesson 24: Writing an Introductory Paragraph and Editing the Essay 156

Appendix A: Excerpts from the book Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story

About Brain Science by John Fleischman 165

Appendix B: The journal article “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” by Laurence Steinberg 178

Appendix C: Excerpts for the Perception Academy Quest from Oliver Sacks’ book,

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. 184

CONFIDENTIAL &SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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Unit 7C: Software Terminology GuideThis document will guide readers through the language of the software “feature set” for ELA Curriculum, Unit 7C, Informational Text/Neuroscience.

Also available in this packet. as appendices, are the three key texts for the unit.

Appendix A: Excerpts from the book Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

by John Fleischman

Appendix B: The journal article “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” by Laurence Steinberg

Appendix C: Excerpts for the Perception Academy Quest from Oliver Sacks’ book,

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

The unit includes a total of 24 lessons.

The Amplify Curriculum Scope and Sequence: 7th Grade document lays out the lessons in

detail, including CCSS alignments, learning objectives, and key texts for each lesson. The lessons

themselves provide minute-by-minute detail of each lesson.

The goal of this document is to walk through some of the terminology in the print versions of lessons

that will ultimately be digitized for inclusion in the digital curriculum. Because the lessons are not yet

visible on a tablet or computer for review, this guide aims to explicate the terminology in the paper/

PDF draft versions of these Unit C lessons. Amplify uses this terminology internally as print materials

are prepped for leading into a digital publishing system.

Here is a guide to some of the terms in this lesson that may not be familiar or for which additional

explanation may be helpful. The terms here are described in the order in which they appear in the

lesson, not necessarily the order they will be viewed by a teacher or student working through a lesson

in the digital Amplify world.

Lesson Variations: These are opportunities for differentiation to reach both more advanced and

more challenged students than those for whom the lesson is written.

Lesson Flow Image: This refers to a visual that will be present on the teacher’s main screen for

each lesson and will also be the main image for students so that all may see the activities included

in the lesson. (In Teacher Lesson Launch Page: Illustration, the Lesson Flow Image starts with the

orange box with the white book, moves through the blue light bulb images, and closes with the gray

box with the image of a human head.)

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The Lesson Flow Image is described in more detail in the chart on page 37; it also provides a pacing

guide for each of the learning objects in the lesson. This lesson has the following learning objects:

1. Vocabulary

2. Multiple Choice, Partner Work, Class Discussion

3. Discussion

4. Verbal Warm-Up

5. Writing Prompt

6. Sharing

7. Verbal Warm-Up

8. Misunderstanding Notebook Entry

Teacher Lesson Launch Page: Illustration

This is a rough visual of the teacher “home page” for a typical lesson in the ELA

curriculum. This wire frame is from a lesson called “Phineas Should Have Been Dead,”

and it is intended only to give a rough idea of which items will be included on the screen

and the emphasis given to each. This is not a design rendering.

Cardstack/Lesson

flow image

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Excerpts: Lesson excerpts are indicated in these documents both by indicating the pages of a

text and by using bracketed text, as follows: [The first piece of bracketed text indicates the first few

words that start the excerpt.] [The second piece of bracketed text indicates the last few words of that

excerpt.] This visual is to guide the team that loads content into our digital publishing system; these

instructions will not be visible to users of our curriculum.

Differentiation: All of our lessons include ideas for differentiated instruction. In the graphic above,

these ideas have a “home” inside the “DIFFERENTIATION” box.

Student Action Plans: The material here will provide teachers with ideas for individual or small

group instructional moments.

Card Stack: The term “card stack” refers to a group of lesson activities supporting a

learning object.

• In the case of vocabulary, each day includes the same activity model: Four words with three

multiple choice activities per word for a total of 12 activities. For ELLs, a separate approach to

vocabulary is intended in which each ELL students will work with 5–8 words identified as high-

frequency and crucial. (Note: This is another example of differentiation in the curriculum.)

• Other card stacks have different types of activities, including multiple choice, short answer,

highlighting, and more.

Each card has a number. For example, Card 2a is the first card in the second learning object.

Student Instructions: These are the directions a student will see on his or her digital device. (If a

lesson is missing student directions, it is because those have not yet been authored or are intended to

be authored in the next few weeks inside the digital content publishing system.)

Teacher Instructions: These are suggestions and guidance for the teacher on how to manage the

activity. (If a lesson is missing teacher directions, it is because those have not yet been authored or

are intended to be authored in the next few weeks inside the digital content publishing system.)

Look Fors: Embedded in each lesson are “look for” suggestions targeted to any student who may

need in-the-moment support. This tool will include three specific examples of how students may

struggle, with examples of explicit “Say/Do” feedback teachers may provide in response. The “Look

Fors” are easily absorbed, actionable guidance for teachers. While the “Look Fors” are not targeted

specifically to ELL students, they will be helpful to them.

The “Look Fors” also include information for what a teacher should expect to see from students who

are “On Track”—i.e., who are moving smoothly through the lesson and activity stack.

Quote bubbles are used inside the teacher instructions to provide talking points that may be useful to

some teachers.

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C1Science vs. Fiction

5 min Vocabulary

20 min

Which passage is the most engaging?

Individually, students see pre-selected passages and choose the most engaging one.

As a class, they look at class selections and discuss. “We are describing texts. How does it make you feel, what images does it create in your mind, which word draws you in?”

Students pair with a partner who had a different choice and discuss their choices.

As a class, teacher cold calls on a pair and asks them to discuss their choices.

20 min

Using video clips to help figure out what makes the passages engaging.

View video clip that illustrates “teasing.”

Students turn and talk with a partner and discuss what they saw in the video, and how the video made them feel.

Cold call on a few students to share their reaction to the video. Instruct students to write down whatever responses they think are good models of descriptive language.

Short Answer Activity: Play each video clip and have students respond independently in writing: What do you see? How does what you see make you feel?

In pairs, students decide which video clip best illustrates what’s happening in each Phineas passage.

11 min

Writing Prompt

Verbal Warm-Up: Teacher cold calls on pairs, asking what they discussed about a particular passage.

Writing: Choose one or two new passages to show how Fleischman grabs the reader. Describe and explain how he grabs you.

2 min Poll in Motion

Student SummaryWhat does Fleischman do to grab your attention? Can you name it?

Lesson WhatStudents look at pre-chosen passages from the text to see which ones are the most engaging, and then they discuss and write about their choices. An alternate card stack is provided in which students compare a passage from Phineas Gage with a passage from “Sucker,” in Unit B.

Lesson WhyFleischman’s writing is extremely engaging, and students who learned how to describe fiction in Unit B should be able to apply those skills here. In fact, some of Fleischman’s techniques actually distract students from the author’s non-fiction goals of conveying information—and as you move into the rest of the unit that’s more focused on science, you’ll want students to be well aware of those moments when Fleischman distracts the reader with literary technique.

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Key ExcerptsExcerpt from chapter 1: pages 1–6

[The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through] (1–6)

Targeted SkillsReading: Describing evidence

Writing: Use of evidence

Encyclopedia: Narrative choices/techniques

CCSSCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5: Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Teacher PrepPrepare video clips.

Before ClassWrite the first and last words of each excerpt on the board so students know which to refer to.

MaterialsChart paper or board, stickies (for paper adaptation)

After ClassWrite comments on student work that focus on specific language they use to describe what Fleischman does. Note any original observations students make about Fleischman’s language and ways that they show they had a particular experience with the text.

Card Stack 1: Vocab Activities (5 min)

Text Excerpt Student Instructions Teacher Instructions

n/a As students arrive, direct them to get started on their vocabulary activities.

Remind students that it’s better to work carefully and complete fewer activities than to work quickly and make careless errors.

If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C, instruct them to read Chapter 1 from Phineas Gage, starting at paragraph 1 through page 6, paragraph 1.

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Card Stack 2: Which passage is the most engaging? (20 min)What: Identify and discuss moves the author makes to grab your attention.

Why: Make sure students start to come up with some words to describe the text.

Card 2a

Activity type: Polling (5 min)

Text: pages 1–6


[There is no argument about what happens next] [about thirty feet away] (5)

[The most unlucky/lucky moment] [on September 13, 1848] (1)

[His task is to blast the solid rock] [working with touchy explosives] (3)

[The biggest question is the simplest one and the hardest to answer] [his time has nearly come] (2)

[This is what happens] [through and through] (5–6)

Of the five passages, choose the one that really grabs you and put an X next to the passage.

Card 2b

Activity type: Notice and Share (5 min)

Text: pages 1–6







Look at the selections the class made.

Notice which passages were chosen the most.

Be prepared to describe why the passage you chose grabbed your attention.

Write down language that describes how the text engages the reader:

Display class selections. Ask students to notice which passages were chosen most. Then ask a few students why they chose their passage. Explain that they are describing texts.

Questions to consider: How does it make you feel? What image does it create in your mind? Which words did you notice first?

While they are describing why the passage grabbed their attention, write the phrases on the board to capture their best descriptions of Fleischman’s language.

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Card 2c

Activity type: Pair and Share (5 min)

Text: pages 1–6







Pair up with a partner who chose a different passage.

Tell your partner which passage you chose.

Explain why you chose it, how it grabbed your attention, and what it made you feel and see.

Be prepared to share your partner’s response with the class.

Write down language that describes how the text engages the reader.

For each passage chosen, ask students to quickly stand at a designated point in the room. This way they can find a partner who chose a different passage than they did.

Instruct students to discuss with their partners why they chose their passage, reminding them to look at the responses on the board as examples of strong descriptive language.

Circulate around the room while students are discussing, prompting them to be more specific in how they are describing the text, if they aren’t already.

Card 2d

Activity type: Whole Class Discussion (5 min)

Text: pages 1–6








Write down language that describes how the text engages the reader.

Cold call on a few students to share their partner’s response.

While they are describing why the passage grabbed their attention, write the phrases on the board to capture their best descriptions of Fleischman’s language.

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Card Stack 3: Using video clips to help figure out what makes the passages engaging. (20 min)What: View videos that illustrate different ways to grab a reader’s attention, such as teasing or creating suspense, as triggers to elicit further descriptive language from students when they explain how the author grabs their attention.

Why: Comparing Fleischman’s methods to the methods used in the videos should make it clear how purposeful he is and help students come up with additional language to describe what he is doing.

Card 3a

Activity type: Observe (2 min)

Video: Teasing Clip


Video clip illustrating “teasing.” Watch the video. Play the video clip.

Card 3b

Activity type: Turn and Talk (5 min)

Video: Teasing Clip


Video clip illustrating “teasing.” With your neighbor to your left, discuss your reaction to the video:

What did you see?

How did it make you feel?

During discussion, write down some examples of descriptive language.


Circulate around the room while pairs are sharing. Prompt them to use more descriptive language, if necessary.

Cold call on a few students to share their partner’s responses.

Instruct students to write down whatever responses you think are good models of descriptive language.

Card 3c

Activity type: Observe and Short Answer (5 min)

Video: Teasing Clip


Video clips illustrating:

Suspense

Shock

Showing not telling

After watching each video clip, answer:

What did you see?

How did it make you feel?

Play video clips.

Instruct students to record their short answer responses. Move relatively quickly, but push students to identify the details that caused them to feel a certain way when watching the video.

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Card 3d

Activity type: Multiple Choice (5 min)

Text: Pages 1–6







Spaces are the drop-down boxes where students will choose one of the four options:

Teasing

Suspense

Shock

Showing, not telling

For each excerpt, decide which video clip uses the same technique to engage you.

Choose your answer from the drop-down choices.

Explain your reason.

Circulate around the room, looking for strong possible responses for cold calling in the Verbal Warm-Up.

Transition: Writing PromptActivity: Verbal Warm-Up (2 min)


Be prepared to share your answers to the last activity.

Cold call on students, asking for their responses to a particular passage from the previous (multiple choice) activity. This will generate more descriptive language for students in preparation for writing time.

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Card Stack 4: Writing Prompt (11 min)What: Choose a new passage that shows how Fleischman grabs the reader’s attention. Then explain and describe how Fleischman grabs the reader.

Why: To see if the student can select and describe textual evidence with greater independence and less step-by-step guidance.

Activity type: Writing (10 min)

Text: pages 1–6


Pages 1–6 Writing prompt:

Choose one new passage that grabs your attention. Describe and explain exactly what Fleischman does here with his writing to grab you.

Circulate, using OTSCs to reinforce skills.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Chooses a relevant passage. Uses descriptive language to explain why and how the passage grabs their attention: “See the pointy end of the rod enter under his left cheekbone, pass behind his left eye, through the front of his brain, and out the middle of his forehead just above the hairline. It takes a fraction of a fraction of a second for the iron rod to pass from cheekbone to forehead, through and through.”

And

“The iron throws him flat on his back, but as his men come running through the gunpowder smoke, he sits up. A minute later, he speaks. Blood is pouring down his face from his forehead, but Phineas is talking about the explosion.”

“Right here, you describe the moment when the blasting process goes wrong as ‘watching a movie in slow motion.’ I love this. You need to explain why watching a movie in slow motion makes for good storytelling.”

And

“Wow, you picked a strong passage. I like how you describe the power of the shocking image of someone getting stabbed through the head with a giant iron rod and then not only getting up but talking with blood all over his face. I agree, it seems like a cartoon because it is so unbelievable. How could anyone NOT want to continue reading after learning this?”

Look For: Student is stuck. “Did the description of the accident make you want to keep reading? Why?”

“Point to a specific passage on that page that made you want to read the next sentence.”

“It grosses you out. Great. Start writing here about that.”

Skill: Staking a claim

Look For: Student hasn’t answered the question and IS writing about relevant evidence.

“Engaging passage. I’m looking forward to seeing how you answer the question.” (Come back in two minutes to make sure the student explains and describes why the passage grabs him or her.)

Skill: Describing how the evidence supports the claim

Look For: Student quotes the text without any elaboration. You can’t tell if he or she has a grasp of descriptive language.

“It will kill him, but it will take another eleven years, six months, and nineteen days to do so.”

“I agree that this passage does that interesting trick of giving away the story, yet makes us so curious to see how it will actually happen. Why do we still want to know how it unfolds? What makes us curious? Write another couple of sentences explaining this in more detail.”

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Card Stack 5: Poll in Motion (2 min)What: Ask the students to respond to review questions with physical moves.

Why: Get some movement going, since it’s known that the brain works best when the body is in motion. This will also help them think about the different choices writers make.

Activity type: Poll (2 min)


n/a Do a jumping jack if you can think of two moves the author made to tell a good story.

Make a honking sound if you found more than two new passages that grabbed your attention.

Do the wave if you think it’s challenging to describe how a writer grabs your attention.

Touch your toes if you think the author did a good job of getting your attention.

Slump down in your seat, twiddling your thumbs if you think the author failed at getting you excited about brain science.

Give students time to get their nerve up to respond physically—an awkward pause often does the trick.

Provide some other options (hand waving, elbow wagging) for students who may be shy.

Solo


Pages 1–6 [The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through]

Read.

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C2But Something Goes Wrong This Time

5 min Vocabulary

15 min

Sequence the process to see if there are any misconceptions about a straightforward process.

Students put passages about the blasting process in the correct order without using the text.

Automated correction shows them CORRECT answers.

Whole class discussion of correct answers/misconceptions, round 1

13 min

Read for the moment when the process went wrong and discuss with a partner to identify misconceptions.

Individually, students read the new passage and decide which step of the process went wrong.

Poll shows answers/misconceptions, round 2.

Whole class discussion of variations in answers.

Students pair with someone with a different answer and try to convince each other that their answers are correct, pointing to the text for support. Pairs come to an agreement on which answer is correct and submit it.

Poll and notice the differences between the first and second rounds.

8 min

Discuss misconceptions, their importance, and how they are presented in the text as engaging storytelling elements.

Discussion on misconceptions, what they are, and how they are presented in the text.

5 minClosing

Introduce Misunderstanding Notebook.

Student SummaryWhat caused Phineas’ accident? Let’s examine the blasting process and investigate what went wrong in Phineas’ accident.

Lesson What: Students look at the simple blasting process and then what occurred when it went wrong, causing Phineas’ accident. They start to use a technique we will use over the next several lessons to notice misconceptions from misreading of the text.

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Lesson Why: Fleischman moves out of sequence to tell a good story. By comparing the sequence of the blasting process with the account of Phineas’ accident, we help students notice the complexity of Fleischman’s story, and it is that complexity that draws them in and also leads them to misconceptions if they don’t read carefully.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 1–6

[The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through] (1–6)

Targeted Skills: Rereading; distinguishing narrative sequencing from technical/scientific process; appreciating the usefulness of misconceptions

CCSS:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5: Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3: Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).



Page 3, paragraph 2, through page 6, paragraph 1. [His task is to blast] [through and through]

As students arrive, direct them to get started on their vocabulary activities. Remind students that it’s better to work carefully and complete fewer activities than to work quickly and make careless errors.

If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C1, instruct them to read chapter 1 of Phineas Gage, starting from page 3, paragraph 2 through page 6, paragraph 1.

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Card Stack 2: Sequence the process to see if there are any misconceptions about a straightforward process. (15 min)What: Sequence the blasting process by trying to remember the order and consider the logic.

Why: Students use their memories to demonstrate their understanding of the blasting process. They start to notice that they need to read carefully for accuracy.

Card 2a

Activity Type: Sequencing (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 1–6: [The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through]


No excerpt. They are doing the activity from memory.

Without using your book, number each passage in the order that the blasting process was supposed to happen.

___ Drill a hole in the rock at exactly the right angle and depth.

___ Press the fuse down into the powder.

___Shout a warning.

___Tamp the sand tight.

___Plug the hole with loose sand.

___ Light the fuse and run.

___ Fill the hole with coarse-grained gunpowder.

Correct Sequence:

1 Drill a hole in the rock at exactly the right angle and depth.

3 Press the fuse down into the powder.

6 Shout a warning.

5 Tamp the sand tight.

4 Plug the hole with loose sand.

7 Light the fuse and run.

2 Fill the hole with coarse-grained gunpowder

Card 2b

Activity Type: Posting sequencing choices and noticing variations (5 min)



Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 1–6: [The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through]

Notice the variations you and your classmates chose.

Display the variations the students chose for sequencing.

**Teacher emphasizes that today there is only ONE right answer.

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Card 2c

Activity Type: Comparing answers (5 min)



Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 1–6: [The most unlucky/lucky][from cheekbone to forehead, through and through]

Notice how your answers compare to the correct sequence.

Post the correct sequence.

As a group, look at the responses and notice where the mistakes/misconceptions were made.

Ask for the strategies they used to determine the answers—key words, sequencing, logic.

3 Key Points to Emphasize:

1. Reading as an experience (Lesson 1, no right or wrong answers) vs. reading for information (today’s lesson has only one right answer).

2. Mistakes are opportunities to go back, reread, and find the right answer, as in a scientific investigation.

3. Scientific questions are hard and will get harder. We expect mistakes. This is about digging deeper into our investigation and finding the truth.

Card Stack 3: Read for the moment when the process went wrong and discuss with a partner to identify misconceptions. (13 min)What: Read the new passage in order to identify the step that went wrong, causing Phineas’ accident.

Why: They will try to find the correct scientific answer when Fleischman gets into storytelling mode—noticing that his storytelling can make it difficult to find the right answers.

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Card 3a

Activity Type: Reading and selecting (3 min)



[But something goes wrong this time] [a loud clang about thirty feet away] (5)

Read the passage individually.

Decide and select which step of the process went wrong and caused Phineas’ accident.

___Drill a hole in the rock at exactly the right angle and depth.

___Fill the hole with coarse-grained gunpowder.


___Plug the hole with loose sand.

___Tamp the sand tight.

___Shout a warning.


Make sure you can point to the text to indicate how you chose your answer.

This is a new passage. It includes the anecdotal part of Phineas’ accident that was not included in the first activity reading.

Correct Answer:

Plug the hole with loose sand

Card 3b

Activity Type: Polling (3 min)





Notice the variety of answers.

Display class selections. Ask students to notice variations in answer choices and any answer that was chosen more often than the others.

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Card 3c

Activity Type: Answering and discussing in pairs (5 min)

Text: [But something goes wrong this time] [a loud clang about thirty feet away] (5)



Find a partner who disagrees with your answer, and try to convince him or her that your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text. Come to an agreement on the correct answer and submit the same answer as your partner.

___ Drill a hole in the rock at exactly the right angle and depth.

___ Fill the hole with coarse-grained gunpowder.


___ Plug the hole with loose sand.

___ Tamp the sand tight.

___ Shout a warning.


Make sure you can point to the text to indicate how you chose your answer.

Review the instructions, making sure to emphasize that today there is ONE right answer and that they are trying to convince each other of that right answer and reach an agreement. This is very different from yesterday, when they were sharing different ideas.

Card 3d





Look at the selections the pairs made.

Compare them to the first set of answers they selected individually.

Display class selections alongside the first poll when they answered individually in activity 3A. Ask students to notice the differences between the first and the second set of answers.

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Card Stack 4: Discuss misconceptions, their importance, and how they are presented in the text as engaging storytelling elements. (8 min)What: Discuss what is known and what is not known.

Why: By homing in on the complexity in the narrative of the accident vs the precision of the blasting process, students begin to notice the connection between elements in Fleischman’s engaging storytelling and how they might have led to misconceptions.

Card 4a

Activity Type: Class Discussion (8 min)

Text: [But something goes wrong this time] [a loud clang about thirty feet away] (5)



Be prepared to share how your team came up with their answer.

Notice the way the answers changed after the discussion in pairs.

Invite students to share their answers, how they decided on them, and why they changed them.

Give students the correct answer to the question about which step went wrong in Phineas’ blasting accident.

Discussion points:

What did they notice about the sequencing of the blasting process and how it differs from the sequence of events in Phineas’ blasting accident?

Where did their misconceptions come from? Remind students to point to the text.

There are lots of wrong answers in this poll and not as many in the first sequencing activity poll. What were the reasons?

Connect those reasons to Fleischman’s engaging storytelling by asking:

Did these engaging storytelling elements throw you off/lead you to a misconception?

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Card Stack 5: Closing (5 min)What: Introduce the Misunderstanding Notebook.

Why: To begin tracking their own misconceptions and those of the scientists and doctors in 1848.

Activity Type: Introduce the Misunderstanding Notebook (5 min)


Misunderstanding Notebook features draw them in—showing them how Harlow found it to be so useful for him and his discoveries and how it will help them in the same way.

Turn to your Misunderstanding Notebook.

Have students turn to their Misunderstanding Notebooks, while you explain why and how to use it. Point to different parts of the notebook and discuss how students should use them, so that they can get started on it at the end of class.

Digital alternative: Animation of Dr. H explaining why and how to use the Misunderstanding Notebook.

Solo


Phineas Gage, pages 8–13, [It’s an hour after the accident] [to counter infections] and pages 17–19 [According to the best medical theories] [Phineas is resting quietly at last]

Read

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C3Phineas Should Have Been Dead

5 min Vocabulary

13 min

What did the doctors know in 1848?

Students answer T/F questions to pinpoint what the doctors knew in 1848.

Students move around the room according to their T or F answer. They stand by their choice.

19 min

What mistakes did we make? What mistakes did the doctors make?

Students pair with someone with a different answer, and come to an agreement about which answer is correct.

Teams move around the room to show their NEW T or F answer.

Class discussion about STUDENTS’ misconceptions and about the doctors’ misconceptions.

5 minClosing—Short Answer

Respond to short answer question.

Student SummaryWhat did the doctors know in 1848? Why is what we know today different? Did the doctors not really know what they knew? What is knowledge and how does knowledge change over time?

Lesson What: Students investigate the limitations of medical knowledge in the late 19th century.

Lesson Why: It is difficult for students to accept that medical knowledge—even in 1848—could be untrue. This book is all about how doctors learned to revise their knowledge. We will also show students how to revise THEIR knowledge by rereading carefully.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 8–13, 17–19

[It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13)

[According to the best medical theories][Phineas is resting quietly at last] (17–19)

Targeted Skills: Understanding misconceptions

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CCSS: ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Teacher Prep: If you don’t have a signal for transitions (e.g., bell, turning lights off, snapping), choose one and use it, as this lesson is heavy with transitions.

Card Stack 1: Vocab Activities


Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 8–13, 17–19 [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13) and [According to the best medical theories][Phineas is resting quietly at last] (17–19)

As students arrive, direct them to get started on their vocabulary activities.


If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C2, instruct them to read Phineas Gage from page 8, starting at paragraph 5 (“It’s now an hour...”) through page 13, paragraph 4 (ending with, “...to counter infections”) and page 17 (“According to the best...”) through page 19, paragraph 1 (ending with, “...Phineas is resting quietly at last”).

Card Stack 2: What did the doctors know in 1848? (13 min)What: Pinpoint the knowledge that doctors had in 1848.

Why: Students have to try to figure out the RIGHT answer about what the text says about how the doctors were WRONG. It requires careful reading and rereading and establishes the basis for what doctors learned from Phineas’ case.

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Card 2a

Activity type: True/False (8 min)

Text: Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 8–13, 17–19 [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13) and [According to the best medical theories][Phineas is resting quietly at last] (17–19)


Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 8–13, 17–19 [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13) and [According to the best medical theories][Phineas is resting quietly at last] (17–19)

Select “True” or “False”

Put a “T” or an “F” next to each sentence.

According to the author, at the time of Phineas’ accident (1848), these tools and medical knowledge are available.

____1) Microscopes have been invented.

____2) Bacteria cause infections.

____3) Emetic and purgative medicines balance humors.

____4) Doctors use adhesive strips to tape together skin.

____5) Antibiotics are prescribed to cure infections.

____6) A person can survive without a part of his or her brain.

Correct answers:

_T__1) Microscopes have been invented.

_F__2) Bacteria causes infections.

_T__3) Emetic and purgative medicines balance humors.

_T__4) Doctors use adhesive strips to tape together skin.

_F__5) Antibiotics are prescribed to cure infections.

_F_6) A person can survive without a part of his or her brain.

Card 2b

Activity type: Standing by Your Answer (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from “’Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13) and [According to the best medical theories][Phineas is resting quietly at last] (17–19)


Excerpt from “’Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13)


When your teacher reads each question

• go to the right side of the room if you answered “False.”

• go to the left side of the room if you answered “True.”

Designate the right side of the room as False and the left side of the room as True.

Tell students that when you read each question, they have to move to one side or the other based on their answers. Read each question out loud, and record responses as tally marks under each question.

*Teacher note: It’s worth having the students move around because it’s a literal commitment to their decision—and it is a fun way to see how students answered. Next, when the kids work in pairs, the stakes will be higher.

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Card Stack 3: What mistakes did we make? What mistakes did the doctors make? (19 min)What: Students work with partners to determine the correct answers to the T/F questions. Then they discuss their revised (or not) answers with the class and the misconceptions they and the doctors had.

Why: Once the students have committed to their answers in the previous activity, it raises the stakes for their pair work. When they have reached agreement and are told the correct answers, this opens the discussion: Just as some of the scientists’ ideas were correct and some not, so are ours. This is how we will learn when we are correct or not so we can self-correct. It’s okay to be wrong. In fact, it’s great to make a mistake because you get to look back at the text and figure out where the mistake came from.

Card 3a

Activity type: Partner Work (8 min)

Text: [It’s now an hour after the accident][to counter infections] (8–13)





Find a partner who disagrees with your answer and try to convince him or her that your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text. Come to an agreement on the correct answer and submit the answer.

Be prepared to discuss

1. why you did or did not revise your answer.

2. what you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.

Choose the answer choices (we recommend three) that have the biggest discrepancies.

Tell students that these are the questions they will discuss in pairs and submit an answer to.

Teacher tip: Review the instructions, making sure to emphasize that they are trying to convince each other of the right answer and then reach an agreement on which is right.

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Bear in mind that this activity will be based on the teacher selecting the answer choices that have the biggest discrepancies (there are six questions, so they might find three for the students to discuss in pairs). However, we have listed possible reasons why each answer might be wrong.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Students pointing to the places in the text about the tools and medical knowledge available at the time of Phineas’ accident (1848): that microscopes have been invented, that antibiotics have not yet been developed, that they don’t yet know bacteria cause infection, and the popular medical theory was based on balancing the humors, even though we know now this is incorrect.

Good to see you listening to each other and making sure no one gets away with an unsupported answer.

Students need support: Making a case for their answers without pointing to evidence.

You could possibly be correct on the science, but the question is about what is IN the text. While I’m standing here, point to one line that supports or contradicts your answer.

Look For: Both partners have the wrong answer.

Reasons for incorrect answers for each T/F question:

1. True. Students might be confused by the fact that microscopes were invented but weren’t commonly used.

2. False. Yes, bacteria cause infections, but the answer is false because the question asks about the knowledge in 1848.

3. True. This is the one to look out for. Students might not be able to grasp the idea that this incorrect knowledge was the knowledge at the time, so the answer is true.

4. True. If they missed this, they were reading carelessly.

5. False. If they missed this, they weren’t paying attention to the question—knowledge available in 1848.

6. True. This is INFERRED, never explicitly stated in the text, requiring more advanced reading and thinking.

It is good to test each answer. What might be wrong about this answer? Remember, the question asks you to respond according to the knowledge they had in 1848. Is the common medical knowledge in 1848 that emetic and purgative medicines balance the humors?

Look For: Still discussing but have not yet come to consensus.

You have to come to an agreement on the correct answer. Are either of you feeling any doubts about one answer or the other?

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Card 3b

Activity type: Standing by Your Answer (3 min)






When your teacher reads each question:

• go to the right side of the room, with your partner if you answered False.

• go to the left side of the room with your partner if you answered True.

Tell students that when you read each question, just as in the first activity, they have to move to one side or the other based on their answers. Read each question out loud and record responses as tally marks under each question.

Card 3c

Activity type: Class Discussion (8 min)






Be prepared to discuss

1. why you did or did not revise your answer.

2. what you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.

Cold call on a few teams to share why they did or did not revise their answers.

Announce the correct answer to each question.

Natural lead-in to discussion of misconceptions: Elicit the definition from them. They’ve been using it; now they learn the name of it.

Discussion points:

• Ask students to help you define “misconception.”

• Connect how sure kids were when they were moving toward “true” or “false,” to how doctors felt about what they knew about medicine in 1848.

• Ask students to consider, when reading, what do I think is true? Is it really true?

• Let them know that especially with scientific reading, they will need to go back and check their answers or they may have misconceptions.

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Card Stack 4: Closing—Short AnswerWhat: Distinguish between the misconceptions the doctors had in 1848 and the misconceptions we as readers of the text have.

Why: We do this to gain awareness of the limitations of scientific knowledge in 1848 and our own limitations in terms of what we know, as well as to become aware of the power of misconception.

Card 4a

Activity type: Recording Misconceptions/Share (5 min)






In your Misunderstanding Notebook

• record one misconception the doctors had about science or medicine in 1848.

• record one misconception, you encountered as a reader of this text.

Reintroduce the Misunderstanding Notebook they learned about in the previous lesson and tell them they will record their first findings.

Cold call on a few students.

[Examples of misconceptions the students might have:

• An open brain injury is “better” than a closed brain injury.

• The blood-brain barrier prevents Phineas from getting an infection.

Dr. Harlow cleans Phineas’ wound because he knows it will cause infection if he doesn’t.]

Leave the students thinking about opportunities that the scientists might have missed to correct misconceptions—and to not miss those opportunities on our own.

Tell students you are counting on mistakes because they will continue to be answering hard questions, and the interesting part is in going back and finding the right answer.

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LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Answers both questions. Possible misconception the doctors had could be that the humors need to be balanced in order to be healthy. One misconception the student might have could be that the blood brain barrier prevents Phineas from getting an infection.

You’ve done a great job understanding the difference between what the scientists knew and didn’t know, and what the author explains to us about modern science. This is a tricky book because of that, but that makes it more like a puzzle to figure out. And you found out what mistake you made and corrected it! Keep an eye on Dr. Harlow and see if he ends up doing the same thing.

LOOK FOR: Student is confused by the difference between the doctors’ misconceptions and his or her own.

• Let’s look at this part about bacteria. What does the book say the doctors know about bacteria?

• Right, they know very little about bacteria. So what might be a mistake they make because they don’t know that bacteria cause infection?

• Great. You just identified one of the doctors’ misconceptions. Now let’s look at one of your own.

• Can you point to one spot that confused you?

• I totally agree! I had to reread that part about the blood-brain barrier three times. So this would be one of your misconceptions as a reader. And you know what’s great about being able to point to the areas where you got confused? You have the opportunity to be like a CSI detective and figure out the correct answer! These are hard questions, and I’m expecting mistakes because that’s where the interesting part comes in. The answers are inside the text; you only need to keep going back and eventually you’ll find them.

Solo


Phineas Gage, pages 9–11 [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [unit of life]

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C4Phineas Has a Stroke of Luck

5 min Vocabulary

22 min

What is the advantage and disadvantage of an open brain injury?

Students choose the advantage and the disadvantage of an open brain injury.

Project answers.

Students pair with someone with a different answer and try to convince each other why their answer is correct, as they refer to the text for support. Pairs come to an agreement on which answer is correct.

Project answers.

Based on students’ responses, guide class discussion.

10 min

What does Harlow know about infection?

Respond to short answer question about what Dr. Harlow knows and doesn’t know about infection. Discuss the responses.

5 min

Closing

Respond to short answer.

Leave students thinking about the scientific information they learned today and how it applies to their own daily experience.

Student SummaryWhat are the differences between an open brain injury and a closed brain injury?

Lesson What: Identifying the differences between an open brain injury and a closed brain injury.

Lesson Why: By understanding the differences between the two types of injuries, the reader can grasp how unbelievable it is that Phineas survived. This understanding is key to this lesson, in which we look at why scientists didn’t believe what happened to Phineas.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from Chapter 1, pages 9–11

[Dr. Harlow does what he can] [unit of life]

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CCSS:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Teacher Prep:Materials: Chart paper



Excerpt from Chapter 1, pages 9–11, [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [unit of life]

As students arrive, direct them to get started on their vocabulary activities. Remind students that it’s better to work carefully and complete fewer activities than to work quickly and make careless errors. If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C3, instruct them to read Chapter 1 of Phineas Gage, page 9, paragraph 2.

Card Stack 2: What is the advantage and disadvantage of an open brain injury? (22 min)What: Pinpoint the advantage and disadvantage of an open brain injury.

Why: To explore difficult scientific questions in text, to identify the places in the text that led to students’ misconceptions, and to self-correct those misconceptions.

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Card 2a


Text: Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 9–11 [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [unit of life]


Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 9–11 [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [unit of life]

Select the advantage and the disadvantage of an open brain injury.

Post your answers.

A. According to Fleischman, Phineas has an open brain injury, which is both good and bad for his “battered brain.” Select the advantage of an open brain injury. (pages 9–11)

Advantage

1. His brain won’t stop bleeding.

2. His brain has room to swell and isn’t crushed up against his skull.

3. His brain is exposed to infection.

4. His brain is protected from bacteria by the blood-brain barrier.

5. His brain has an opening to drain off the “foul-smelling liquid.”

B. According to Fleischman, Phineas has an open brain injury, which is both good and bad for his “battered brain.” Select the disadvantage of an open brain injury. (pages 9–11)

Disadvantage






Instruct students to complete the activity.

Post the first round of answers.

Teacher Tip:

Circulate around the room while students are completing the activity.

Be attentive to how the students might be misreading, so you can address this in a class discussion.

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Card 2bActivity type: Partner Work (7 min)




Find a partner who disagrees with your answer and try to convince him or her that your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text.

Come to an agreement on the correct answer and submit the answer.

While students discuss their answers with a partner, conduct OTSCs, asking students to point to and explain their evidence in the text.

Once 90% of students have submitted answers, project the answer board that shows the new round of answers.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Students pointing to the places in the text about both the dangers of an open brain injury and the advantage of Phineas having one: It gives his brain room to swell without crushing up against his skull, but his brain is exposed to infection.

“Good to see you listening to each other and making sure no one gets away with an unsupported answer.”

STUDENTS NEED SUPPORT:

Look For: Making a case for their answers without pointing to evidence.

“You could possibly be correct on the science—but the question is about what is IN the text. While I’m standing here, point to one line that supports or contradicts your answer.”

Look For: Both partners have the wrong answer. “It’s good to test each answer. What might be wrong about this answer? Explain to me how draining off the foul-smelling liquid is a disadvantage of an open brain injury.”


“You’ve to come to an agreement on the correct answer. Are either of you feeling any doubts about one answer or the other?”

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Card 2c





Be prepared to discuss why you revised or did not revise your answer and what you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.

Compare the two rounds by pointing out:

• In the first round, most of you thought _______

• In the second round, that changed. Most of you thought ___

Be sure to give students the correct answers:

A) 2, B) 3

Discuss the misconceptions they had about the brain injury, as well as those that Dr. Harlow had. Most importantly, ask students to point to the text to explain their understanding of the brain science or Dr. Harlow’s misconceptions.

Teacher Tip:

When the class discussion begins, reiterate the points that were noted in Lessons 2 and 3:

Compliment the students for having the experience of rereading and correcting their mistakes.

Remind them that this is an investigation, and they’re going to keep returning to the text until they find the right answer. Above all, it’s about curiosity and wonder and trying to figure out the truth. That’s why misconceptions are so useful, exciting, and interesting, so we’re going to challenge each other throughout the unit by identifying misconceptions.

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Incorrect Answers for Advantage Incorrect Answers for Disadvantage


If students chose this answer, they aren’t reading carefully. On p. 10, it indicates that if the injury were closed the swollen brain would cut off the blood supply. Lower on the page, it also states that “the bleeding from his forehead slows and then stops…”


If they chose this answer, they aren’t reading carefully. On p. 10, it indicates that if the injury were closed the swollen brain would cut off the blood supply. Lower on the page, it also states that “the bleeding from his forehead slows and then stops…”


If they chose this answer, they are confusing the advantage with the disadvantage. On p. 10 it says, “The bad news is that his brain is open to infection.”


If they chose this answer, they are confusing the advantage with the disadvantage. It states, on p. 10, “Here Phineas has a stroke of luck. His is an ‘open brain’ injury. The hole on top of his head gives his battered brain swelling room.”


If they chose this answer, they are caught up in the complexity of the science. This is a tough one. There is a brief paragraph about the blood-brain barrier on p. 11, in which it explains the purpose of the blood brain barrier, but it also states, “Oxygen and nutrients can cross the blood-brain barrier, but many dangerous substances like bacteria cannot. With his skull fractured, Phineas’ exposed brain is wide open, making him an ideal candidate for a fatal infection.”


If they chose this answer, they are caught up in the complexity of the science. This is a tough one. There is a brief paragraph about the blood-brain barrier on p. 11, in which it explains the purpose of the blood brain barrier, but also states, “Oxygen and nutrients can cross the blood-brain barrier, but many dangerous substances like bacteria cannot. With his skull fractured, Phineas’ exposed brain is wide open, making him an ideal candidate for a fatal infection.”


If they chose this answer, they are not comprehending that the injury exposes the brain to infection, which is what causes the foul-smelling liquid. See paragraph 3 on p. 10.


If they chose this answer, they are not comprehending that the injury exposes the brain to infection, which is what causes the foul-smelling liquid. See paragraph 3 on p. 10.

Card Stack 3: What does Harlow know about infection? (10 min)What: Record exactly what Dr. Harlow knows and doesn’t know about infection.

Why: To more fully understand which elements of Phineas’ treatment just happened to work because of luck and which parts worked because the doctor had good knowledge. (Students will use this understanding to answer the Mazur question in Lesson 5 and for the writing prompt.)

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Card 3a

Activity type: Short Answer (10 min)

Text: Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 9–13 [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [bacteria swells up and turns red]


Excerpt from Chapter 1: pages 9–13, [Dr. Harlow does what he can] [bacteria swells up and turns red]

Use the text to answer the following:

What does Dr. Harlow know and not know about infections?

Record your answers in the chart.

Know Not know

Direct students to use the text to find out what Dr. Harlow knows and doesn’t know about infection.

Give students five minutes to find the answers as you circulate around to help. Then cold call on students to see who was able to figure out Dr. Harlow’s misconceptions.

Check to see if students understand that Dr. Harlow’s “knowledge” was incorrect. Ask students the following question to assess whether they understand that he and other doctors during his time held misconceptions: Why didn’t Dr. Harlow know that bacteria cause infection?

Possible answers:

Know

• Sepsis leads to gangrene.

• Clean the skin around the hole.

• Dress the wound.

Not know

• Bacteria are microscopic, etc.

• Bacteria cause infection.

• Keep all equipment and body parts that will touch patient free of bacteria by keeping them clean and sterile.

Teacher Tip: Consider using the surgeon’s picture to reinforce this point.

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LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Answers both questions.

Not know: what bacteria is; that bacteria causes infections; that sterilizing equipment and washing hands prevent bacteria.

Know: Sepsis leads to gangrene; keep the wound clean; dress the wound; watch for inflammation.

“We learned yesterday that this book can get confusing because of the difference between the knowledge the doctors had, what they didn’t have, and what we know now. The author also shares this information with the reader. But you’ve made it clear what Dr. Harlow knows and doesn’t know, which shows that his medical knowledge was incorrect.”

Look For: Student is unable to distinguish between what Dr. Harlow knows and what he doesn’t know. This may mean he or she is confused by the idea that Dr. Harlow’s knowledge was incorrect.

“How does Dr. Harlow treat Phineas’ wound? Show me in the text.”

“Yes, it says that he dresses the wound. So, this is one thing he knows. You can add that to the Know column.”

“Now let’s look at what he doesn’t know. Point to the part of the text where it discusses that science is still twenty years away.”

“Yes, you’ve got it now! When we see the author referring to things that haven’t yet been discovered, we know that this is an example of what Dr. Harlow doesn’t know. And you point out a great example—they don’t know that antibiotics counter infections.”

“These are hard questions, and I’m expecting mistakes because this is where the interesting part comes in. The answers are in the text. You only need to keep going back to the text and eventually you’ll find them.”

Card Stack 4: Closing (5 min)What: Use the information students learned about bacteria to answer a question.

Why: See if they understand the information enough to apply it.

Card 4



n/a Why do you wash your hands before eating?

Use one piece of information from today’s reading to support your answer.

Ask several volunteers to share their responses.

Give students specific positive feedback about how they worked with partners.

Let them know that tomorrow they will go on a bacterial journey!

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LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Student answers the question using evidence from the text: “…floating in the air on dust particles, lurking on fingertips, or growing on the shiny steel blades of their unwashed surgical scalpels are single-celled bacteria and other microscopic life forms.”

“Yes. Isn’t it interesting how we may be doing something every day, all our lives, and never really know the reason behind it? Now you know exactly why you are washing your hands. Pretty cool, huh?”

Look For: Student answers the question without using evidence from the text.

“It makes sense that you’d wash your hands because you don’t want anything gross on them when you eat. Besides the fact that it grosses you out, why could having something gross on your hands be dangerous if you put your hands in your mouth before washing them? We need to use the text to support our answers. We learn about the science of infection and bacteria in today’s reading. Go back to p. 13 and find a piece of evidence to support why you wash your hands before eating.”

Solo


Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 11–15 [medical science in 1848] [the patient gains strength]

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C5The Life of BacteriaLesson BriefOverview:For students to fully grasp the enormity of Phineas’ survival after such a serious brain injury, they need to understand the science of infection and the history of that science. At the same time that students are learning what we know NOW about infection, they are also learning what Phineas’ doctors did not know THEN. This combination of facts and misunderstandings can be confusing but is key to explaining exactly what was extraordinary about Phineas’ survival.

Like the last three lessons, the teaching methods you’ll use in this lesson will help students identify their own misunderstandings and reread for clarification. Help them see and empathize with the 19th century doctors who only thought to wash their hands AFTER surgery, but who carefully read and reread their patients’ cases and set the wheels in motion for the evolution of brain science.

Student-Facing ObjectivePhineas survived an accident that the author claims should have killed him. But we know this author can be very dramatic. Let’s see if the science supports his claim.

First Time (when applicable—when there is a new teaching technique, a new app to get familiar with or a new skill the teacher is introducing)

Lesson Variations:You can turn this writing prompt into a longer essay that includes outside texts. See suggestions for other texts in Reading.

Lesson Flow Image:Vocabulary

Multiple Choice: Now that you’ve just learned some new words that will be used in today’s lesson, let’s see how carefully you are reading. There’s lots of drama in Fleischman’s text. Make sure you understand the science. Project answers.

Partner Work: Try to prove that your answer is correct and check again to see if it is. Project answers (and compare to the first projection).

Class Discussion: Look at the two rounds of answers. In the first round, most of you thought _______. In the second round, that changed. Where in the text did you find evidence that made you change your mind?

Verbal Warm-Up

Writing Prompt: Apply what we’ve learned about bacteria and infection and what the doctors knew and didn’t know about these topics in 1848. Writing prompt: Fleischman writes, “Phineas should have been long dead...” Argue for or against Fleischman’s claim using evidence from the text.

Sharing

Verbal Warm-Up

Misunderstanding Notebook: Now let’s get a sense of what DIFFERENT things our classmates have learned (and maybe MIS-learned) about the science. Then record a misunderstanding in our Misunderstanding Notebooks.

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PrepBe prepared to project multiple-choice question and each round of responses.

Note that in the second card stack, students will partner with someone who answered the question differently.

Reading

Excerpts: Chapter 1, pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848] [The patient gains strength]

Other book 1 on infection

Other book 2 on Phineas

Other book 3 on 19th century medical training

Differentiation The writing prompt asks students to explain how the new scientific information they’ve learned applies to Phineas’ case. Students who are having trouble understanding the science could really struggle. Help them by asking them to choose one particular scientific detail and focus on explaining that one fact until it is clear. Don’t worry about repetition. If you can elicit more and more explanation, you’ll have plenty to choose from when you need to show the student an example of SOMETHING that is clear.

Students who’ve demonstrated proficiency in explaining evidence may be challenged to explain the connection between the science of infection and the science of the open/closed brain injury. They can even be pushed to refer back to the reading from Lesson 1 to find some of the early hints about the risk of Phineas’ infection.

Note the alternative writing prompt for struggling students who are challenged by staking a claim and/or explaining in detail one piece of evidence from the text: Explain one of the risks to Phineas’ life and how it could have caused him to die.

Skills and Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.8

Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.

Skills:

1. Explaining and describing evidence to support a claim.

The last time your students worked on this skill was in the previous lesson when they had to defend their true/false answers with a partner, using evidence from the text.

2. Writing arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

The last time your students worked on this skill was in the essay for “Sucker” in Unit B. In Unit C, daily writing has focused on explaining. Here, students will need to explain in order to make an argument. Use the argument to motivate students to explain their evidence more thoroughly.

Student Action Plans:A link to take a look at some data and create a little plan for students whom the teacher might visit or what he or she might want to focus on with a small group.

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5 min Vocabulary

15 min

Multiple Choice, Partner Work, Class Discussion

Students answer a question about why it is dangerous if Phineas’ wound becomes infected.

Students pair with someone with a different answer. They will try to convince each other why their answer is correct, pointing to the text for support. Pairs come to an agreement on which answer is correct.

Class discussion based on how they arrived at their answer.

3 min Discussion

2 min Verbal Warm-Up

10 min

Writing Prompt

Students respond to the prompt:

Fleischman writes, “Phineas should have been long dead...”

Argue for or against Fleischman’s claim, using evidence from the text.

5 min Sharing

2 min Verbal Warm-Up

5 minMisunderstanding Notebook Entry

Record one misunderstanding discovered today in the Misunderstanding Notebook.

Student SummaryPhineas’ doctors didn’t quite understand how infections work. Do you? You’ll need to understand infections to truly appreciate the science behind Phineas’ survival.

Lesson What:Work on factual questions about the science of bacteria and how bacteria cause infection before answering a writing prompt that asks students to use knowledge from the first several lessons of Phineas Gage.

Lesson Why:By understanding how and why bacteria cause infection, the reader observes the extent of medical knowledge available at the time and how that impacted Dr. Harlow’s treatment of Phineas. The writing prompt will show if they can synthesize and explain the details of significant scientific information they’ve learned in the past four lessons.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 11–15

[Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength] pages 8–10

[Dr. Williams examines Phineas’ head] [just a matter of time now]

Targeted Skills: CCSS: ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

ELA-Literacy.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Teacher Prep:Before Class: Be prepared to project two rounds of student answers to true/false questions.

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Excerpt from chapter 1, pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength]

Read As students arrive, direct them to get started on their vocabulary activities. Remind students that it’s better to work carefully and complete fewer activities than to work quickly and make careless errors.

If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C4, instruct them to read the excerpt from chapter 1, pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength]

Card Stack 2: Infection! Poll and Share (15 min)What: What do you understand from the text about how infections cause a body harm?

Why: To help students identify and correct their misunderstandings about the science and what Dr. Harlow may not have known about infection in 1848, and to get students ready for the writing prompt.

Card 2a

Activity Type: Multiple Choice (8 min)

Text: Excerpt from chapter 1: pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength]



Based on the passage, why is it dangerous for Phineas if his wound becomes infected?

a. Dust particles can get inside and colonize.

b. Bacteria overpower the immune system by releasing toxic chemicals.

c. The body’s immune system creates pus from white blood cells.

d. Animalcules cause people to get sick and die.

Circulate around the room while students are completing the activity, reminding students to look at the text (but don’t help students avoid misunderstandings).

Once all students have answers, project answer board with first round of answers.

Ask students to notice the variations in student responses.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Students look for answers in the text. “It’s good to remind yourself about what Fleischman wrote.”

STUDENTS NEED SUPPORT: Students answer without considering the text.

Remind students that the answers are in the text, but DO NOT help them find the right place to look or help them correct misunderstandings.

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What: Students attempt to convince each other of the correct answer by using evidence from the text.

Why: To compare answers and evidence and to get students ready to write about the facts in the writing prompt.

Card 2b

Activity Type: Partner Work (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from chapter 1, pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength]



Find a partner who disagrees with your answer, and try to convince him or her why your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text. Come to an agreement on the correct answer and submit the answer.

Based on the passage, why is it dangerous for Phineas if his wound becomes infected?

a. Dust particles can get inside and colonize.

b. Bacteria overpower the immune system by releasing toxic chemicals.

c. The body’s immune system creates pus from white blood cells.

d. Animalcules cause people to get sick and die.

Once 90 percent of students have submitted answers, project answer board showing second round of answers compared to first round.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Students are pointing to the places in the text about the dangers of bacterial infection: an open wound is a place where bacteria love to breed because of the warm, wet, nutrient-rich cells inside; dust particles carry bacteria; pus is a sign that the immune system is attacking bacteria.

“Good to see you listening to each other and making sure no one gets away with an unsupported answer.”


Look For: Making a case for their answers without pointing to evidence .

“You could possibly be correct on the science, but the question is about what is IN the text. While I’m standing here, point to one line that supports or contradicts your answer.”

Look For: Both partners have the wrong answer. “It’s good to test each answer. What might be wrong about this answer? What does the pus have to do with it?”


“You have to come to an agreement on the correct answer. Are either of you feeling any doubts about one answer or the other?”

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Card Stack 3: Infection! Discussion, comparing answers (3 min)What: Students compare their answers from when they worked individually to the answers from when they worked with a partner.

Why: Show students the value of rereading to find and correct misunderstandings, and make sure that they know what the right answer is before they respond to the writing prompt.

Card 3a

Activity Type: Class Discussion (3 min)

Text: Excerpt from chapter 1, pages 11–15 [Medical science in 1848][The patient gains strength]



Be prepared to discuss why you revised or did not revise your answer and what you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.


• In the first round, most of you thought _______

• In the second round, what you thought in the first round changed. Most of you now think ________

Make sure to give students the right answer, “B.”

Discuss why “B” is the correct answer, and why the others are not correct but might have SEEMED correct. Point out what words in the text led them to the wrong answer.

Ask them why they changed their answer and why they thought they were sure they were correct.

Card Stack 4: Verbal Warm-Up (2 min)What: Make sure every student can point to places in the text and think about their significance before going into the writing prompt.

Why: You want to make sure that every student has a place to start writing—and that you know where to start your OTSCs.

Teacher Instructions:

� Think about a place in the text that shows that Dr. Harlow didn’t understand something about infection. (Give students a minute to find one, and walk around to see if students are pointing to it.)

� Raise your hand if you would go to a doctor who didn’t know THAT.

� Raise your hand if you think it’s amazing that Phineas didn’t die when the tamping iron went through his head.

� Raise your hand if you think it’s MORE amazing that he didn’t die when Dr. Harlow treated him with his dirty hands.

� Raise your hand if you can remember ANYTHING about an open brain injury.

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Card Stack 5: Writing Prompt (10 min)What: Get ready for writing based on the outcome of the verbal warm-up. Then respond to Fleischman’s claim that Phineas should have died, using evidence from today’s reading or from any part of the text.

Why: To help students practice explaining the significance of the scientific details in writing.

Card 5a

Activity Type: Writing Prompt (10 min)


Fleischman writes, “Phineas should have been long dead...”

Argue for or against Fleischman’s claim, using evidence from the text.

Circulate, using OTSCs to help students find and describe evidence from the text. Remind students to point to evidence that they noticed today and other days as well.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Answers the question, Yes or No.

Provides evidence about bacteria, brain swelling, shock, or blood loss.

Correct answer might also include marveling at the physical facts of the injury.

“Wow, you are not easily impressed by Phineas’ survival. You must be very confident about the human ability to survive this type of brain injury—maybe you should be a doctor.”

“Finally, someone explains how remarkable it is that Phineas survived when his brain was exposed to so many bacteria. Can you read that later during sharing?”

Look For: Student is stuck. “Are you surprised that he didn’t die? Point to something in the text that makes you think he should have/could have died.”

“Exactly how would THAT (insert detail from text) cause someone to die?”

“Start writing about THAT…, right here.”

Skill: Staking a claim

Look For: Student hasn’t answered the question and IS writing about relevant evidence.

“Good evidence. I’m looking forward to seeing how you answer the question.” (Come back in two minutes to make sure the student provides a Yes/No answer.)

Skill: Staking a claim or selecting relevant evidence

Look For: Student hasn’t answered the question and is stuck or writing about irrelevant details from the text.

“Are you surprised that he didn’t die? Point to something in the text that makes you think he should have/could have died.”

“Exactly how would THAT (insert detail from text) cause someone to die?”

“Start writing on the next line about THAT, right here.” (Don’t worry about what they’ve already written.)

Skill: Describing how the evidence supports the claim

Look For: Student quotes the text without any elaboration. You can’t tell if he or she understands what could have caused Phineas to live or die.

“Ah, there’s something about the blood-brain barrier. I had to read that three times in order to understand it. Explain to me exactly what the blood-brain barrier has to do with Phineas living or dying.

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Card Stack 6: Sharing (5 min)What: Two students read their work aloud and two students respond specifically to each piece of writing.

Why: Make sure students notice specific words and phrases that they or their classmates have used that get a reader’s attention.

Be prepared to share your writing with the class.

Teacher Instructions

Follow the Rules for Sharing.

Make sure students call on each other and identify specific words, phrases, or sentences that support their evidence.

Card Stack 7: Misunderstanding Notebook Verbal Warm-Up (2 min)What: Do a quick verbal warm-up.

Why: Get students ready for writing in the Misunderstanding Notebook and enable students to see the range of misunderstandings across the class.


n/a Before asking students to note a misunderstanding in their notebook, use this warm-up to remind them of the misunderstandings they might choose from and get them to notice how differently classmates react.

Raise your hand if you were surprised that doctors in 1848 didn’t know that they needed to keep their instruments and hands clean.

Raise your hand if you knew that strep throat was an infection caused by bacteria.

Raise your hand if this was the first time you learned about Louis Pasteur.

Raise your hand if you thought it was silly that the scientists called cells animalcules.

Raise your hand if you never knew the reason why we wash our hands before eating.

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Card Stack 8: Misunderstanding Notebook (5 min)What: Get ready for writing based on the outcome of the verbal warm-up. Then record a misunderstanding in the Misunderstanding Notebook.

Why: Students can choose to focus on their own learnings or on Dr. Harlow’s misunderstandings in their writing.

Card 8a

Activity type: Misunderstanding Notebook Entry (5 min)


Turn to your Misunderstanding Notebook and record a misunderstanding that you discovered from today’s reading. You can choose one of yours or one of the scientists’ in 1848.

The verbal warm-up should have reminded students of some of the misunderstandings they learned about today.

Let students know these misunderstandings can be used for their entry, but encourage them to use one from their writing prompt response or a new one.

LOOK FORS SAY/DO

ON TRACK: Students write their misunderstandings: I didn’t know that infections are caused by bacteria.

Scientists’ misunderstanding: They didn’t know that Phineas’ open wound was a breeding ground for bacteria.

“Science is pretty neat that way—showing us things we take for granted but really can’t explain the reasons for. It’s great to know that if we can identify our misunderstandings, we can correct them.”

“Yes, we might consider this to be common knowledge, but the doctors didn’t know this back then.”


Students are not sure how to record their misunderstanding.

“Remember these different parts of the notebook. We use them this way. Look at how you noted this last misunderstanding.”

Solo


Phineas Gage, pages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers]

Read

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C6Phineas Is Declared Fully Recovered

5 min Vocabulary

15 min

Multiple Choice, Partner Work, Class Discussion

Multiple choice question about Dr. Harlow’s assessment of Phineas’ healing.

Students pair with someone with a different answer, and try to convince each other that their answer is correct, pointing to the text for support. Pairs come to an agreement on which answer is correct and submit it.

Compare the two rounds of answers and discuss.

20 min

Transition—Verbal Warm-Up, Writing Prompt

Transition

Verbal Warm-Up

Writing Prompt:

Using evidence from the text, explain why you believe that Phineas is or isn’t fully recovered.

Full class discussion on misconceptions the 1848 doctors had about Phineas’ type of brain injury.

5 min

Closing

Record new misconceptions they uncovered about doctors’ knowledge in 1848, in Misunderstanding Notebook.

Student Summary: The doctors in 1848 declared Phineas fully recovered. Let’s explore their idea of a full recovery from Phineas’ type of brain injury, and whether or not we agree with their diagnosis.

Lesson What: Nail down exactly why Dr. Harlow decided that Phineas had fully recovered and write about whether or not they agree.

Lesson Why: Dr. Harlow declared Phineas fully recovered but was never quite comfortable with that conclusion and so continued to watch Phineas throughout his life. Students need to know exactly what it was that he was watching for (and care about those things) in order to understand the scientific debates throughout the rest of the book.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 15–19

[None of this progress][to regain his full powers] (15–19)

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CCSS: ELA-Literacy.RI.7.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.




Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers]



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C5, instruct them to read “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont,” pages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers].

Card Stack 2: Multiple Choice, Partner Work, Class Discussion (15 min)What: Nail down the evidence that Dr. Harlow had that made him declare Phineas fully recovered.

Why: There is conflicting evidence here and students need to be able to see that Harlow’s conclusion, as written down, was NOT qualified but was based only on SOME of what he had observed.

Card 2a


Text: Excerpt from “‘Horrible Accident’ in Vermont”: pages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers]



Answer question and post:

Choose the evidence that Dr. Harlow used to declare Phineas fully recovered. Select the correct answer. (pages 15–19)

a. His fever breaks and his wound starts to heal.

b. He wants to go home to his mother’s house.

c. He is able to feed and dress himself.

d. He understands the value of money.

Don’t help students avoid misconceptions!

Once all students have answers, project answer board with first round of answers.

Ask students to point out the variations in responses.

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Card 2b

Activity type: Partner Work (5 min)



Excerpt from “'Horrible Accident' in Vermont”: pPages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers]

Find a partner who disagrees with your answer and try to convince him or her why your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text. Come to an agreement on the correct answer and submit the answer.

Once 90% of students have submitted answers, project the answer board, showing a new round of answers.

Card 2c




Excerpt from “'Horrible Accident' in Vermont”: pages 15–19 [None of this progress][to regain his full powers]

Be prepared to discuss why you revised your answer and what you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.


• In the first round, most of you thought _____.

• In the second round, that changed, and most of you thought _____.

Make sure to give them the right answer.

Discuss why “C” is the correct answer and why the others are not correct but might have SEEMED correct. Ask them what made them change their answer or why they were sure they were correct.

Card Stack 3: Transition—Verbal Warm-Up, Writing Prompt (20 min)What: Find evidence that shows Phineas is or isn’t fully recovered.

Why: Make sure at least SOME students ALSO notice that Dr. Harlow had reason for doubt—there is evidence to suggest something strange is going on.

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Card 3a

Activity type: Discussion and Verbal Warm-Up (7 min)




Read along. Read aloud: from p. 19, paragraph 2 [Ten weeks] to [his full powers] (passage about buying stones)

Ask:

• Why would Dr. Harlow ask Phineas this question about buying his rocks for money?

• What did he learn about Phineas from his answer?

• Why do you think he declared him fully recovered anyway?

Conduct the verbal warm-up:

• Point to a place in the book that suggests evidence that Phineas is not fully recovered.

• Raise your hand if you think that Phineas just needs more time and he’ll be back to normal.

• Raise your hand if you think doctors know best and we shouldn’t be questioning them.

• Raise your hand if you think Phineas is fully recovered.

Card 3b: Writing Prompt




Writing Prompt:

Using evidence from the text, explain why you believe that Phineas is or isn’t fully recovered.

Circulate around the room doing OTSCs to help students find and describe evidence from the text.

• I see that you...

• I like...

• Remember...

• Right here you...

Use Hummingbird to record your interactions with students during OTSCs.

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Card 3c

Activity type: Whole Class Discussion (7 min)



Several volunteers share their responses.

Discuss the misconception that is uncovered in today’s lesson.

Several volunteers share their responses.

Discuss the idea that the belief Dr. Harlow initially held about Phineas being fully recovered was based on a common misconception in the late 1800s about how the brain worked, what it controlled, and what it meant to fully recover from that type of head injury.

Card Stack 4: Closing (5 min)What: Put new misconceptions into the Misunderstanding Notebook.

Why: Do this to continue tracking both Dr. Harlow’s misconceptions and their own, in order to eventually see the self-correcting of those misconceptions unfold.

Card 4a

Activity type: Misunderstanding Notebook Entry (5 min)


n/a Record the new misconceptions you discovered today in your Misunderstanding Notebook.

Give students positive feedback about something specific that occurred in class.

Solo


Phineas Gage, pages 27–31 [By Phineas’ time, doctors know what a brain looks like][makes every human being singular]

Read

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C7A Tour of the Brain

5 min Vocabulary

10 min

Preparatory Work

Students interpret a sentence in a visual way.

They share with a neighbor and explain why they interpreted as they did.

A couple of volunteers share with the class, which elicits a brief conversation on how there are different ways to present information; and in non-fiction texts, we often find these in the form of diagrams, charts, etc., that supplement the text.

13 min

Targeted Instruction—Parts of the Brain

Students fill in a diagram of the brain, dragging each area’s function from the text into the corresponding brain part.

Students share answers and, as the teacher fills in the correct responses, students correct any errors they may have on their own diagrams.

10 min

Matching, Class Discussion

Students fill in a diagram of the cortex, dragging the function from the caption into the corresponding lobe.

Students share answers and, as the teacher fills in the correct responses, students correct any errors they may have on their own diagrams.

5 min Closing

Student SummaryWe need a working knowledge of the brain and how it functions in order to better understand what Phineas is going through. We’ll use diagrams of the brain to map the functions with the areas that manage those functions.

Lesson What: Students learn to read and use scientific diagrams to gain a working knowledge of the areas of the brain and their functions.

Lesson Why: Students will need to learn some basic brain anatomy to understand the rest of the book and to understand the next article they will read. Using the diagrams helps them practice the skill of integrating the graphic and written elements of a text.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2: pages 27–31

[By Phineas’ time, doctors know what a brain looks like][makes every human being singular] (27–31) and captions.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).



Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2: pages 27–31 [By Phineas’ time, doctors know what a brain looks like][makes every human being singular]

Card Stack 2: Preparatory Work (10 min)What: Students present information they are given in a different way to show a reinterpretation of information.

Why: This is to get them to understand that information can be presented visually and to practice reinterpreting information visually themselves.

Card 2a

Activity type: Interpret the Facts (5 min)


50% of the students in our school always complete their homework, 25% never complete their homework, and 25% sometimes complete their homework.

Read the following sentence and present the information without using words.

Examples of ways to interpret the sentence might be a pie chart, bar graph, picture, or icon.


Circulate around the room making yourself available to answer questions students may have.

Card 2b

Activity type: Pairs Work and Discussion (10 min)


Share your interpretation with your neighbor.

Try to find five similarities and five differences between your visualizations and your partner’s.

SHORT ANSWER: Is your partner’s interpretation effective? Why or why not?

DISCUSSION: Once students have shared with their neighbors, ask for a couple of volunteers to compare and contrast their chart and that of their partners.

Then explain that in non-fiction texts, writers often use visuals, like diagrams and charts, to present information.

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Card Stack 3: Targeted Instruction—Parts of the Brain (13 min)What: Match the areas of the brain with their functions.

Why: Make sure students notice that there are specific locations associated with particular functions (this will be important later when they learn about the “localizers”).

Card 3a

Activity type: Matching (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 27–30 [You can have a look for yourself][outside of a brain]


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 27–30 [You can have a look for yourself][outside of a brain]

Drag the “function” from the text over to the part of the brain on the diagram that controls that function.

Before students start, read the parts of the brain aloud so that students hear the correct pronunciation.

Card 3b

Activity type: Correct Brain Diagram (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 27–30 [You can have a look for yourself][outside of a brain].


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 27–30 [You can have a look for yourself][outside of a brain].

Be prepared to share your answers.

Correct your diagram if you have any errors.

Call on a few students to identify the functions of the different parts of the brain. On the display, drag the correct functions from the text into the diagram as students identify the correct functions with the correct parts of the brain. Tell students to correct their diagram if they made any errors.

Card Stack 4: Matching, Class Discussion (10 min)What: Students match the areas of the cortex with their functions.

Why: Make sure students see that there are parts of the physical brain that control different categories of behaviors (so they can start to link those parts to Phineas).

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Card 4a

Activity type: Matching (5 min)

Text: Cortex Caption


The Cerebral Cortex is divided up into four parts and each part has a job. The Occipital Lobe is in charge of how we understand what we are seeing. The Temporal Lobe helps us understand what we are hearing, and is also responsible for how we form our words and understand speech. The Parietal Lobe is in charge of how our body moves (for example, how we use our hands to do different things), and how we react to stimuli, which is anything we touch or feel—for example, how we react to temperature and pain. We might flinch if we touch something burning hot, and we might bend over if we experience pain. The Frontal Lobe is where our personality lives. It manages impulse control and emotional control, along with social behavior. It is also where the heavy thinking is going on, like problem solving, reasoning and planning. So this lobe helps us to solve our problems for homework and to figure out the rules to a game. It also helps us to make decisions.

Drag the “function” from the text over to the diagram of the cortex and the specific part of the cortex that controls that function.

Before students start, read the parts of the brain aloud so that students hear the correct pronunciation.

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Card 4b

Activity type: (5 min)


The Cerebral Cortex is divided up into four parts and each part has a job. The Occipital Lobe is in charge of how we understand what we are seeing. The Temporal Lobe helps us understand what we are hearing, and is also responsible for how we form our words and understand speech. The Parietal Lobe is in charge of how our body moves (for example, how we use our hands to do different things), and how we react to stimuli, which is anything we touch or feel, for example, how we react to temperature and pain. We might flinch if we touch something burning hot, and we might bend over if we experience pain. The Frontal Lobe is where our personality lives. It manages impulse control and emotional control, along with social behavior. It is also where the heavy thinking is going on, like problem solving, reasoning and planning. So this lobe helps us to solve our problems for homework, and to figure out the rules to a game. It also helps us to make decisions.

Be prepared to share your answers.

Correct your diagram if you have any errors.

Call on a few students to identify the functions of the parts of the cortex. Drag the correct corresponding functions from the caption into the diagram as students identify the correct functions with the parts of the brain. Tell students to correct their diagram if they made an error.

Card Stack 5: Closing (5 min)What: Students respond to a brain anatomy question and other questions regarding the diagrams and how beneficial they were to understanding.

Why: This will help them recognize that they now have a working knowledge of one of the most complicated and sophisticated human organs.

Card 5a

Activity type: Closing Verbal Polling (5 min)


n/a How many of you knew what the cerebellum was before reading this book?

How many of you found the brain more complicated than you expected?

How many of you found the diagrams useful in helping you to understand the brain parts and functions?

How many of you think you understand the brain better now because of the diagram and the activity?

How many of you had a misconception about how the brain works?


Make sure you let them know that many people don’t study brain science until college, and that they should be proud of themselves for now holding some very sophisticated knowledge.

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C8Diagnose Phineas’ Brain Injury

5 min Vocabulary

7 minPreparatory Work

Describe an image that visualizes the act of synthesizing.

13 min

T-Chart and Drag and Drop

Gather information about Phineas’ behavior.

Then drag that information into the brain diagram—specifically, into the area of the brain that manages that behavior.

12 minWriting Prompt

Synthesize information from several sources to diagnose the area of Phineas’ brain that’s been injured.

2 minClosing

Validate diagnosis with animated Phineas.

Student Summary: Now that you’ve taken a tour of the brain, it’s time for you to diagnose a patient! You’ll examine and synthesize scientific information from the text and diagrams to diagnose what part of Phineas’ brain was affected by his injury.

Lesson What: Students practice synthesizing scientific evidence from the text and the diagrams to reach a conclusion about what part of Phineas’ brain was affected by his injury.

Lesson Why: You’ll find out if students can synthesize the information from the text and images at a superficial level when they try to make a diagnosis, and then at a deeper level when they try to explain it in writing.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 and pages 19–22

[Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] (6–8)

[Ten weeks after the accident] [for twenty years] (19–22)

CCSS: ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.


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Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 27–31 [You can have a look for yourself][makes every human being singular]



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C5, instruct them to read the excerpt from chapter 2, pages 27–31 [You can have a look for yourself][makes every human being singular].

Card Stack 2: Preparatory Work (7 min)What: Students look at an image and describe what they see in order to understand what they are trying to do when they are asked to synthesize.

Why: This simple visualization will keep them focused on their goal while they try to put together all the complicated pieces of Phineas’ injury with the diagram of the brain.

Card 2a

Activity Type: Synthesizing (5 min)


N/A With your partner, respond to the following questions about the visual:

• What do you see?

• What is happening?

Instruct students to complete the activity and to discuss the questions with their neighbors.

VISUAL:

+ =

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Card 2b

Activity Type: Discussion (5 min)


Synthesize: To combine separate parts to form a new idea.

Be prepared to share your response with the class.

Call on a couple of students to share.

Display the definition of synthesize after students share their responses.

Ask a couple of students to apply the definition of synthesize to the exercise they just did. Today they are going to synthesize the scientific information about the brain that they gathered from the text and the diagrams and apply it directly to Phineas’ case.

Card Stack 3: T-Chart and Drag and Drop (13 min)What: Students will use a T-Chart to identify what is the same and what is different about Phineas after the accident, then drag and drop the evidence they gathered into the part of the brain that controls that behavior.

Why: Students will need to take the time for each of these steps to match specific behavior to specific parts of the brain in order to make a diagnosis (don’t skip any!).

Card 3a

Activity Type: Filling in a T-Chart in Pairs (8 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident] [for twenty years]


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident][for twenty years]

Get into pairs and reread the text.

1. Find evidence from the text that shows what is the same about Phineas. Add it to the paper T-Chart.

2. Find evidence from the text that shows what is different about Phineas or how he has changed. Add it to the paper T-Chart.

Circulate around the room, making yourself available to answer questions students may have.

See sample answers in paper teacher guide.

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Sample T-Chart for teacher reference:

How is Phineas the same? How is Phineas different?

He can talk:

“Immediately after the accident Phineas tells Dr. Williams that the tamping iron went through his head.”

He does foolish things:

“He insults old workmates and friends.”

He can sit up:

“As his men come running through the gunpowder smoke, he sits up.”

He has poor judgment:

“Soon after the accident, Phineas angrily refuses to accept $1,000 for the pocketful of pebbles he has collected.”

He is still alive:

“Phineas is still alive.”

He is unable to control his impulses:

“He spouts vulgar language in the presence of women.”

He still has his memory:

“Phineas still recognizes people after the accident, and can remember new people.”

He demonstrates risky behavior:

“The new Phineas is unreliable…”

He is able to do work:

“Phineas calls out for his time book and makes an entry.”

He is unstable/impulsive:

“He changes his mind and his orders from minute to minute.”

Card 3b

Activity Type: Drag and Drop in Pairs (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident] [for twenty years], and T-Chart


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident] [for twenty years]

T-Chart

Drag the textual evidence from the T-Chart to the corresponding part of the brain that controls those behaviors/functions.

On the paper brain diagram, write the textual evidence from the T-Chart on the corresponding part of the brain that controls those behaviors/functions.

Circulate around the room, making yourself available to support and answer student questions.

Card Stack 4: Writing Prompt (12 min)What: Students use the information they’ve gathered to stake a claim about the area of Phineas’ brain that’s been injured. They describe specific aspects of Phineas’ behavior and explain how this behavior supports their claim, using three pieces of evidence from the text.

Why: To demonstrate the ability to synthesize information from several sources.

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Card 4a

Activity Type: (12 min) Writing

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1: pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident] [for twenty years], T-Chart, Brain Diagram


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 1, pages 6–8 [Amazingly, Phineas is still alive][that the iron went right through his head] and pages 19–22 [Ten weeks after the accident][for twenty years]

T-Chart

Brain Diagram

Use the information you’ve gathered to stake a claim about the area of Phineas’ brain that’s been injured.

Describe specific aspects of Phineas’ behavior and explain how this behavior supports your claim.

Use three pieces of evidence from the text to support your claim.

Circulate around the room, using OTSCs to reinforce skills.

@ I see that you’ve identified the frontal lobe of the cortex, and then you support that with textual evidence showing his behavior toward his coworkers after the accident. You explain that the cortex is responsible for reasoning and thinking, which is absent in his behavior after the accident.

@ I like how you describe the way Phineas insults people as his inability to feel emotion and socialize with people. You point to the frontal lobe of the cortex as being the damaged part of Phineas’ brain because it manages those behaviors.

@ You’ve identified the part of the brain that Phineas damaged, but don’t forget that you need to show how you know this with textual evidence, details from the text. I see in your T-Chart that you use the example from the text where Phineas refuses the $1,000 the doctor offered for his pebbles. This is a great piece of evidence that shows Phineas’ inability to reason or make smart decisions.

@ Right here you mention that Phineas suffered damage to the corpus callosum because there are no signals moving back and forth between the two sides of the brain. The corpus is defined, along with its function, but I don’t see any discussion in the text of how this is damaged in Phineas’ case. Take a look at the text again, and specifically look for clear evidence of the part of his brain that was damaged. I’ll come back to see what you’ve come up with.

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Card Stack 5: Closing (2 min)What: Provide positive feedback to students.

Why: To acknowledge how well the students have grappled with difficult new skills.

Card 5a

Activity Type: Validating (3 min)


n/a Interact with animated Phineas to see whether the part of the brain you diagnosed as injured is correct. Press on the other brain parts to see what happens to Phineas if that part is injured.

Watch the kids have fun with animated Phineas.


For Paper: Closing (2 min)


n/a Give students positive feedback about something specific that occurred in class.

Solo


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 34–40 [The Boston doctors][yet we really understand only the rough outlines]

Read

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C9Phrenologists vs. Whole Brainers

5 min Vocabulary

8 min

Highlight, Short Answer

Review the Solo reading on Phrenologists vs. Whole Brainers with a highlighting exercise and short answer question.

13 min

Draw the Brain, Pairs Work

Students draw their brains on bathing caps, from the perspective of the Phrenologists on one side and the Whole Brainers on the other side.

Students partner with a neighbor to share their “brains.”

10 min

Short answers and discussion

Look at the logic behind the theories: How do the rival schools of brain theory use Phineas as proof of their theories?

5 minClosing

Poll

Student Summary: How can two sides use the same evidence as proof that they are right? Today we will learn about the two primary theories of brain science during the time of Phineas Gage. We will explore how both of these theories were a little right and wrong about the workings of the brain.

Lesson What: Students learn who the Whole Brainers and the Phrenologists are, their theories about brain science, and how they each used Phineas as proof of their theory. Expose further medical misconceptions.

Lesson Why: Once students understand the two different theories, they can focus more on the reasoning and logic behind the misconceptions rather than the lack of knowledge available at the time.


[The Boston doctors] [yet we really understand only the rough outlines] (34–40)

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CCSS:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

Teacher Prep:Before Class: Purchase bathing caps

Materials: Bathing caps, markers

After Class: N/A



Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 34–40 [The Boston doctors] [yet we really understand only the rough outlines].



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C5, instruct them to read the excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 34–40 [The Boston doctors] [yet we really understand only the rough outlines].

Card Stack 2: Highlight, Short Answer (8 min)What: Who are the Phrenologists and Whole Brainers and what are their theories about the brain?

Why: Make sure students understand the theories, so they can focus on how each theory uses the same evidence with different logic later in the lesson.

Card 2a

Activity type: Highlight (3 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 34–40 [The Boston doctors] [yet we really understand only the rough outlines]


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 2, pages 34–40 [The Boston doctors] [yet we really understand only the rough outlines]

Highlight specifics about what the Whole Brainers and Phrenologists/Localizers believe.

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Card 2b





In your own words, what do the Whole Brainers believe?

In your own words, what do the Phrenologists/Localizers believe?


Card Stack 3: Draw the Brain, Pairs Work (13 min)What: Draw on a bathing cap: On one side, “your” Phrenological head; on the other side, what the Whole Brainers theorize the brain is like.

Why: To test student comprehension of the Solo reading about the Phrenologists and Whole Brainers and to have fun diving into historic brain theory by personalizing it for students.

Card 3a

Activity type: Draw Two Versions of the Brain (8 min)



Take your bathing cap and draw a line down the middle.

On one side, draw your understanding of the Phrenological head, but use your own characteristics. (Tap here for an example.)

On the other side, draw your understanding of the Whole Brainer theory of the brain. (Tap here for more guiding questions.)

Guiding Questions for the Phrenological Side:

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• Where do you want to place them?

• What size do you want to make them?

For the Whole Brain Side:

• What does brain jelly or a formless cloud look like?

• Can you come up with your own interpretation of the Whole Brainers’ brain?

• How do you want to represent what the Whole Brainers believe about the brain?

Pass out markers and bathing caps.

Walk around the room making yourself available to students who might need guidance.

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Card 3b

Activity type: Pairs Work (5 min)



Share your interpretation of both brain theories with your partner.

1. Why does one area stand out the most?

2. Are areas bigger or smaller and what does that mean?

3. Why did you choose to place things where you did?

4. Explain why you chose to represent the Whole Brainers side the way you did.

Use evidence from the text to support your answers.

Card Stack 4: Short Answers and Discussion (10 min)What: Explore how both schools of brain theory can use the same piece of evidence— Phineas—as proof of their theories.

Why: Practice differentiating between the two theories’ logic as a way to distinguish one theory from the other, as opposed to the knowledge that the theory is based on.

Card 4a





Both sides use Phineas as proof of their theories:

Reread the text to find one piece of evidence that proves the Phrenologists’ theory.

Reread the text to find one piece of evidence that proves the Whole Brainers’ theory.



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Card 4b




Both sides are also wrong:

Reread the text to find one piece of evidence that shows a misconception the Phrenologists had about how the brain works.

Reread the text to find one piece of evidence that shows a misconception the Whole Brainers had about how the brain works.



Card Stack 5: Closing (5 min)What: In a poll, students indicate which theory they agree with more—the Whole Brainers’ or the Phrenologists.’ Explain why.

Why: When students explain why, they indicate to what extent they’ve absorbed the information about both brain theories.

Card 5a

Activity type: Polling (5 min)


n/a Which theory seems more reasonable to you—Whole Brainer or Phrenologist? Be prepared to answer why.

Stand to the right of the classroom for Phrenologists.

Stand to the left of the room for Whole Brainers.

Once students have chosen their side, ask several volunteers to answer why they chose that side.


Solo


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–64 [Half the world away] [do you stop acting human?]

Read.

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C10Digging Up the Body: Harlow Rethinks AGAIN!

Lesson Brief

Overview:Though a seemingly simple text, Phineas Gage invites the reader to consider how sure we are of certain knowledge. Fleischman’s description of Dr. Harlow’s work suggests that we can have a hunch, maintain doubt, and continue to search with an open mind for new information. When Dr. Harlow learns of Wernicke’s and Broca’s discoveries, he goes to great lengths to dig up Phineas’ body to confirm a hypothesis and settle some doubts he had about Phineas’ brain injury all those years before. In order for students to understand why Dr. Harlow wants to dig up Phineas’ dead body, they need to connect the dots from Wernicke’s and Broca’s discoveries about the brain to Dr. Harlow’s treatment of Phineas 40 years earlier.

Fleischman presents Wernicke’s and Broca’s discoveries in a straightforward manner, so the lesson will not instruct the students to reread for misunderstandings. Hopefully, by Lesson 10, you will see students taking the initiative to read carefully, and to reread if necessary, to find the correct answer. Help them see and appreciate the humility Dr. Harlow has, as an example of a true learner and seeker of knowledge.

Student-Facing Objective:Why would Dr. Harlow, nearly 20 years after Phineas’ accident, go back and dig up Phineas’ body? Let’s get to the bottom of this and see how we can explain Dr. Harlow’s behavior and what he might be trying to discover?

Lesson Flow Image:Vocabulary:

True/False: Now that you’ve just learned some new words that will be used in today’s lesson, let’s make sure that you know the key facts about Wernicke’s and Broca’s discoveries.

Compare Answers: Let’s compare our answers to the correct answers and see where the misunderstandings were.

Short Answer: Time to connect the dots from Wernicke’s and Broca’s discoveries to Dr. Harlow and his work with Phineas.

Make a Claim: With our new understanding of how those scientific discoveries affected Dr. Harlow, write a statement about what Dr. Harlow thinks now about Phineas’ recovery from his accident. Indicate how sure he is of his knowledge after learning about Wernicke’s and Broca’s finds.

Spectrum of Certainty: Put Dr. Harlow on the Spectrum of Certainty and see where your classmates put him.

Misunderstanding Notebook Entry: Record your new findings in your Misunderstanding Notebook.

Closing: Let’s put the pieces of Phineas Gage’s story together and describe his impact on brain science.

PrepBe prepared to project True/False questions and student responses beside correct answers.

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ReadingExcerpt: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–64 [Half the world away] [do you stop acting human?]

Differentiation Skills [LR5] and Standards [LR6] :

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.8

Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Students have been tracking Dr. Harlow’s journey from misunderstanding to hunch to a complete rethinking of his original assessment of Phineas as having a full recovery from his brain injury. In this lesson they have the opportunity to look at the journey as a whole and place Phineas in the history of science.

RubricsStudent work (when available)

Vocab Words:Drastically

Persistent

Subsequent

Generates

5 min Vocabulary

11 min

True/False, Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas

Answer questions about Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas.

Check answers.

17 min

Short Answer, Make a Claim, Spectrum of Certainty

Complete short answers about the impact of these discoveries on Dr. Harlow’s work.

Write a claim about Dr. Harlow’s level of certainty about Phineas’ case.

Place Dr. Harlow on the Spectrum of Certainty.

7 min

Misunderstanding Notebook Entry

Record a misunderstanding that Dr. Harlow had and add a new piece of evidence that helped him correct his misunderstanding.

3 minClosing

Poll

Student SummaryWhy would Dr. Harlow, nearly 20 years later, go back and dig up Phineas’ body? How do we explain this? What is he trying to discover?

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Lesson What: Get the facts straight about Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas and then understand how that information caused Dr. Harlow to reconsider the viability of his hunch about Phineas.

Lesson Why: After spending much of the unit trying to find the right answer and appreciating the role of noticing the WRONG answer, students move beyond just right/wrong to questions of how to think about the level of certainty of a scientist’s knowledge and their own knowledge. They see how new knowledge caused Dr. Harlow to reconsider ideas he had had for decades in a new light—and students have the chance to review much of what they have learned from Phineas’ case from the beginning of the unit.


[Half the world away] [do you stop acting human?] (53–64)

CCSS:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3 Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.






If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C9, instruct them to read the excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–64 [Half the world away] [do you stop acting human?]

Card Stack 2: True/False, Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas (11 min)What: True/False question to identify the role of Wernicke’s and Broca’s research.

Why: Students need clarity about the main insights from Broca’s and Wernicke’s research in order to consider why the research had such an impact on Dr. Harlow.

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Card 2a

Activity Type: Check the “true” answers (5 min)


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–56 [Half the world away] [more detailed and more localized]

The discovery of Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas changed the path of brain science.

Which facts are true about these two areas?

CHECK AS MANY AS APPLY:

___These areas were discovered by using low-voltage electricity to stimulate points in the brain.

___Broca’s area controls the ability to speak and Wernicke’s area controls the ability to understand language.

___These areas can cause an interruption of the blood supply to the brain that causes localized damage.

___Both areas are located in the frontal lobe.

___These areas are proof that the brain has localized functions.

Correct Answers:

___Broca’s area controls the ability to speak and Wernicke’s area controls the ability to understand language.

___These areas are proof that the brain has localized functions.

Card 2b

Activity Type: Compare Answers (6 min)


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–55 [Half the world away] [more detailed and more localized]

How do your answers compare to the correct answers?

Project the correct answers.

Notice and ask students to describe the strategies they used to determine the answers—key words, sequencing, logic.

Card Stack 3: Short Answer, Make a Claim, Spectrum of Certainty (17 min)What: Complete a short-answer question about the impact of the discovery of these areas of the brain on Dr. Harlow, making a claim about his level of certainty in reference to his new findings, then placing him on the Spectrum of Certainty.

Why: We’ve been tracking Dr. Harlow’s misunderstandings and are now going to observe how he corrects his misunderstanding about Phineas’ brain injury, prompted by the discoveries of Broca and Wernicke.

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Card 3a

Activity Type: Pairs Work (5 min.)


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 55–60 [The new scientific map] [how to be social]

With a partner, answer the questions and be ready to share your responses with the class.

Why does the discovery of Broca’s areas and Wernicke’s areas replace the theories of Phrenologists and Whole Brainers?

What does Dr. Harlow want to prove by digging up Phineas’ brain?

What does Dr. Harlow reveal to the audience at the Massachusetts Medical Society?


Card 3b

Activity Type: Short Answer (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 55–60 [The new scientific map] [how to be social]


Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 55–60 [The new scientific map] [how to be social]

In three or four sentences, answer the following question, using evidence from the text.

How does the discovery of Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area impact Dr. Harlow and his understanding of Phineas’ brain injury?


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Card 3c

Activity Type: Make a Claim (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from Phineas Gage, chapter 3, pages 53–64 [Half the world away] [do you stop acting human?]



In 1868, when Dr. Harlow speaks to the Massachusetts Medical Society, he says, “This case has been cited as one of complete recovery…without any impairment to the intellect,” but in truth, Phineas’ personality changed drastically after the accident.

Write a statement about Dr. Harlow’s new understanding of Phineas’ case by filling in the blanks.

Now that I have received new information about how the brain works from Broca’s and Wernicke’s studies, I ______________________ (have a hunch, think, know, can prove) that when Phineas left my care, he was ______________________________.

Make yourself available to any student who may need help.

Card 3d

Activity Type: Spectrum of Certainty (8 min)




Where does Dr. Harlow fall on the Spectrum of Certainty?

Spectrum of Certainty

has a hunch thinks knows can prove

After students choose their point on the spectrum, designate four spots in the room as each of the points and have students stand by their choice.

Ask one student from each group to explain the reason for his or her choice.

Card Stack 4: Misunderstanding Notebook Entry (7 min)What: Students identify and record Dr. Harlow’s misunderstandings about Phineas’ brain injury in the Misunderstanding Notebook. They may also record their new understandings about brain science and/or the text.

Why: To see how new evidence can help us rethink and reach a new understanding.

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Card 4a

Activity Type: Misunderstanding Notebook Entry (7 min)




Turn to your Misunderstanding Notebook.

Record a misunderstanding that Dr. Harlow had and add a new piece of evidence that helped him correct his misunderstanding.

Card Stack 5: Closing (3 min)What: Final poll to put together the pieces of Phineas Gage and his impact on brain science.

Why: To understand the role Phineas played in turning brain theory into brain science.

Card 5a



n/a Student facing: Raise your hand when you agree with a statement.

• Raise your hand if you learned something new about Dr. Harlow.

• Raise your hand if you want to learn more about the brain.

• Raise your hand if you didn’t realize until now what a big impact Phineas had on brain science.

• Raise your hand if you had a misunderstanding that you corrected over the course of reading this book.

Conduct the poll.


Solo


Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]

Read

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Brain Science 101

5 min Vocabulary

27 min

Read, Choose, Commit, Discuss

Students move through a cycle of reading, answering a question, and discussing to identify synapse formation, synaptic pruning, and myelination.

7 min

Pairs Work

Students pair with someone with a different answer to the final question in which they identify the image that shows myelination, and then they come to an agreement about which answer is correct.

Find a piece of evidence from the text to support answers and record them.

Stand by NEW answers

8 min

Class Discussion

Class discussion about how these scientific processes impact adolescent behavior. The fMRI gives us the picture of the brain in action, so we can study the link between behavioral changes and changes in the brain.

12 minClosing

T/F in groups

Student Summary: We’ve seen what Dr. Harlow knew about the brain in the late 1800s from just looking AT it from the outside and observing patients. We have new tools that let us look into it and see it working. Let’s take a look at what we know now.

Lesson What:Students learn about synapse formation, synaptic pruning, and myelination.

Lesson Why:Students studied a narrative about brain science with Phineas Gage. Now they are looking at the modern science of the brain—specifically, of the adolescent brain. They learn about certain chemical processes that occur in the brain so that they can eventually link these changes to changes in behavior.

Key Excerpts:Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”

[Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]

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Targeted Skills: Reading comprehension


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Teacher Prep:Materials: Posters or sheets of images for the second activity.



Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C10, instruct them to read “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]

Card Stack 2: Read, Choose, Commit, Discuss (27 min)What: Revealing what students know and misunderstand about synapse formation, synaptic pruning, and myelination.

Why: Students have to grapple with a difficult scientific text to understand the connection between scientific processes and behavior. The text requires careful reading and rereading and establishes the basis for their understanding of the changes they are undergoing as adolescents.

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Card 2a

Activity type: Choose the correct answer (5 min)

Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [The human brain contains] [adapt to changing circumstances]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [The human brain contains] [adapt to changing circumstances]

1. Read along with your teacher.

2. Choose the image that best shows synapse formation. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

Before students begin the activity, use an explanation of the fMRI as a transition from Phineas Gage to “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.”

Show them a picture of the fMRI.

“We’ve seen what Dr. Harlow knew about the brain in the late 1800s from just looking AT it from the outside and observing patients. We have new tools that let us look into it and see it working. One new tool is the fMRI, which is a picture of the brain that examines patterns of brain activity while a person is performing a task.”

Then read the excerpt on synapse formation aloud and have them answer the question individually.

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Card 2b

Activity type: Standing by your answer (2 min)

Text: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [The human brain contains] [adapt to changing circumstances]



When your teacher reads the question, go to the side of the room that has the image you chose.

Have the images posted around the room.

Tell students that when you read the question, they have to move to the image/answer they chose. Read the question out loud and record responses as tally marks under each question.

Teacher note: It’s worth having the students move around because it’s a literal commitment to their decision—and it is a fun way to see how students answered—and to quickly pair them off after the last question is answered. When students work in pairs, the stakes will be higher.

Card 2c

Activity type: Discuss (5 min)

Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [The human brain contains] [adapt to changing circumstances]



Be prepared to share your answer. Tell students the correct answer: A

Ask for students to notice the similarities/differences in each other’s answers—particularly if they called out different pieces of evidence or chose to describe the same evidence in different ways.

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Card 2d


Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, the brain produces] [during that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, the brain produces] [during that stage]


2. Choose the image that best shows synaptic pruning. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

Read the excerpt on synaptic pruning aloud and have them answer the question individually.

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Card 2e

Activity type: Share and discuss (5 min)

Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, the brain produces] [during that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, the brain produces] [during that stage]

Be prepared to share your answer. Ask students to raise their hands when you show the image/answer they chose. Tally up the responses beside each image.

Tell students the correct answer: A

Ask for students to notice the similarities/differences in each other’s answers—particularly if they called out different pieces of evidence or chose to describe the same evidence in different ways.

Card 2f


Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, neurons are “nude”] [at that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, neurons are “nude”] [during that stage]


2. Choose the image that best shows myelination. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

Read the excerpt on myelination aloud and have students answer the question individually.

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Card 2g


Text: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, neurons are “nude”] [during that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Initially, neurons are “nude”] [during that stage]

When your teacher reads the question, go to the side of the room that has the image you chose.

Have the images posted around the room.

Tell students that when you read the question, they have to move to the image/answer they chose. Read the question out loud and record responses as tally marks under each question.

Now have students pair up with someone who chose a different answer.

Card Stack 3: Pairs Work (7 min)What: Students work with partners to determine the correct answer to the final question. They find a piece of evidence from the text and record it, explaining why they chose their answer.

Why: Students have worked with the teacher on how to approach and comprehend the difficult scientific text; now it’s time for them to practice with a classmate.

Card 3a

Activity type: Pair work (5 min)

Text: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Adolescents can be mature] [changing most at that stage]

With a partner who disagrees with your answer, try to convince him or her that your answer is correct by pointing to evidence in the text. Come to an agreement on the correct answer.

Record a piece of evidence from the text for the answer, explaining why you chose it, and then submit the answer.

Be prepared to discuss:

1. Why you did or did not revise your answer.

2. What you notice about the class’ responses as a whole (when they are posted).

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Card 3b





When your teacher reads the question, go to the side of the room that has the image you and your partner chose.

Tell students that when you read the question—just as in the first activity—they have to move to the image/answer they chose. Read the question out loud, and record responses as tally marks under each question.

Card Stack 4: Class Discussion (8 min)What: Discussion linking brain scientific processes to behavior. Students discuss their revised (or not) answers with the class and begin hashing out what exactly all these processes are and how they impact behavior.

Why: Understanding brain maturation is complex and requires comparing brain structure with brain activity. Students need to comprehend the scientific processes (brain structure), such as synaptic pruning, in order to see how they affect behavioral development (brain activity).

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Card 4aActivity type: Class discussion (8 min)




Be prepared to discuss:

1. Why you did or did not revise your answer.

2. The evidence you chose for your answer.

3. What you notice about the class’ responses as a whole.

Cold call on a few teams to share why they did or did not revise their answers.

Announce the correct answer to the final question: A

Discuss how these processes impact behavior.

“We’ve seen what Dr. Harlow knew about the brain. Let’s look at what we know now.”

Point out that the fMRI is what gives us a picture of the brain while activity occurs.

“This is how we will learn why we do what we do. And once we know that, we can begin to take charge of how we want to be in the world.”

Key facts students need to know:

• A synapse is the gap between neurons that acts as a bridge for signals to cross from one neuron to another. The development of connections (synapses) between neurons occurs throughout life but peaks at different times.

• Synaptic pruning gets rid of the synapses we aren’t using, to allow the ones we are using to communicate more effectively with each other, which improves brain functioning.

Teacher’s note: It is not in the text, but let students know that pruning works from the back of the brain to the front, so the frontal lobe is the last to undergo these structural changes.

• Myelination improves the brain’s ability to transmit information, which helps with the development of skills such as impulse control.

Give students this stat (not in the text): Cells covered with myelin transmit impulses up to 100 times faster than unmyelinated cells—like a high-speed Internet connection vs. a dial-up.

Card Stack 5: Closing (5 min)What: Students answer true/false questions in groups.

Why: To get a sense of student comprehension of the scientific processes.

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Card 5a

Activity type: T/F in groups (12 min)




Get into your group and prepare for the True/False round to test your knowledge of brain science. You have five minutes to answer the questions. Underline the part of the text that supports your answer.

Answer True or False:

___An fMRI is used to examine only the brain’s structure.

___Synaptic pruning is important because it sharpens the brain’s functioning.

___The brain gets larger during adolescence.

___Myelination slows down the brain’s ability to transmit information.

___Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry information through gaps between neurons.

Students count off 1 to 6, then form groups according to number (all 1s in a group, etc.).

Once time is up, call on each group to answer a question and show the class the portion of the text where they got their answer. Give students the correct answers.

1. False

An fMRI gives us a picture of the brain, not just to study the structure, but also to study how it functions when a person is doing an activity, which helps us study the link between behavioral changes and changes in the brain.

2. True

Synaptic pruning gets rid of the synapses we aren’t using, to allow the ones we are using to communicate more effectively with each other, which improves brain functioning.

3. False

Bigger is not better in terms of brain function. Think of how the muscles become more pronounced and efficient when fatty tissue is burned off.

4. False

Myelination improves the brain’s ability to transmit information, which helps with the development of skills such as impulse control.

5. True

Tell students that they will learn about a specific neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the following lesson. The text does not tell them dopamine is a neurotransmitter, so make sure that you tell them.

Solo


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain,” [During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [having a skilled driver behind the wheel]

Read

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2. Choose the image that best shows: Synapse formation. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

B.A.

neurotransmitters

SIGNAL-EMITTING NEURON

SIGNAL-RECEIVINGNEURON

receptor

storage vesiclecontainingneurotransmitters

cell membrane

neurotransmitters

SIGNAL-EMITTING NEURON

SIGNAL-RECEIVINGNEURON

receptor

storage vesiclecontainingneurotransmitters

cell membrane

A. B.

C11: Student Worksheet

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Birth

Stages in Synaptic Density: Stages in Synaptic Density:

Adolescence BirthInfancy Infancy Adolescence

LEAST DENSE

NEURONS

MOST DENSE LEAST DENSEMORE DENSE MOST DENSE LESS DENSE

B.A.

NEURONS


2. Choose the image that best shows: Synaptic Pruning. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

A. B.


2. Choose the image that best shows: Myelination. Underline a piece of evidence from the text that supports your answer.

B.A.

high impulse speed

high impulse speed

A. B.

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Dopamine and the Adolescent Brain

5 min Vocabulary

17 min

Drag and Drop, Poll, Discussion, Writing

Hunt for terms that have something to do with dopamine.

Poll

Discussion

Write a paragraph about dopamine, using terms generated from poll and drag and drop.

13 min

Partner Work and Class Discussion

Share writing with a partner and respond to questions together.

Class discussion on what dopamine is, what it is responsible for, and how it impacts the adolescent brain and, consequently, adolescent behavior.

10 min

Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt:

People who are under 25 years old get in more car accidents when driving than people over 25 years old. Explain why, using evidence from the text.

5 minClosing

Share writing.

Student Summary: Ever wondered why we do things that we know aren’t such a good idea? Today we are going to explore the scientific reasons why.

Lesson What:Students learn about dopamine and how it impacts adolescent behavior.

Lesson Why:Students began linking brain changes to changes in behavior in the previous lesson. Today they begin to explore how these changes in the brain, specifically the increase in dopamine activity during adolescence, drive adolescent behavior.

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Key Excerpts:Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”

[During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [a skilled driver behind the wheel]

Targeted Skills: Reading comprehension


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.



Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [a skilled driver behind the wheel]



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C11, instruct them to read “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [a skilled driver behind the wheel]

Card Stack 2: Drag and Drop, Poll, Discussion, Writing (17 min)What: Generate a list of words/phrases related to dopamine.

Why: Students start to notice which words will be most useful when trying to explain dopamine.

Card 2a

Activity type: Word/phrase hunt (5 min)

Text: Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [a skilled driver behind the wheel]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [During adolescence, the brain is remodeled] [a skilled driver behind the wheel]

Drag and drop any word or phrase that seems to help explain dopamine into the text box.

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Card 2b

Activity type: Poll (2 min)




Choose the word or phrase that you think explains the essence of dopamine.

____Risky things

____Pleasure

____Rapid increase in adolescence

____Brain’s reward center

____Rewarding experiences

____Intensity

____Driving fast

____Foolish things

____Chemical substance

Notice that here you are not looking for right or wrong answers. You want students to show preferences for using particular words to clarify the meaning of a scientific concept.

Card 2c

Activity type: Discussion (5 min)





Notice which words or phrases were chosen the most.

Be prepared to point to the text and use the word or phrase you chose to explain how dopamine works.

Card 2d





Write a paragraph using at least three of the terms from the poll, and more that you put in your own text box, to explain how dopamine functions in the brain.

The words/phrases are displayed on the tablets.

Circulate around the room doing OTSCs.

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Card Stack 3: Partner Work and Class Discussion (13 min)What: Check your facts on dopamine activity in adolescence.

Why: Students should see that the facts really matter when they are explaining scientific concepts, but that two people might explain the same thing differently.

Card 3a

Activity type: Pair and share (8 min)




With a partner:

Read your paragraphs to each other.

Check your paragraphs to see if they agree in the following areas:

• What is the definition of dopamine?

• What feelings is dopamine responsible for?

• How does dopamine affect the adolescent brain in particular?

• For what types of behaviors is dopamine responsible?

Fill in the chart together (below).


Paragraphs agree How Partner A’s is different How Partner B’s is different

Definition of dopamine

Feelings dopamine is responsible for

How dopamine affects the adolescent brain

Behaviors dopamine is responsible for

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Card 3b

Activity type: Class discussion (5 min)




Call on a couple of volunteers to read their paragraphs.

After each volunteer shares, students respond to the questions.

Provide correct answers:

• Definition of dopamine: Neurotransmitter

• What it does: Responsible for the feeling of pleasure

• How it affects the adolescent brain: More dopamine activity in the brain’s reward center during adolescence than at any other time of life

• The behaviors that occur because of its activity in the brain: risky and foolish behavior like drunk driving and speeding—without thinking about the consequences.

“They’re so driven to seek pleasure that they may not pay attention to the associated risks.”

Card Stack 4: Writing Prompt (10 min)What: Students complete a writing prompt.

Why: Use this to determine if students can apply their new understanding of dopamine to a real-life scenario.

Card 4a

Activity type: Writing Prompt (10 min)




Writing Prompt:

People who are under 25 years old get in more car accidents when driving than people over 25 years old. Explain why, using evidence from the text.


Card Stack 5: Closing (5 min)

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What: Students share.

Why: Students get a sense of their classmates’ understanding of dopamine and its impact on behavior.

Card 5a

Activity type: Share (5 min)




Ask for a couple of volunteers to share their writing.

Ask students to say which evidence they found particularly compelling.

Solo


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]

Read

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Hot Cognition and Cold Cognition

5 min Vocabulary

15 min

Short Answer, Pair Work, Discussion

Short-answer question defining hot and cold cognition

Pair work revising the answer

Discussion around the answers

15 min

T-Chart in Pairs, Discussion

T-Chart for hot cognition and cold cognition, including behaviors, developmental periods, and what’s happening in the adolescent brain

Discussion

10 minWriting Prompt

Short answer using graph as a visual aide, along with the text

3 minClosing

Sharing

Student SummaryLet’s put it all together. If the reasoning part of our brain is well developed in adolescence, why do we still do things that don’t make much sense?

Lesson What Students learn about hot cognition and cold cognition.

Lesson WhyIn the previous lesson, students learned about dopamine, a neurotransmitter that causes us to feel pleasure and thus can result in immature behavior. Today they learn about the concepts of hot cognition and cold cognition, which will help them link all the disparate developments in the adolescent brain and get the full picture of why adolescents behave the way they do.

Key ExcerptsExcerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain,” excerpt from Lesson 12 on dopamine, and excerpt from Lesson 11

[Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve] (“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”)

[We now know][their radar screen] (excerpt from Lesson 12)

[In general, the development of synapses][most at that stage] (excerpt from Lesson 11)

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Targeted SkillsReading comprehension


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.



Excerpt from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]



If any students did not complete the reading assignment in Solo C12, instruct them to read “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]

Card Stack 2: Short Answer, Pair Work, Discussion (15 min)What: Students answer questions about the definitions of hot and cold cognition.

Why: In order to begin understanding how these terms fit into adolescent behavior, students need a definition.

Card 2a


Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]



Answer the following questions, using the text:

What sorts of behaviors does the author use the term “hot cognition” to describe?

What sorts of behaviors does the author use the term “cold cognition” to describe?

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Card 2b

Activity type: Pair Work (5 min)

Text: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]



Share your answer with your neighbor. Decide together what the correct answer is and revise it in your own words.

Card 2c





Call on several students to share their answers.

Hot cognition is responsible for emotional reactions.

Examples: Throwing a punch at someone who insults your girlfriend, joyriding with friends, jumping up and down with excitement.

Cold cognition is responsible for factual, unemotional responses.

Examples: Solving an algebra problem, making a decision based on factual information.

Use school elections as a way to explain the difference between hot and cold cognition.

“In a school election, hot cognition would mean your decision for school president is based on emotion: that you like her or him or that you think he or she is cute, etc. Cold cognition would mean you are basing your decision on factual information to determine suitability: is the candidate responsible, does the candidate have experience in a leadership position?”

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Card Stack 3: T-Chart in Pairs, Discussion (15 min)What: Students create a T-Chart for hot and cold cognition.

Why: Once students have defined the terms and worked on further understanding them with a partner, they can begin linking hot and cold cognition to what happens in the adolescent brain under their influence.

Card 3a

Activity type: T-Chart (8 min)

Text: Excerpt “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction] [behavior will improve]; excerpt from Lesson 12 on dopamine [We now know][their radar screen]; and excerpt from Lesson 11 [In general, the development of synapses][most at that stage]


“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”

[Psychologists draw a distinction][behavior will improve]

Excerpt from Lesson 12 on dopamine [We now know][their radar screen]

Excerpt from Lesson 11 [In general, the development of synapses][most at that stage]

With a partner:

Fill in the T-Chart with behaviors that fall under each category, when each system develops fully, and what’s happening in the brain. Use your list from the previous lesson if you’d like to.

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Card 3b


Text: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” [Psychologists draw a distinction][behavior will improve]

Teacher Instructions

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Card Stack 4: Writing Prompt (10 min)What: Answer a writing prompt referring to textual evidence and evidence from a chart and graph.

Why: Use the opportunity to assess students’ ability to interpret the text and the chart, based on how well they can describe the evidence and connect it to hot and cold cognition.

Card 4a

Activity type: Writing Prompt (10 min)




Excerpt from Lesson 12 on dopamine [We now know][their radar screen]

Excerpt from Lesson 11 [In general, the development of synapses][most at that stage]

Using your chart, the graph, and evidence from the text, respond in writing:

Why do teenagers who are capable of logical reasoning do foolish things?


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Card Stack 5: ClosingWhat: Students share their answers.

Why: To get a sense of their classmates’ understanding of hot and cold cognition and its impact on adolescent behavior.

Card 5a

Activity type: Sharing (3 min)




Ask for a couple of volunteers to share their answers.

Ask students to notice the similarities and differences in each other’s answers—particularly if they called out different pieces of evidence or chose to describe the same evidence in different ways.

SoloPrepare for the Quest.

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Student Chart

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Student Worksheet

Graph 1

Graph 2

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Read the Rubric for Writing Skills in Essay on the following page and decide if you are going to grade your students in Focus, Using Evidence, Logical Structure, Introduction, and/or Conventions. For each skill that you are grading, read each descriptor and choose the one that most accurately matches each individual student’s performance. For struggling students, you may want to reduce the number of skills assessed in order to help them focus on making steadier progress with fewer skills.

Please note that when you communicate essay grades with students, it is important to provide authentic written feedback in addition to the grades. Since students are inclined to take feedback on essays very seriously and place high importance on the grade they receive, it’s important to write targeted comments about specific places in the text that help them notice the impact they are having on readers. Make it clear that while the rubric-based feedback provides them with helpful information about their performance on the piece, the ultimate goal is to improve their ability to have an impact on a reader.

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Rubric for Writing Skills in Essay4= Exceeds Expectations

3= Proficient 2= Developing Proficiency

1= No Progress Toward Proficiency

Focus

Throughout the essay, all sentences develop one overall idea.

Throughout the essay, most sentences develop one overall idea.

Throughout the essay, some sentences develop one overall idea.

Throughout the essay, almost none of the sentences develop one overall idea.

Using Evidence

The student describes what s/he notices in all pieces of textual evidence and explains the connection between all of the evidence and the overall idea.

The student describes what s/he notices in most pieces of textual evidence and explains the connection between most of the evidence and the overall idea.

The student describes what s/he notices in some pieces of textual evidence and explains the connection between some of the evidence and the overall idea.

The student does not describe what s/he notices in textual evidence or does not explain the connection between the evidence and the overall idea.

Logical Structure

Within each paragraph, all sentences focus on a clearly defined portion of the overall idea.

Transitions clearly indicate which portion of the overall idea is being discussed.

Within each paragraph, all sentences focus on a clearly defined portion of the overall idea.

Transitions are present but don’t clearly define which portion of the overall idea is being discussed.

Within each paragraph, some sentences focus on a clearly defined portion of the overall idea.

Within each paragraph, no sentences focus on a clearly defined portion of the overall idea.

OR

The essay is not divided into paragraphs.

Introduction

The overall idea is clearly defined.

An engaging lead that is closely connected to the overall idea is included.

The overall idea is defined.

A lead that is connected to the overall idea is included.

The overall idea is somewhat defined.

A lead that is somewhat connected to the overall idea is included.

The overall idea is not defined.

AND/OR

A lead that is connected to the overall idea is not included.

Conventions

There are almost no errors in grammar or usage.

There are a few distracting errors in grammar and usage, but meaning is clear.

There are multiple distracting errors in grammar and usage that occasionally impede understanding.

There are multiple distracting errors in grammar and usage that often impede understanding.

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QUESTS: BackgroundA Quest is a series of lessons that uses the language of games and adventure to motivate students to read a text closely and to write about it more expressively. Each Quest is different, based on the individual core text that students are reading, but each unfolds as an original long-form narrative that plunges students deeper into the text and envelops them in its historical context.

In this immersive environment, Quests harness students’ curiosity and competitive drive and compel them toward a specific goal. When students study the works of Edgar Allan Poe, for example, the Quest plays out as a macabre murder mystery which teams of students must solve. During the Quest they read fascinating primary source documents while a variety of other elements—such as music, cartoons, photographs, and interactive tablet experiences—create a multimedia adventure that doesn’t feel like school.

In addition, the collaborative nature of Quests raises the stakes for individual students, who must rise to the challenge of the material they’re studying to help their teams succeed. During a Quest, students may be asked to inform the rest of the class of the contents of source documents. Students also learn the meanings of vocabulary words from context and pass those meanings on to their peers. Discussing their thoughts and impressions and sharing their insights with their classmates are fundamental components of these special lessons. Quests are learning experiences, but at the same time they provide opportunities for students to teach.

While exercising core skills, Quests provide an opportunity for students to master difficult texts in a way that is dynamic, empowering, and fun!


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SUMMARY Unit C Quest: Perception AcademyThe Perception Academy Quest is a series of linked activities that focuses on brain disorders and how they affect what we perceive and how we respond to the world around us. Students move through the periods of a school day as though they had one of the perception disorders described in Oliver Sacks’s book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The Quest builds on the work students have been doing in Unit C and helps them master the challenging neurological concepts in Sacks’s non-fiction text. Perception Academy makes the study of the brain so compelling and accessible that it builds students’ confidence and helps them approach difficult non-fiction texts with less anxiety.

The Quest, which covers lessons 14-18, is structured like a medical thriller: On an ordinary morning, students are involved in a minor school bus fender bender on the way to school. They experience the crash via audio recording though their headphones. While “walking” the rest of the way to school, they hear narration detailing the eerie “symptoms” of altered perception— something is clearly amiss, but students don’t yet understand what it is. At school, augmented reality software distorts students’ tabletized school breakfast, offering more evidence of the mind-bending changes going on inside them. Finally, in ELA, they read case studies in Sacks’s book, which detail the powerful forces that have commandeered their perception—they are suffering from neurological disorders, the result of brain trauma.

Soon, students are exploring the implications of five distinct maladies on all facets of their daily life. They play a card game, created for the Quest, that helps them confront their new limitations, and then they practice cooperative problem-solving skills with a partner to complete a challenging task. The Quest concludes with a collaborative writing assignment in which students use the knowledge they’ve acquired of all five disorders and create a scenario that explains the circumstances of that morning’s bus accident. For an entire afternoon, students feel the constraints of a life in which the brain has failed to function reliably, thereby widening and deepening their understanding of the brain, its functions, and its fundamental importance to the quality of life and, indeed, to the survival of all living creatures.

Over the course of the Quest, students will also watch a series of videos, each presenting testimony from a real person experiencing one of the disorders that students are studying. Dr. Sacks himself has “face blindness,” the inability to recognize faces, even of loved ones. Like the simulated experiences students go through, these videos serve to create awareness, empathy, and respect for the real people described in Sacks’s work.

The Unit C Quest covers these Common Core State Standards (CCSS): Literacy.SL.7.1b, SL.7.1c, RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.3, RI.7.9

The Perception Academy Quest Summary |105


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ESSAY UNIT: Writing a Response to Text EssayLESSONS

• Lesson 19: Comparing “Visual Neglect” to “Eyes Right”

• Lesson 20: Making a Claim

• Lesson 21: Writing Body Paragraphs

• Lesson 22: Flex Day

• Lesson 23: Revising Body Paragraphs

• Lesson 24: Writing an Introductory Paragraph and Editing the Essay

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Comparing “Visual Neglect” to “Eyes Right”Lesson Overview for TeachersIn this lesson, students review the video “Visual Neglect” from the Quest and an excerpt from the chapter “Eyes Right” from Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat to refamiliarize themselves with the material and to practice finding similarities between the two patients (students will be reading a sample essay based on these two sources in the next Solo). Students are then briefly introduced to the Response to Text Essay Prompt that they will begin working on in the next lesson. Students will reread passages from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” to begin to identify textual evidence of teenage behaviors.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersReading Objective: The students will identify similarities between two patients who suffer from a similar brain disorder in “Visual Neglect” and an excerpt from “Eyes Right” in order to prepare for writing the essay. Then students will reread passages from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” to identify textual evidence of teenage actions and behaviors for their essay.

Target Skills

Developing: Gathering evidence to support a claim (e.g., debate, argument in essay)

Practicing: Rereading

Teacher Prep1. Have on hand a tablet to display the video “Visual Neglect” from the PBS

program Secrets of the Mind.

2. Have on hand chart paper or access to a board.

3. Have on hand highlighters.

LESSON

19

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Professional Development

Today’s lesson is a transition from the Quest into the essay unit. Therefore, the structure is a bit different than other lessons and does not include a five-minute Independent Work session at the start of the lesson. Lesson 20 is the beginning of the Response to Text Essay unit. During the five lessons of the unit, students will synthesize what they have learned from two different texts and integrate that information in a polished essay. The essay prompt asks students to find evidence from two different sources to support a claim, which is a skill that students have been practicing in this unit. By giving students some time at the end of class to start rereading and finding evidence, the task won’t seem as daunting when they continue on their own for their Solos.

By reviewing the video “Visual Neglect” and an excerpt from the chapter “Eyes Right,” from The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, students have the opportunity to practice finding similarities between two “texts” (sources), a skill they will need when they start to gather evidence to support their claim in their Response to Text Essay. By referencing materials that they just encountered during the Quest, the transition into the essay writing lessons will be smoother. Additionally, the subject matter will engage students because the patients discussed in both texts have a very unusual yet fascinating brain disorder. The hope is that students will be so interested in this material, especially after their hands-on experience with the Quest, that their approach to the essay assignment will be a positive one.

Targeted Instruction—Reviewing “Visual Neglect” and “Eyes Right” and Introducing the Response to Text Essay (19 min)

� Today we are going to revisit the video “Visual Neglect” that you watched during the Quest.

Have students turn to the Visual Neglect Chart in their resource books. Read it aloud.

� As you watch, pay attention to Peggy’s actions and jot down some notes about what the doctors say causes her to do what she does.

Show the three-minute video “Visual Neglect.” Have students take notes as they watch. You can show the video twice if there is time and if students need a second viewing.

� Turn and talk with the person sitting next to you. Talk about some of the things, that you noticed Peggy did and the reasons the doctor provided for Peggy’s behavior.

Give students 1–2 minutes to turn and talk with a partner about the video.

Cold call on two or three pairs of students to share what they discussed. Make a list on a T-Chart on the board or chart paper that details Peggy’s actions and what causes them.

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� Now you’re going to go into the Perception Academy app on your tablets to revisit one of the case studies you read during the Quest. After opening the app, tap the button in the top left corner to open your navigational menu. From there, tap on RECESS, and pull the text-viewer up from the bottom of the screen. Tap the tab that says “Mrs. S.”

� Before you begin to reread this case study, let’s go over the directions for Activity 1.

Remind students that if they encounter an unfamiliar word, they should try to figure out the word from context. If necessary, they can refer to the Lesson 19 Dictionary.

Have students turn to Activity 1 in their resource books. Read it aloud.

AC T I V I T Y 1

On your tablets, reread the excerpt from “Eyes Right,” the case study about Mrs. S.

Find descriptions of Mrs. S. in the text that are similar to the things you saw Peggy do in the video.

On your Eyes Right Chart, write the phrases and sentences you find in the text that show their similarities.

� Remember, we are taking a second look at these items so you can compare two different sources, a video and a text, that you are familiar with. Plus, you need to be familiar with them in order to do tonight’s Solo.

Give students 3–5 minutes to silently read and fill in the chart.

Ask two or three students to share what they found in the text and to explain the similarities. As students share, write the similarities on the board or on chart paper.

Possible Correct Answer:

Both ignore the left side of their visual fields.

Both have perception issues.

Both only pay attention to the right side of their vision.

Both don’t see things the way they really are.

Both know they aren’t drawing left but can’t seem to do it

“The systems of the brain responsible for cold cognition are mature by the time most individuals are 16.” (87)

“systems that control hot cognition aren’t—they’re still developing well into the 20s.” (87)

� We looked at this text and this video to practice finding the similarities between the two. In the same way that these both showed similarities in brain function, the texts that you read

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during this unit about Phineas Gage and adolescents are also similar.

� You are going to write about the similarities between teenagers and Phineas Gage in your next assignment: A Response to Text Essay.

Briefly introduce the Essay Prompt.

� In the next few lessons, you will write an essay using both of the texts we read during this unit, Phineas Gage and “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.”

Display the Essay Prompt. Read it aloud.

Explain to students that they are just looking at the prompt right now, and that they won’t begin writing just yet. They will first start to identify the details in the texts that will support their claim.

E S S AY P R O M P T

Explain how adolescent behavior* can be similar to the behavior of someone who is suffering from pre-frontal cortex damage.

Use details from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” and Phineas Gage to support your claim.

* The term “adolescent behavior” refers to actions or abilities that teens might do or have.

� You just found similarities in brain functions between Peggy and Mrs. S. For this essay, you will make a claim about the similarities between the behaviors of adolescents and someone with pre-frontal cortex damage, such as Phineas, using details from each text to support your claim and convince your reader.

Work Session (20 min)The next activity is to be done at the students’ own pace. Some students will need more time and can finish for their Solo.

� You are going to start looking for evidence to include in your essay. You will start with the article, “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.” You are going to reread a few short passages and look for examples of adolescent behaviors.

� Don’t worry if you don’t finish these activities in class. You will be able to finish them for your Solo.

Hand out highlighters.


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AC T I V I T Y 2

Turn to “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” in your resource book. Reread, starting on page 85 (“What This Means for the Adolescent Brain…”) and ending on page 88, paragraph 4 (“…their own behavior will improve”).

Highlight at least four pieces of evidence that show adolescent behaviors or adolescent actions.

Remember to highlight only the phrases and sentences that you need to show adolescent behavior. You should not highlight whole paragraphs.

Give students 20 minutes to complete the activity. Circulate around the room using OTSCs to reinforce skills. If you have Hummingbird, use it to record your interactions with students during OTSCs.

� I see that you highlighted that teenagers are so “driven to seek pleasure that they may not pay attention to the associated risks” (86). This is strong textual evidence of a common teenage behavior of taking risks and not thinking of the consequences of those risks.

� I like that you have highlighted “the fact that teenagers’ ability to control their impulses is immature at the same time that their interest in sensation seeking is stronger than ever makes them vulnerable to making mistakes” (87). This quote shows that you understand that not being able to control impulses is an adolescent behavior.

� Remember to highlight the examples of the behaviors or the teenage actions in the text, too. You can find some in the paragraph that starts with “The urge to seek out rewarding and pleasurable experiences…” (86)

� Right here you have highlighted this whole paragraph. Some sentences from this paragraph show adolescent behaviors, but not all of them. You need to highlight only the sentences that show those behaviors. I will check back in a few minutes to see which sentences you have pulled out.

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Closing (1 min)Give students positive feedback about something specific that occurred in class. For example, point out a way students met a particular expectation for classroom routines and/or praise something related to their skill development.

� Nice job finding similarities between the video and the text today and identifying adolescent behaviors.

� I was really impressed with how many of you only highlighted the important sentences and not the whole paragraph. Well done!

Remind students to complete the Solo for the next lesson, provided at the end of Lesson 19 in their resource books.

Estimated time to complete the Solo: 20 minutes

After ClassIn the next lesson, students will be asked to refer back to the Phineas Gage Chart from Lesson 5 in order to compare Phineas’ behavior to adolescents’ behaviors.

The next lesson will be the official start of the essay sequence. The essay unit is five lessons:

Lesson 20: Making a Claim

Lesson 21: Writing Body Paragraphs

Lesson 22: Flex Day

This lesson is designed to give teachers the opportunity to differentiate instruction and support to students as they develop their essays.

Lesson 23: Revising Body Paragraphs

Lesson 24: Writing an Introductory Paragraph and Editing the Essay

Before you start the essay unit, make sure to familiarize yourself with each lesson by reading the lesson overviews, objectives, teacher prep, and after class notes.

Each essay lesson will have a brief targeted instruction period before students use the rest of the class as a work session to complete their writing. This way, you will have ample time to circulate and do OTSCs to differentiate your instruction so that all students can be successful with the essay.

Solo

1. If you didn’t finish the in-class reading, finish the reading now. Begin at “What This Means for the Adolescent Brain” and stop after reading “…their own behavior will improve” from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.”

2. Highlight at least four pieces of evidence that show adolescent behavior. Remember to highlight only the phrases and sentences that you need to show adolescent behavior. You should not highlight whole paragraphs.

3. Complete the Sample Response to Text Essay worksheet.

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Name:__________________________________________________

Date:_________________________

Sample Response to Text Essay

Instructions

1. Read the sample essay.

2. Highlight the writer’s claim.

3. Underline the textual evidence from the sources.

4. Make sure to check your answers so you are ready to write your own claim in the next lesson.

Seeing Only One Side of Things

Here’s an amazing fact that most people don’t know: two people can be looking at the exact same thing, but see something different because of the way their brain works. Most people think it’s a person’s eyes that see, but it’s actually the person’s brain doing the work. A brain injury can change what the person sees, even if the person’s eyes are not damaged and are totally normal and functioning. The video “Visual Neglect” from NOVA’s Secrets of the Mind shows a stroke patient, Peggy, who can only see what her damaged brain lets her see. Because of her stroke she can only see the left sides of things. Just like Peggy, Mrs. S. from Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat also ignores the left side of things when she looks at them. In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!

In the video, we see Peggy showing how her brain ignores the left side of things. She is asked to draw a daisy, and she draws one with the entire left side of the flower missing. She is not even aware of the fact that she’s drawn only the right half of a flower until someone tells her. Peter Halligan, a doctor in the video, states, “The radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well” (Secrets of the Mind). The part of her brain damaged by the stroke is the parietal lobes. That is the part responsible for seeing whole images. Another doctor says, “The parietal lobes are concerned mainly with creating a three-dimensional representation of the special layout of

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the world…When the right brain is damaged, the person is unable to deal with the left side of the world” (Secrets of the Mind). The doctor explains that people who have damage in the parietal lobes will have problems seeing the world the way most people see it. They see only half of things, not the whole. If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side.

In the chapter “Eyes Right” of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Mrs. S. is diagnosed with “hemi-inattention.” Sacks writes, “Sometimes, she will put on lipstick, and make up the right half of her face, leaving the left half completely neglected” (77). In this quote, Sacks shows how Mrs. S. also ignores the left side of things. Mrs. S. developed ways to deal with this disability, though. She uses a special rotating wheelchair to move her body so that she can eat from both sides of her plate, not just the right side. Sacks explains that Mrs. S. swivels “her chair to the right, keeping her eyes to the right, until the previously missed half now comes into view” (78). Her “hemi-inattention” causes her to ignore the left side of her visual field, but she knows this and has learned ways to cope with it.

In “Visual Neglect” and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, the patients have trouble seeing things on the left side of them because they have a similar type of brain damage. If you were a neurologist and you watched Mrs. S. put makeup on only the right side of her face, or watched Peggy draw only the right side of a flower, you’d be able to figure out exactly where the problem was in their brains. In both cases, the patients’ eyes are just fine. It’s their brains that are causing them to ignore the left side. The stories of Peggy and Mrs. S. show us that we rely on our brains to make sense of everything we see and put it all together as a whole.

Check your work by comparing it with the correct response on the next page.

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Correct Response:Two people could be looking at the exact same thing, but what

each person actually sees may be very different. A person’s brain structure can change the way he or she sees the world, even if the person’s vision is completely intact. The video “Visual Neglect” from NOVA’s Secrets of the Mind shows a stroke patient, Peggy, whose perception of the world is, like everyone else’s, entirely controlled by her brain. However, unlike most people, she has no awareness of the left sides of things. In the same way, Mrs. S. from Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, experiences distortion in her perception. She also ignores the left side of her visual field. Both individuals experience problems in the way they see things because a neurological disorder causes them to neglect the left side of their vision.

In the video, Peggy shows how her brain ignores the left side of things. She is asked to draw a daisy, and when she completes the drawing, the entire left side of the flower is missing. She only draws the right side of the flower. She is not even aware of this until it’s pointed out to her. Peter Halligan, a doctor in the video, states, “The radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well” (Secrets of the Mind). This means that the part of her brain responsible for seeing whole images isn’t functioning properly. This was caused by a stroke in the parietal lobes of her brain, which caused her to leave off the left side of the picture. Another doctor states, “The parietal lobes are concerned mainly with creating a three-dimensional representation of the special layout of the world…When the right brain is damaged, the person is unable to deal with the left side of the world” (Secrets of the Mind). The doctor is saying that people who have damage in the parietal lobes will have problems seeing the world the way most people see it. If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side. This shows that Peggy experiences a problem in the way she sees things.

In the chapter “Eyes Right” of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Mrs. S. is also a patient who cannot see things on the left side of her vision. She is diagnosed with “hemi-inattention.” Sacks

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writes, “Sometimes, she will put on lipstick, and make up the right half of her face, leaving the left half completely neglected” (77). In this quote, Sacks describes how Mrs. S. will only put makeup on the right side of her face and leave her left side blank. This shows how Mrs. S. also ignores the left side of things. Mrs. S. has developed ways to deal with this disability, though. She uses her special rotating wheelchair. Sacks explains that when Mrs. S. eats, if the portion on her plate seems too small, she has learned to “swivel her chair to the right, keeping her eyes to the right, until the previously missed half now comes into view” (78). This shows how her “hemi-inattention” causes her to ignore the left side of her visual field. This causes a problem in the way she sees things.

In both examples, “Visual Neglect” and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, the patients have trouble seeing things on the left side of them. They both have a similar type of brain damage that causes them to see things in different ways from most people. Mrs. S. will only put makeup on the right side of her face and can only see the right side of her dinner plate. Peggy can only draw the right side of a flower. In both cases, the patients ignore the left side of their vision due to their neurological problems.

Explanation:The claim is: “Both individuals experience problems in the way they

see things because a neurological disorder causes them to neglect the left side of their vision.” This is the claim because it is a specific statement that compares both sources, by comparing the two people that each source describes. This claim best describes what this essay is trying to tell or convince the reader of.

The claim is not: “Two people could be looking at the exact same thing but what each person actually sees is very different from what the other sees” because this sentence is a general lead into the essay. It is not specifically about the people or texts discussed in the essay.

Textual evidence is any sentence or phrase that is taken directly from one of the sources and shown with quotation marks and a citation.

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Name:__________________________________________________

Date:_________________________

Visual Neglect Chart

Instructions

As you watch the video “Visual Neglect,” pay attention to Peggy’s actions. Jot down some notes in the chart below about Peggy’s actions and what the doctors say causes her to behave the way she does.

Peggy’s Actions Causes of Peggy’s Actions

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Name:__________________________________________________

Date:_________________________

Eyes Right Chart

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Name

Date

Lesson 19 DictionaryWords You Need to Know: It will help you to know these words and phrases so that you can better understand the case study of Mrs. S., from the chapter “Eyes Right,” in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

absurd means … ridiculous

absurdly means … ridiculously

bisect means … cut in half

conception means … understanding

derision means … teasing

distressing means … upsetting

exclusively means … only

imperceptions means … inabilities to sense

inferentially means … observations or facts

instinctively means … without having to think about it

neglected means … ignored

perceived means … become aware of

preserved means … undamaged

rotate means … turn

rotation means … turn

rouge means … blush

signally means … especially

spontaneous means … unplanned and natural

suffices means … is enough

swivels means … turns

thus means … in this way

void of means … empty of

whereas means … but

with regard to means … in relation to

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Name

Date

Words You Need to Know: It will help you to know these words so that you can better understand “What This Means for Adolescent Behavior” from Demystifying the Adolescent Brain, on pages 87–88.

adolescents means … teenagers

affected means … influenced

autonomy means … independence

capable means … having the ability

cognition means … thinking

elicited means .. caused

enable means … make it possible for

exhibit means … show or display

exuberant means … joyful

immature means … not fully developed

implications means … meaning

impulses means … urges

inconsistency means … irregular occurrence

malleable means … easily influenced or changed

mature means … fully developed

maturing means … growing and developing

optimal means … best possible

plasticity means … flexibility

psychologists means … doctors who study the mind, emotions, and behavior

refrain means … hold back

relevant means … directly related or connected

sensation means … intense emotion or interest

simultaneously means … at the same time

sophisticated means … advanced or complex

speculation means … thought

stimuli means … things that cause a response

substance means … a type of matter

succession means … the coming of one thing after the other, in an uninterrupted order

vacillate means … go back and forth

vulnerable means … open

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Making a ClaimLesson Overview for TeachersIn this lesson, students are introduced to the elements of the Response to Text Essay to help them structure their own essays, which students will write over the next five lessons. This lesson begins with a sample essay, which contains all of the elements of a Response to Text Essay, so that students can see the parts of the essay that they will be writing. The teacher reintroduces the writing prompt and then the class brainstorms some adolescent actions and behaviors from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain,” using their previous highlights to guide them. Then students refer back to the chart of Phineas’ behaviors from Lesson 5, so they can find similarities between Phineas and adolescents. Once students have decided on a similar behavior, they make their claim and select the textual evidence from each text to support their claim.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersReading Objective: The students will find evidence of similar behaviors from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” and Phineas Gage for their Response to Text Essay.

Writing Objective: The students will make their claim for their Response to Text Essay.

Target Skills

Developing: Gathering evidence to support a claim (e.g., debate, argument in essay)

Practicing: Staking a claim

Teacher PrepPrepare to display the following items on the wall for the remainder of this unit:

• Elements of a Response to Text Essay

• Calendar Outline of Essay Lessons

• Essay Prompt

LESSON

20

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Professional Development

Writing the Response to Text Essay is a way for students to synthesize what they have learned from two different texts and integrate that information into a polished essay. The prompt asks students to find evidence from two different texts to support a claim, a skill that students have been practicing in this unit.

By using a sample essay as a model, students will gain a better sense of how they can structure their own essays. Additionally, the Elements of a Response to Text Essay will be a reminder for students who need to reference the elements of an essay while they are writing.

Students are supported for the first part of the lesson, but in the Work Session students are able to work at their own pace to make a claim and select evidence. This will give you time to circulate and differentiate for students as needed.

Take into consideration that this is the first time students will be writing an essay using two sources instead of one, so they might need additional support in later lessons on how to do that.

In order to give students more time to focus on writing strong introductions and body paragraphs, conclusions are not covered in this unit and students are not required to write one for this essay.

Independent Work (5 min)As students arrive, direct them to get started on Activity 1 in their resource books.

AC T I V I T Y 1

Review the highlights from your Solo and answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think “In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!” is the writer’s claim?

2. How do you know “the radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well” (Secrets of the Mind) is textual evidence?

3. Does the evidence support the claim? Explain.

Possible Correct Response:

1. Because it is an argument or a statement about both of the texts; it is what the writer is going to try to prove in the essay; what the writer wants the reader to take away.

2. There were quotes around it; the sentences came directly from the video or the text; there was a citation.

3. Yes, because it is talking about how the left side isn’t working and the claim is about how the left side of their vision is ignored.

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Targeted Instruction—Introducing the Response to Text Essay (10 min)

� You just reviewed the sample essay independently. We will be looking at this sample essay again more closely during the essay unit and you can refer to this when you write your essay.

� As we discussed in the last lesson, everyone will write a Response to Text Essay. You will write and revise this essay over the next five lessons to produce a structured, revised, and “polished” piece of writing.

Have students turn to the Elements of a Response to Text Essay in their resource books. Let students know that they will discuss each one of these elements more closely in later lessons before they write each part of their essay. Point out that they will not be working on conclusions in this unit.

� Remember that these elements will be available to you whenever you need it as you write your essay. You shouldn’t need it today, but it will be there when you do.

E L E M E N T S O F A R E S P O N S E TO T E X T E S S AY

An introduction to the essay and claim. It includes:

• A lead

• The name of the text(s) and its author (s)

• Relevant background or context of the topic and the texts

• A statement of the claim/argument

Body paragraphs to develop the reasoning and evidence. Each includes:

• Specific textual evidence that supports the claim/argument

• Description of the key parts of your evidence

• Clear explanation of how this evidence supports the claim/argument

A conclusion that wraps up the ideas about the claim/argument. It includes:

• A restatement of the claim

• A final thought

Have students turn to the Calendar Outline of Essay Lessons in their resource books.

� This is the calendar of the essay lessons that we will be following. As you can see, today you will be making your claim so that you will be ready to write in the next lesson.

When introducing and discussing these elements, it’s important to clarify for students that the bullets within each part of the essay are not in any specific order.

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C A L E N DA R O U T L I N E O F E S S AY L E S S O N S

Lesson 20: Making a Claim

Lesson 21: Writing Body Paragraphs

Lesson 22: Flex Day

Lesson 23: Revising Body Paragraphs

Lesson 24: Writing an Introduction and Editing the Essay

� You will write your essay using both of the texts we have been reading, Phineas Gage and “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.” This is a little bit different from the previous essay you wrote because you will be using two different texts to support one claim.

� Let’s take a look at the essay prompt again.

Have students turn to the Essay Prompt in their resource books. Read it aloud.

E S S AY P R O M P T

Explain how adolescent behavior* can be similar to the behavior of someone who is suffering from pre-frontal cortex damage.

Use details from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” and Phineas Gage to support your claim.

* The term “adolescent behavior” refers to actions or abilities that teens might do or have.

� Your essay will be a response to this prompt and will have all of the elements we just discussed. You will have the sample essay and the list of elements as a guide. You have already written a lot about Phineas and the adolescent brain, so now you need to make a claim and select which evidence to use.


AC T I V I T Y 2

1. Make a list of the teenage behaviors that you found in your reading from the Lesson 19 Solo. Refer to your Solo highlights.

2. Turn and talk with a partner to share one example of adolescent behavior, including the behaviors/actions or abilities that show teenagers’ brains are still developing.

Give students three minutes to complete Activity 2, and then lead a discussion about the teenage behaviors that students listed.

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� What are some teenage behaviors—ways that teenagers might act or things that they might do, according to the article—that show the adolescent brain is still not fully developed?

Call on students to share examples of adolescent behaviors. As students share examples, make a list on the board or chart paper. You should separate the types of behaviors from the examples of behaviors so students can see the difference. However, there is no need for students to differentiate between types of behaviors and examples of behaviors when they share. Make sure that you circle or highlight the list of behaviors so students focus on those instead of the examples of the behaviors, since they will focus on one behavior for their claim.

Possible student answers might include:

Teenage Behaviors

Not being able to think ahead

Not realizing consequences*

Not being able to balance risks and rewards*

Not controlling impulses*

Making bad decisions*

Seeking rewarding experiences

Examples of Teenage Behaviors

Drinking

Driving fast

Having sex

Throwing a punch at someone who insulted your girlfriend

Going joyriding with friends

* Make sure to discuss these behaviors so that students are ready to compare teenage behaviors to Phineas’ behaviors during the Work Session.

� Nice job! Now we’re going to look at a list of ways Phineas Gage was different following his accident. You will compare the two.

Keep in mind that students will have time to revisit the Phineas Gage text and look at it more closely for evidence in later lessons.

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Work Session—Making a Claim and Selecting Evidence (24 min)In this work session, there are multiple activities that students will work on at their own pace. Students do not need to wait for teacher instructions to begin a new activity.

Have students turn to How Phineas is Different, Activities 3–4, and the Selecting Evidence worksheet in their resource books. Briefly go over the instructions for each activity and the worksheet, letting students know that they have 22 minutes to complete the activities.

Display How Phineas is Different that lists ways Phineas was different after the accident. If necessary, point out that this list probably closely resembles the T-Chart they created in Lesson 5.

How Phineas is Different

1. He does foolish things:

“He insults old workmates and friends.” (20)

2. He has poor judgment:

“Soon after the accident, Phineas angrily refuses to accept $1,000 for the pocketful of pebbles he has collected.” (19)

3. He is unable to control his impulses:

“He spouts vulgar language in the presence of women.”(20)

4. He demonstrates risky behavior:

“The new Phineas is unreliable” (20)

5. He is unstable/impulsive:

“He changes his mind and his orders from minute to minute.” (20)

AC T I V I T Y 3

1. Using the list of teenage behaviors that we just came up with and How Phineas is Different, make a list of 2–3 behaviors that both adolescents and Phineas have in common.

2. Choose one behavior that you will write about for your essay and write it below.

Check in with students who might struggle with choosing a behavior. If a student cannot identify a behavior that is similar, look at the evidence that the student has chosen and help direct the student’s attention to the similarities in the evidence. You might even need to explicitly explain to a student how the evidence is showing the same behavior and then choose a behavior for the student.

For students who can identify similarities in both texts but cannot articulate the specific behavior, you can ask students guiding questions such as:

• When adolescents drive too fast and Phineas refuses to give Dr. Harlow the pebbles, what kind of behavior is that?

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• When teenagers have unprotected sex and don’t think about the possible outcomes and Phineas cannot make decisions about his job anymore, what behaviors are they showing?

AC T I V I T Y 4

Make a claim for your essay using this sentence starter:

The behavior of a patient suffering from pre-frontal cortex damage, such as Phineas Gage, is similar to the behavior of an adolescent because ____________________.


…they both demonstrate risky behavior.

…they both act without thinking of the consequences.

…they both make poor decisions.

Students who finish Activity 4 should complete the Selecting Evidence worksheet in their resource books.

Give students 22 minutes to complete the activities and worksheet. Circulate around the room using OTSCs to reinforce skills. If you have Hummingbird, use it to record your interactions with students during OTSCs.

� I see that your claim is proving that both Phineas and adolescents exhibit the behavior of making bad decisions. You chose this quote from Phineas Gage showing Phineas rejecting Dr. Harlow’s offer of $1,000 in exchange for his pebbles to show that Phineas makes bad decisions and to support your claim. Nice job!

� I like this quote, “They’re so driven to seek pleasure that they may not pay attention to the associated risks” (86) to show how teenagers don’t always think about consequences. This textual evidence supports your claim nicely.

� Remember, if you are using two pieces of evidence, they need to be different quotes. Here, you have just separated the quote, “Phineas went from being ‘the most efficient and capable foreman’ on the railroad to a man who couldn’t be trusted because he couldn’t get along with anyone” (59). This shows one idea, so you should keep it together, and choose another quote that also supports this idea.

� Right here you have chosen the quote “there’s a rapid increase in dopamine activity in early adolescence” (86). Does this quote show an adolescent behavior? (No.) It’s true that the dopamine activity in teenagers can cause certain behaviors, but you need too add more to this piece of evidence to show what the behavior is. I will be back in a minute to see what evidence you find that shows the behavior you have stated in your claim.

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� I was really impressed with how many of you made your claim using the list of behaviors. Well done!

� Nice job finding textual evidence of similar behaviors in both texts to support your claim today. If you didn’t finish charting this textual evidence, you can finish up in your Solo.

Remind students to complete the Solo for the next lesson, provided under Lesson 20 in their resource books.


After Class Check the worksheets of any students who you may have missed during OTSCs to take note of who will need extra support in the next lesson.

Make sure the following items are on the wall for the remainder of this unit:

• Elements of a Response to Text Essay

• Calendar Outline of Essay Lessons

• Essay Prompt

Solo

Find 1–2 more pieces of evidence to add to each column of your Selecting Evidence worksheet.

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Name:__________________________________________________

Date:_________________________

Selecting Evidence

Instructions

1. Review How Phineas is Different and your highlights of “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” that you completed for your Solo.

2. Choose 1–2 pieces of evidence from each text that support the behavior and the claim that you just created. Make sure that the evidence you choose accurately shows the behavior that you talk about in your claim.

3. Write the behavior at the top of the T-Chart below.

4. Copy the evidence you chose onto the T-Chart in the appropriate column. Make sure to properly format and cite your quotes.

Behavior:______________________________

Evidence from“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”

Evidence from Phineas Gage

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Writing Body ParagraphsLesson Overview for TeachersIn this lesson, students write the body paragraphs of their essay, describing and explaining the evidence they selected to support their claims. First, students review the sample essay body paragraphs to identify where the writer describes and explains evidence in the essay. Then, in the Work Session, students write the body paragraphs of their essay, paying attention to describing and explaining their textual evidence to support their claim.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersWriting Objective: The students will write the body paragraphs of their essay, describing and explaining their textual evidence to show how it supports their claim.

Target SkillsDeveloping:

• Identifying evidence from multiple sources

• Synthesizing evidence from multiple sources

• Using evidence—describing what they notice in a text

• Using evidence—explain significance of evidence and how it supports a claim

Teacher Prep1. If time permits before class, check students’ Selecting Evidence

worksheets and claims to make sure they are on the right track.

2. Prepare to display the Sample Essay Body Paragraphs.

3. Provide your students with highlighters.

LESSON

21

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Professional DevelopmentThe body paragraphs of an essay are where students describe and explain their evidence. Describing and explaining evidence can be one of the most challenging parts of the writing process for students. Students are typically successful in selecting relevant evidence, but often struggle to describe evidence or explain in detail how it supports their claim. When students elaborate on their evidence in their body paragraphs, they can make it clear to the reader how the evidence relates to their claim. Teachers shouldn’t expect students to be experts at explaining textual evidence when writing their body paragraphs, especially when working with non-fiction text; it can be quite challenging for students at this level. However, students will continue to practice and develop this skill during this lesson, the flex day, and the revision assignment.

Independent Work (5 min)Distribute highlighters to the students.

As students arrive, direct them to get started on Activity 1 in their resource books.

AC T I V I T Y 1

Turn to the Sample Response to Text Essay under Lesson 19 in your resource book and reread the body paragraphs. Highlight the sentences that describe and explain the textual evidence the writer includes to support the claim.


“The part of her brain damaged by the stroke is the parietal lobes. That is the part responsible for seeing whole images.”

“The doctor explains that people who have damage in the parietal lobes will

have problems seeing the world the way most people see it. They see only half of things, not the whole. If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side.”

“In this quote, Sacks shows how Mrs. S. also ignores the left side of things.”

“Her ‘hemi-inattention’ causes her to ignore the left side of her visual field,

but she knows this and has learned ways to cope with it.”

Give students only five minutes to work, even though many students will not be able to complete the activity.

Targeted Instruction—Describing and Explaining Evidence (8 min)Have students turn to Activity 2 in their resource books. Read it aloud.

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AC T I V I T Y 2

Turn and talk with a partner to share the sentences you just highlighted that describe and explain the textual evidence.

Give students three minutes to talk with a partner and share their highlights. Then review these highlights with the whole class.

Write the claim on the board so students have it as a reference when they share how the sentences connect back to it:

In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!

Display the Sample Essay Body Paragraphs.

S A M P L E E S S AY B O DY PA R AG R A P H S

In the video, we see Peggy showing how her brain ignores the left side of things. She is asked to draw a daisy, and she draws one with the entire left side of the flower missing. She is not even aware of the fact that she’s drawn only the right half of a flower until someone tells her. Peter Halligan, a doctor in the video, states, “The radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well” (Secrets of the Mind). The part of her brain damaged by the stroke is the parietal lobes. That is the part responsible for seeing whole images. Another doctor says, “The parietal lobes are concerned mainly with creating a three-dimensional representation of the special layout of the world…When the right brain is damaged, the person is unable to deal with the left side of the world” (Secrets of the Mind). The doctor explains that people who have damage in the parietal lobes will have problems seeing the world the way most people see it. They see only half of things, not the whole. If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side.


Ask students to raise their hands to share the sentences they highlighted and to explain how these sentences either describe or explain the textual evidence. Some helpful guiding questions are:

• How does this sentence describe what the writer noticed?

• How does this sentence help explain the quote to the reader?

• How does this sentence connect back to the claim?

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Ask 2–3 students to share several highlights each. Highlight students’ correct responses on the displayed body paragraphs. Keep calling on students until all sentences that describe and explain the evidence are shared.

Have students turn to the Elements of a Response to Text Essay under Lesson 20 in their resource books. Read aloud the section on body paragraphs.



• A lead










• A final thought

Remind students to refer to this list when writing their body paragraphs.

� Now that you have looked more closely at the sample body paragraphs and reviewed the Elements of a Response to Text Essay, you will use the rest of class as a work session to write your own body paragraphs about each text you’re working with. As you write each paragraph, you will describe and explain the textual evidence you selected to show the behavior you want to prove in your claim.

Work Session (30 min)Provide a writing warm-up.

� Raise your hand if you are writing about Phineas first.

� Raise your hand if you are writing about adolescents first.

Have students turn to the Writing Prompt—Body Paragraphs in their resource books. Read it aloud. Tell students that they will write about just one of the texts in each body paragraph.

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W R I T I N G P R O M P T — B O DY PA R AG R A P H S

Write two body paragraphs for your essay:

• For the first body paragraph, write about just one of the two texts. Use 1–2 pieces of evidence from that text to support your claim.

• For the second body paragraph, write about the other text. Use 1–2 pieces of evidence from that text to support your claim.

Remember:

• Describe and explain your evidence to show how it supports your claim.

• Use the evidence you collected in your chart in Lesson 20. If needed, go back to the texts to get more textual evidence to help support your claim.

Bonus: if you have done your best and you have extra time, you can complete this bonus activity.

If you used only one piece of evidence in one or both body paragraphs, add a second piece of evidence and write 1–2 sentences explaining how it supports your claim.

If you used two pieces of evidence in one or both body paragraphs, write 2–3 more sentences describing and explaining that evidence.

Give students 28 minutes to write while you circulate around the room doing OTSCs. If you have Hummingbird, use it to record your interactions with students during OTSCs.

� I see that you have described the quote, “He changes his mind and his orders from minute to minute” (20) to show Phineas was acting quickly and irrationally without thinking through the potential outcomes of his decisions. Nice work.

� I like that you have explained the quote, “To teenagers, driving fast, having unprotected sex, and drinking alcohol feel so good that thoughts about a speeding ticket (or worse), an unwanted pregnancy, or being grounded for coming home smelling of beer may not even make it onto their radar screen” (86–87). You explain that actions like these support the idea that teenagers don’t think about consequences because they show teenagers doing things without thinking about the risks they are taking and what could happen as a result.

� Remember, you need to explain how the quote “Because things feel especially pleasurable during early adolescence, young adolescents go out of their way to seek rewarding experiences” (86) supports your claim that teenagers act without considering consequences in order to convince your reader that you’re right. The quote is strong textual evidence, but you need to explain it in order to connect it to your claim.

� Right here you have included the quote, “He spouts vulgar language in the presence of women” (20), but you haven’t explained how it supports the claim that adolescents and people with prefrontal cortex injuries both exhibit foolish behavior. I’ll check back in a minute to see how you explain the way this quote

Push students who are writing at or above grade level to use two pieces of evidence and accompany them with an effective explanation. Students who are struggling might only include one piece of evidence with an effective explanation.

If students finish writing about one text, they can move on to writing about the second text and their second body paragraph. Make sure that students don’t move on until they have fully developed their first paragraph.

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supports the claim.


� Great job writing your body paragraphs and describing and explaining your textual evidence. This helps me see how your evidence proves your claim and how it will convince your reader of your claim. These essays are going to be great!

� Don’t worry if you didn’t finish writing your body paragraphs yet. You will have time to finish in class tomorrow.

� Let’s see how you feel now that you’ve written the body paragraphs of your essay.

Have students turn to Activity 3 in their resource books and complete it silently.

AC T I V I T Y 3

Circle the statement that best reflects your experience in today’s class.

a. I wrote two body paragraphs where I described and explained how my evidence supports my claim.

b. I wrote one body paragraph where I described and explained how my evidence supports my claim.

c. I wrote two body paragraphs, but I don’t think I described or explained how my evidence supports my claim.

d. I wrote one body paragraph, but I don’t think I described or explained how my evidence supports my claim.

Create connections among students by quickly doing a closing poll:

� Raise your hand if you wrote one body paragraph.

� Raise your hand if you wrote two body paragraphs.

� Raise your hand if you explained how your evidence supports your claim.

� Raise your hand if you think you need more practice and time to describe and explain your evidence.

Discuss the results of the class poll.

� I see that many of you still think you need more practice with describing and explaining evidence. That’s okay because this is a really difficult skill to master.

� If you need help with your body paragraphs, be sure to see me for extra help.


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After ClassThe next lesson will act as a “flex day” for students. Students who have not finished their body paragraphs will continue working on them. Students who have finished their body paragraphs may revise them or write their introductory paragraph.

Over the next two days, read over students’ drafts, bracket a place for a revision assignment, and make note of students who will need personal attention, especially during the flex day. If you have students who don’t work well in an unstructured lesson or who struggle to make decisions when there are several options, have some ideas ready for them to help get them focused so they can use the work session successfully. You will have time to meet with all students over the next two lesson days. In Lesson 23, the students will complete both a teacher-directed and student-directed revision assignment.

To prepare for the teacher-directed RA students will complete for their essays in Lesson 23, you will need to continue reading each student’s body paragraphs in order to identify and mark a place where he or she could present additional textual evidence or explain and describe the evidence further.

In order to give each student the benefit of a careful reading, and to pace your own work, we recommend doing the first half of the marking after this lesson and the second half after the next lesson.

All essays should have a passage marked before Lesson 23.

Students will do the following revision assignments in Lesson 23:

Teacher-Directed:

R E V I S I O N A S S I G N M E N T — U S I N G E V I D E N C E

1. Look at the marked passage. This is a place where you could present additional evidence to support your claim or describe your evidence further.

2. Reread this moment from the text. Highlight any additional details that provide evidence for your claim.

3. Write 4–5 sentences that present additional evidence to support your claim or describe your evidence further.

4. When you are done, compare what you wrote “before” and “after” your revision.

RAs are an excellent opportunity for differentiated instruction. If the recommended RA is not on target for one or more students, provide a more appropriate RA in a comment next to the student’s prompt response.

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Mark the version you think supports your claim most effectively.

Student-Directed:


1. Reread your writing and find a place where you could present additional evidence or describe your evidence further to support your claim.



4. When you are done, compare what you wrote “before” and “after” your revision. Mark the version you think supports your claim most effectively.

Solo

Reread the body paragraphs of your essay.

If you used only one piece of evidence in one or both body paragraphs, add a second piece of evidence and write 1–2 sentences explaining how it supports your claim.

If you used two pieces of evidence in one or both body paragraphs, write 2–3 more sentences describing and explaining that evidence.

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Flex DayLesson Overview for Teachers

This lesson is designed to give teachers the opportunity to differentiate activities and support as students develop their essays. In this lesson, students have a flexible work session day in which they can continue working on the body paragraphs of their Response to Text Essay, begin revising their body paragraphs, or start drafting an introductory paragraph for their essay. Teachers can also allow specific students to share their writing with a classmate or small group to receive feedback. Throughout this work session, teachers will circulate to provide OTSCs to students who are struggling with a particular component of the essay-writing process or are ready to move on to the next step.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersWriting Objective: The students will continue to work on their Response to Text Essays with teacher support based on students’ individual needs.

Teacher PrepBe sure you have bracketed a place for the revision in all students’ Responses to Text Essays.

Professional DevelopmentThe goal of the flex day is to allow the teacher to decide how specific students can best use this time on their essays. Students who are behind in their writing can use the time to further develop their body paragraphs; more advanced students can begin to revise their body paragraphs or start their introductions. The teacher moves around the classroom to review student work, to bracket passages for the RA, and to differentiate OTSCs to support students wherever they are in the essay-writing process. If there are certain students who don’t work well in an unstructured class setting, be sure to conference with them in the beginning of the work session to guide them as to how to use their time most effectively.

LESSON

22

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Independent Work (5 min)As students arrive, direct them to get started on Activity 1 in their resource books.

AC T I V I T Y 1

Answer the following questions to check in with yourself:

Body Paragraph—Phineas Gage

1. Have you written a body paragraph about Phineas Gage? Yes / No

2. How many pieces of textual evidence did you include? ____________

3. Did you describe and explain your evidence? Yes / No

4. Did you reread what you wrote? Yes / No

5. Do you need teacher support today in order to finish this body paragraph? Yes / No

Body Paragraph—“Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”

1. Have you written a body paragraph about “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain”? Yes / No

2. How many pieces of textual evidence did you include? _____________

3. Did you describe and explain your evidence? Yes / No

4. Did you reread what you wrote? Yes / No

5. Do you need teacher support today in order to finish this body paragraph? Yes / No

If you answered “Yes” to either question 5, please raise your hand and wait for your teacher to check in with you before you proceed.

Briefly check in with students who raise their hands to determine whether they need a teacher conference. Compile a list of names and confer with those students during class.

Targeted Instruction—Introducing the Work Session (5 min)Review the options that students have for this work session.

� In the last lesson, you worked on developing the body paragraphs for your essay by describing and explaining evidence to support your claim. Many of you may not have completed those paragraphs and that’s okay.

� If you haven’t finished developing your body paragraphs, then that is what you should work on today. I will be here to help you if you need it.

� If you have already completed your paragraphs, you will be able to work on something else today.

Display the Work Session Options and have students turn to them in their resource books. Read them aloud.

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WO R K S E S S I O N O P T I O N S

1. Continue writing body paragraph 1.

2. Continue writing body paragraph 2.

3. Begin revising body paragraph 1.

4. Begin revising body paragraph 2.

5. Begin drafting your introductory paragraph.

If you select option 5, please raise your hand to check in with your teacher before you start.

Have students circle what they will be working on today on the Work Session Options.

Briefly check in with students who have selected option 5 to make sure that they have completed tasks 1–4.

Have students turn to the Elements of a Response to Text Essay under Lesson 20 in their resource books.



• A lead










• A final thought

� While you are working, I will be circulating around the room to give you support with your essay, whatever section you may be working on.

If students have successfully written their body paragraphs, you can encourage them to start the revision process and add more evidence or further develop their evidence. If they have successfully revised, students may start to write their introductions, share their work with a partner, or do independent reading.

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Work Session (33 min)Have students turn to Activity 2 in their resource books. Read it aloud.

AC T I V I T Y 2

Find the option below that corresponds to the option you have circled. This is what you will be working on for the Work Session. When you complete the option, raise your hand so that your teacher can select your next step.

Option 1: Writing Prompt—Body Paragraph 1

Write a body paragraph in which you use two pieces of evidence from one text to support your claim. Remember to describe and explain your evidence and how it supports your claim.

Option 2: Writing Prompt—Body Paragraph 2

Write a body paragraph in which you use two pieces of evidence from one text to support your claim. Remember to describe and explain your evidence and how it supports your claim.

Options 3 and 4: Revising Body Paragraphs

If you have already written both of your body paragraphs, there are three revision suggestions below to help you revise your work.

Option 5: Writing an Introductory Paragraph

1. Reread your body paragraphs, including the revisions you have made.

2. Write your introductory paragraph and include all of the elements:

• A lead

• The texts you are using and their authors’ names

• A sentence or two of key background information

• Your claim

3. After you have written your introduction, reread it and put a check next to each element to indicate that you have included it.

Give students 25 minutes to complete option(s) of their choosing while you circulate around the room doing OTSCs.

Options 1 and 2Here are some tips for students completing Options 1 or 2:

• Remind all students to go back into the text to check the evidence from their Selecting Evidence worksheet under Lesson 20 for accuracy and to see if there is additional evidence to include.

• Students at grade level should be encouraged to try to describe and explain two pieces of evidence for at least one text, but ideally they should do this for both texts.

If you don’t want students to move on to writing their introductions, you can hold off on this activity and encourage them to read independently or to do something else.

You may want to ask students to sit in specific spots in the classroom according to what they are working on to make it easier for you to support students and direct them to appropriate Work Session options.

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• Struggling students should focus on one piece of evidence with effective description/explanation for each body paragraph, rather than two pieces of evidence that are not used effectively.

• Advanced students:

• Make sure they describe and explain two pieces of evidence in each body paragraph.

• If they have successfully described and explained two pieces of evidence, encourage them to use even more evidence or have them frame and cite the direct quotes they have included.

• If they have completed everything else, they can move on to writing an introductory paragraph.

The following are OTSCs for body paragraphs:

� I see that you describe this quote—“The doctor offers Phineas $1,000 for the pocketful of pebbles that Phineas has collected walking along the Black River near town. Dr. Harlow knows that Phineas can add and subtract, yet Phineas angrily refuses the deal” (19)—as a “time where Phineas doesn’t take money that is offered to him.” You describe this moment showing Phineas making a bad decision.

� I like that you used the quote, “That’s why teenagers who get straight As in algebra can also do really dumb things when out with their buddies” (87), and then you explained in your own words how smart teenagers can actually make poor decisions and exhibit risky behavior. Then you connected this to your claim.

� Remember you just want to write about one text and the evidence from that text right now. You don’t want to write about both texts at the same time.

� Right here you have included the quote, “To teenagers, driving fast, having unprotected sex, and drinking alcohol feel so good that thoughts about a speeding ticket (or worse), and unwanted pregnancy, or being grounded for coming home smelling of beer may not even make it onto their radar screen” (86–87), but you don’t explain how it supports the claim. Write 2–3 sentences explaining how that quote shows that teenagers may not think about the consequences of their actions. I’ll be back to check what you wrote in a few minutes.

� Right here you have explained this evidence really well about Phineas frequently changing his mind. You wrote three sentences showing how this proves that he makes poor decisions. However, you have only included one quote from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” to show how teenagers make poor decisions. Go back into the text to find another piece of evidence that proves this, so that this paragraph is as convincing as the one on Phineas.

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Options 3 and 4In order to effectively support students who have chosen Option 3 or 4, encourage them to work on specific things according to their abilities. See the suggestions below and instruct students to turn to the appropriate revision assignment in their resource books.

Revision Suggestion 1

R E V I S I O N A S S I G N M E N T — R E V I E W I N G , F R A M I N G Q U OT E S , A N D A D D I N G C I TAT I O N S

Review your body paragraphs, frame your direct quotes, and add citations using the Guidelines for Citing and Punctuating Direct Quotes From a Book or an Article.

Revision Suggestion 2: Teacher-Directed RA






Revision Suggestion 3: Student-Directed RA






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Option 5If you have any students who are ready to write the introduction, refer them to the instructions in Activity 2. Make sure you have checked in with these students.

Please refer to Lesson 24 for samples of OTSCs on introductory paragraphs.

Sharing If there are students who will benefit from sharing their writing with a partner, you can assign them Activity 3.

AC T I V I T Y 3

Share Your Writing

Take a few minutes to share your work with a partner or a small group. Follow these steps:

1. Read your work to yourself and make any quick changes you think it needs.

2. Read your writing aloud to a partner or a person in your small group so they can comment on specific details.

If you are listening, here are some reminders for how to respond to the person sharing:

• When you used the evidence about _______, it convinced me that _________.

• I like when you used the word________________ because________________.

• When you used the information about _____, it helped me understand _____.

3. Take notes on the feedback you receive from your classmates.

4. Use the feedback you receive to make revisions to your writing.

Make sure each person in the group has the chance to share his or her work.

Closing (5 min)Have students turn to Activity 4 in their resource books. Read it aloud.

AC T I V I T Y 4

Put a check mark next to every task that you did today.

____ I completed a fully developed body paragraph with textual evidence on Phineas Gage.

____ I completed a fully developed body paragraph with textual evidence on “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.”

____ I reread what I wrote.

____ I revised a part of my body paragraphs.

____ I drafted my introduction.

____ I got feedback from a partner or group.

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Create connections among students by doing a closing poll.

� Raise your hand if you have two body paragraphs finished now.

� Raise your hand if you shared your writing and got feedback from a classmate.

� Raise your hand if you moved on to revising or writing your introduction.

Give students positive feedback about something specific that occurred in class. For example, point out a way students met a particular expectation for classroom routines and/or praise something related to their skill development.

� I was really impressed with how everyone was so focused and worked so independently today. This shows what you are capable of when you have a task to complete.

� You are making so much progress in your essays, and I’m really looking forward to reading the finished versions!



After ClassTo prepare for the revision assignment (RA) in the next lesson, you will need to continue reading each student’s body paragraphs in order to identify and mark a place where he or she could present additional textual evidence or explain and describe the evidence further.

If you began marking students’ paragraphs after the previous lesson, finish marking them before the next lesson.

All student essays should have a passage marked before the next lesson.

In the next lesson, students will do the following revision assignments:

Teacher-Directed:






RAs are an excellent opportunity for differentiated instruction. If the recommended RA is not on target for one or more students, provide a more appropriate RA in a comment next to the student’s prompt response.

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Student-Directed:






Solo

1. Reread your body paragraphs.

2. Star one or two places in your essay where you used direct quotes or restated the text.

3. Underline where you have described or explained your evidence.

4. Bracket the portions you would like to revise by adding or explaining evidence.

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Guidelines for Citing and Punctuating Direct Quotes From a Book or an Article

1. Use quotation marks to show where the quote begins and ends.

2. Add the page number in parentheses after the closing quotation mark.

3. If your entire piece of writing includes quotes from more than one source, include the author’s last name before the page number.

4. Use a comma or colon between a speaker tag and your direct quote.

5. If the quote ends with a period and is part of a longer sentence, do not include the period inside the quotation marks. The period should go at the end of the whole sentence.

6. If the quote ends with a period and is not part of a longer sentence, include the period inside the quotation marks.

7. If the quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, include it inside the quotation marks.

8. If your sentence ends with the quote, add the end punctuation of your sentence after the parentheses.

9. If the quote includes dialogue or another quote, use single quotation marks around the dialogue or quote.

Examples:

Using quotation marks with normal text The author shows this when he says: “The two doctors confer, but Dr. Harlow takes the case” (8).

Citing a source with the author’s last name My claim is based off of this information: “Even surviving the loss of blood, Phineas should have died of brain swelling” (Fleischman 9).

Speaker Tag The author shows this when he says: This character shows his changed personality when he states,

Direct quotes that are part of a longer sentence (framed) When discussing the beliefs of the Phrenologists, Fleischman says, “The Phrenologists reason that if you have a strong organ, it will be big and project from your skull as a bump” (21).

Direct quotes that are not part of a longer sentence (unframed) “The Phrenologists reason that if you have a strong organ, it will be big and project from your skull as a bump.” (Fleischman 21)

Citing a quote that ends with a question mark or exclamation point The author shows this when he asks: “Does he hear his name called? Does he spot someone goofing off?” (Fleischman 5).

Using quotation marks with dialogue Dr. Harlow explains how Phineas has changed when he says, “‘A child in his intellectual capabilities, he has the animal passions of a strong man’” (Fleischman 22).

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Revising Body ParagraphsLesson Overview for Teachers

In this lesson, students revise their body paragraphs to further explain their evidence. The teacher quickly reviews how to explain evidence, then students complete both a teacher-directed and student-directed revision assignment. Once students have finished, they reread their essay for flow and sequence and make any additional revisions.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersWriting Objective: The students will complete RAs on explaining evidence (both teacher- and student-directed), then reread their essays and decide on the sequence of the body paragraphs.

Target SkillsIntroducing: Sequencing

Practicing: RA on explaining evidence

Teacher Prep1. Prepare to display the Sample Essay Body Paragraphs.

2. Provide your students with highlighters.

Professional DevelopmentIn this lesson, students will examine how evidence is described and explained in the sample essay before revising and sequencing their own essay.

Students need to be able to practice describing and explaining evidence to develop their writing because this is a more sophisticated writing skill than merely selecting evidence. In this lesson, students revise in both a teacher-selected passage and a student-selected passage. Since this is the first time students will self-select a place for a revision assignment, be prepared to support students who struggle with this independence. They will be given more explicit instruction on this in the next unit, but for now this gives students an opportunity to try selecting a place in their writing independently.

At the end of the work session, students are asked to choose how to sequence their body paragraphs. The sequence of the body paragraphs affects the general flow and effect of the essay, so students need to know that authors make very specific choices regarding when to present information and in what order.

LESSON

23

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Independent Work (5 min)Hand out highlighters to the students.

As students arrive, have them complete Activity 1 in their resource books.

AC T I V I T Y 1

1. Reread the “Body paragraphs” section of the Elements of a Response to Text Essay under Lesson 20 in your resource book.

2. Reread the Sample Response to Text Essay under Lesson 19 in your resource book. Highlight areas where the writer explains how a piece of evidence supports the claim. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class.

Targeted Instruction—Reviewing Explaining Evidence (7 min)

� Who can remind us why we explain textual evidence? (It connects the evidence to the claim. It shows the significance of the evidence to the claim. It’s the link or bridge from the evidence to the claim.)

� Yes. Explanations don’t have to be long and complicated. You simply need to explain enough so that your reader understands why you are using this evidence and how it supports the claim.

� Let’s take a look at the Sample Response to Text Essay to see how this writer explained his or her evidence.

Display the Sample Essay Body Paragraphs and have students turn to the sample essay under Lesson 19. Read the body paragraphs aloud.

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S A M P L E E S S AY B O DY PA R AG R A P H S

In the video, we see Peggy showing how her brain ignores the left side of things. She is asked to draw a daisy, and she draws one with the entire left side of the flower missing. She is not even aware of the fact that she’s drawn only the right half of a flower until someone tells her. Peter Halligan, a doctor in the video, states, “The radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well” (Secrets of the Mind). The part of her brain damaged by the stroke is the parietal lobes. That is the part responsible for seeing whole images. Another doctor says, “The parietal lobes are concerned mainly with creating a three-dimensional representation of the special layout of the world…When the right brain is damaged, the person is unable to deal with the left side of the world” (Secrets of the Mind). The doctor explains that people who have damage in the parietal lobes will have problems seeing the world the way most people see it. They see only half of things, not the whole. If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side.


Ask a few students to identify a piece of evidence the writer used and how the writer explained it. Highlight students’ correct answers on the display. Briefly discuss why it was successful in explaining how it supports the claim, as in the following:

� Who can point out a good example of evidence being explained and described? (In the quote in the second body paragraph, the first doctor is talking about the radar system. The writer describes that by saying what the doctor means.)

� Yes. And how do we see the writer then explaining the evidence by connecting it to the claim? (The writer explains how it is connected to the claim when he or she says it causes Peggy to draw a daisy “with the entire left side of the flower missing.”)

� Yes. Does everyone see that? The evidence is “Peter Halligan, a doctor in the video, states, ‘the radar system on the left-hand side is no longer working well’ (Secrets of the Mind).” The description of the evidence follows: “The part of her brain damaged by the stroke is the parietal lobes. That is the part responsible for seeing whole images.” And the bridge to the claim is, “If the right lobe is harmed, then a person will have problems seeing the left side.” Nice work.

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� Now that we’ve reviewed explaining evidence, you are going to revise the body paragraphs of your essay by further developing a piece of evidence that I have marked for you. After that, you will work independently to select a passage and revise it.

Work Session (25 min)Provide a writing warm-up.

� Raise your hand if you think describing what you notice and explaining your evidence will help make your writing clearer and more convincing.

� Raise your hand if you feel confident about describing and explaining the textual evidence in your essay.

� Raise your hand if you are a bit unsure about how to describe or explain your evidence, but are willing to take an academic risk and give it your best shot.

Have students turn to the two revision assignments in their resource books. Read them aloud. Tell students they will do both revision assignments. Remind students to use all of their writing skills so that they write carefully, not carelessly.

Teacher-Directed:






Student-Directed:






Give students additional support for the student-directed RA. This is the first time students are selecting their own place to revise and some students, especially struggling students, may need you to choose a place for them to revise during an OTSC.

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Remind students that they are working with two texts and that they will need to introduce or mention the title and author in each body paragraph.

Give students 15 minutes to complete the revision assignments. Circulate around the room using OTSCs to reinforce skills. While you circulate, make a note of the RAs that you see being completed successfully.

� I like how you’ve chosen to further explain your evide nce here. You’ve given the reader more detail about what it means when Fleischman says that Phineas loses his ability to “‘read’ the social behavior of his men” (63) and you’ve used this explanation to show how he is like an adolescent because of his poor judgment. I hadn’t thought of using the evidence that way.

� I see that you selected an area of your essay with a quote from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” to explain Steinberg’s mention of hot cognition. This supports your claim that both Phineas and adolescents are similar in making bad decisions. This description helps develop your evidence and makes it much more convincing.

� Remember that the skill you are working on in this revision assignment is explaining evidence, so you can’t just quote Steinberg’s discussion on hot cognition without explaining the meaning and how that supports your claim.

� This quote describes Phineas’ behavior as insulting and vulgar. Why do you want the reader to notice this quote? Was it the fact that he’s acting like a child? Was it that he has turned into a terrible man after the accident? Was it that the author wanted us to see that he didn’t change physically, but that he changed mentally? Add a few sentences that describe what you noticed in your evidence so that your reader can pay attention to that part also. I’ll be back in a minute to see what you’ve written.

After 15 minutes, tell students to finish up the sentence they’re working on. If they have not finished their RAs, they can finish them for their Solo.

Briefly discuss the sequence and flow of an essay.

� Now that you have revised your body paragraphs, you need to decide the order or sequence of your paragraphs—in other words, which body paragraph you would like to present first.

� There are different choices a writer makes when deciding which idea to present when. A writer might want to present his or her strongest piece of evidence first. Or the writer might want to follow a logical progression of ideas, or present ideas in chronological order, if that applies to the piece of writing.

� Whatever you decide, there should be a reason why you place the paragraphs in the order you’ve chosen.


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AC T I V I T Y 4

1. Read over your revised paragraphs for flow and sequence. Decide which body paragraph you would like to present first—the one about Phineas Gage or the one about “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.”

2. Number the paragraphs in the order you would like them to appear.

3. Reread your body paragraphs and make any additional revisions.

Even if students have not finished with their revision assignments, they can still choose the order of their body paragraphs at this time.

Give students five minutes to work while you circulate around the room doing OTSCs.

� I like how you’ve chosen to begin with your body paragraph about the adolescent brain and inappropriate behavior, so that the next paragraph begins with this direct quote about Phineas being inappropriate. This flows logically.

� I see you’ve decided to change the order of your paragraphs and place your paragraph about Phineas Gage and his poor decision-making first because you thought it was more interesting for the reader. Good idea.

� I’m not sure why you chose the sequence that you did. Can you explain it to me? (I thought that because we read Phineas first, I’d put that paragraph first.) I can understand that you might want to present information chronologically, but it should be in terms of ideas, not the order in which we read the texts. Look at your paragraphs again and decide how your ideas would flow best.

� Why did you place this paragraph first? (I don’t really know. I can’t see the difference between putting this one first or the other one.) Remember that the choices you make as a writer are intentional. Look at the ideas you present in your paragraphs and ask yourself if the information in one might flow better into the other. I’ll return to check on your progress.

Sharing (5 min)Ask a few students to share their original passage and their revisions from either the teacher-directed student-directed RA. Ask listeners to use the response starters to comment on the writer’s use of evidence.

� Let’s hear some of your revisions.


� I was impressed with the way you all concentrated on describing

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and explaining your evidence to make your claims more convincing. When you create these connections between the evidence and the claim, your writing will be much clearer.

� You all worked hard today on your first student-directed revision assignment. Great work! Whenever you are writing, you can make decisions about adding something to describe or explain your ideas to make them clearer and more convincing.

� Tomorrow you will write an introduction and then edit and polish up your essay to prepare it for submission. I’m excited to read your final writing pieces.



After ClassNote the RAs that you were not able to see during OTSCs. Focus on the part of the RA where the student has described and explained his or her evidence. Make note of students who have not finished their revisions; it’s okay if you don’t have time to comment on these.

Solo

1. If you did not complete both of your RAs during class, finish them now.

2. Review your body paragraphs and make sure all your direct quotes are framed and cited correctly. Use the Guidelines for Citing and Punctuating Direct Quotes From a Book or an Article as a resource.

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Writing an Introductory Paragraph and Editing the EssayLesson Overview for TeachersIn this lesson, the students write the introduction to their essay and then begin editing their full essay. Students first identify all of the elements of an introduction in the sample essay and then the class reviews them. After this, students have a work session to write their introductions and to edit their essays. Whatever editing they can’t get to, they will do for homework.

Lesson Objectives for TeachersReading Objective: The students will use the sample essay to identify the elements of an introductory paragraph.

Writing Objective: The students will write an introduction to their essay. Then the students will begin editing their final essay.

Target SkillsPracticing: Writing an introduction

Teacher PrepPrepare to display the Sample Essay Introduction.

Professional DevelopmentStudents will have a better sense of how to put together their own introductory paragraphs after identifying and reviewing some of the elements included in the introduction from the Unit C Sample Response to Text Essay. Introductions can be one of the trickiest parts of writing an essay for students, and engaging the reader from the first sentence is a very important element of the introductory paragraph. For this reason, students will be reminded to experiment with writing a lead. However, all parts of the introduction are critical in setting up the context of the essay.

Independent Work (5 min)As students arrive, have them complete Activity 1 in their resource books. Read it aloud.

LESSON

24

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AC T I V I T Y 1

1. Reread and highlight the different elements of the introduction in the Sample Response to Text Essay under Lesson 19 in your resource book.

• The lead

• The texts and authors

• Key background information

• The claim

2. Label each item in the margin.

Correct Responses:

Here’s an amazing fact that most people don’t know: two people can be looking at the exact same thing, but see something different because of the way their brain works. Most people think it’s a person’s eyes that see, but it’s actually the person’s brain doing the work. A brain injury can change what the person sees, even if the person’s eyes are not damaged and are totally normal and functioning. The video “Visual Neglect” from NOVA’s Secrets of the Mind shows a stroke patient, Peggy, who can only see what her damaged brain lets her see. Because of her stroke she can only see the left sides of things. Just like Peggy, Mrs. S. from Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat also ignores the left side of things when she looks at them. In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!

Targeted Instruction—Writing an Introduction to the Response to Text Essay (10 min)Have students turn to the Elements of an Introduction—Response to Text Essay in their resource books. Read it aloud.

E L E M E N T S O F A N I N T R O D U C T I O N — R E S P O N S E TO T E X T E S S AY

• An engaging lead to grab the reader’s attention and to give the reader a sense of what your essay is about

• The name of the text(s) and its author(s)

• Key background or context to help the reader understand the topic of your essay and the texts you are using

• Your claim or argument

Have students turn to Activity 2 in their resource books. Ask students to turn to a partner and share their answers from Activity 1.

Lead

Claim

Key background info

Key background info

Key back-ground info

Text and author

Text and author

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AC T I V I T Y 2

1. Share what you identified as the lead in the sample introduction in Activity 1.

2. Discuss the following questions:

• Does the lead meet the first criteria in the Elements of an Introduction—Response to Text Essay?

• Does it grab your attention and give you a sense of what the essay is about? Explain your answers.

Give students two minutes to complete Activity 2. Review what students highlighted during the Independent Work.

� We’re going to review the introduction elements, one element at a time, using the sample essay introduction that you highlighted.

� We’ll begin with the first element, the lead. Who can share what they identified as the lead? (“Here’s an amazing fact that most people don’t know: two people can be looking at the exact same thing, but see something different because of the way their brain works. ”)

� Does this meet the criteria of a lead, according to the elements? (Yes, it immediately tells the reader that the essay will be about how brain structure controls how we see the world.)

� Great. And does it grab the reader’s attention? (Yes, because it makes you wonder how even though your vision is fine, the brain can control it to make you see in different ways.)

Accept all student responses.

Display the Lead From Phineas Gage and read it aloud.

L E A D F R O M P H I N E A S G AG E

“The most unlucky/lucky moment in the life of Phineas Gage is only a minute or two away.” (Fleischman 1)

� Here’s another example of a lead, the lead to Phineas Gage. Does this grab the reader’s attention?

Accept 1–2 student responses. If students say it does, ask them how it grabs the reader’s attention. Some students will say it is suspenseful and that it makes the reader want to read on to find out what happens.

� There are many ways to write your lead to your essay. I hope you will try a few when you are writing your introduction to find the perfect lead for your essay.

� Let’s look at the other elements of the introduction. Talk with your partner again, and share the rest of the elements you identified in the sample, and why each is important for an introduction.

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Have students turn to Activity 3 in their resource books and read it aloud. Give students two minutes to complete the activity.

AC T I V I T Y 3

1. Share the other elements of an introduction that you identified in the sample introduction.

2. Discuss: Why are each of these elements important?

Display the Sample Essay Introduction as you discuss the elements of the introduction that students identified. Highlight the different elements you discuss with the class.

S A M P L E E S S AY I N T R O D U C T I O N

Seeing Only One Side of Things

Here’s an amazing fact that most people don’t know: two people can be looking at the exact same thing, but see something different because of the way their brain works. Most people think it’s a person’s eyes that see, but it’s actually the person’s brain doing the work. A brain injury can change what the person sees, even if the person’s eyes are not damaged and are totally normal and functioning. The video “Visual Neglect” from NOVA’s Secrets of the Mind shows a stroke patient, Peggy, who can only see what her damaged brain lets her see. Because of her stroke she can only see the left sides of things. Just like Peggy, Mrs. S.from Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat also ignores the left side of things when she looks at them. In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!

� Let’s look at the second element. Does the introduction include the name of the texts and their authors? In this sample essay, one of the texts is a video. (Yes, it includes the author, Oliver Sacks, and his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The video doesn’t have an author but we know the video title.)

� Why is it important to include the titles of the sources and their authors? (They’re important because the writer needs to give credit to the author and the books.)

� Yes, we have to give credit to the authors to show where we got our information. Remember, when using multiple texts, we need to make sure both texts and their authors are introduced in this opening paragraph.

� Does the sample include key background information or some context to give a sense of what the texts are about? (Yes, it explains how the two people from the different cases experience distortion in their perception.)

Students might get confused when responding to the question of name of texts and authors in the sample introduction because one source is the video. The script below includes a response.

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� Why is that important? (It’s important to know because we need to know more about the topic of the essay and what we are going to be reading about.)

� And finally, what is the claim? (In both cases, they have problems with their brains that cause them to neglect the left side of their vision, showing that the brain controls what we see, not the eyeballs!)

� Why do we need to include this in the introduction? (Because the claim tells us what the author is proving to us in the essay.)

� Nice job! Now you will have time to write your introduction and then begin editing your whole essay. If you have time, try and experiment with more than one lead and then choose the one you like best.

� If you need a reminder as you write, refer to the Elements of an Introduction—Response to Text Essay.

� After you write your introduction, you will begin to edit your essay. Your job will be to put your introduction and your body paragraphs together so that you have a complete piece. You’ll make sure you have put all your revisions in and decided on an order. You also need to make sure you’ve cited your sources correctly. Then you need to read the whole essay and find and fix errors in grammar and punctuation so you have a polished piece.

Work Session (25 min)During this Work Session, students will work at their own pace to write their introductions with all of the elements. Once they complete Activity 4, they should move on to Activity 5.

Students who don’t finish writing their introductions or begin their editing should complete this work as their Solo.


AC T I V I T Y 4

Writing an Introductory Paragraph


2. Write your introductory paragraph and include all of the elements.

3. When you are done, move onto Activity 5.

Give students 25 minutes to complete the activity while you circulate around the room doing OTSCs. If you have Hummingbird, use it to record your interactions with students during OTSCs.

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� You’ve used the quote well in introducing your piece. This is not an easy task because you need to home in on which quote will address your claim and grab the reader’s attention at the same time. By leading with, “The doctor offers Phineas $1,000 for a pocketful of pebbles” (19), and following it up by telling the reader that Phineas refused, you are illustrating your claim that both Phineas and an adolescent display poor judgment.

� I like how you experimented with two leads and chose the one that supports your claim by opening with a direct quote from “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain” in support of the behavior you’ve chosen.

� Remember, when introducing more than one text, you need to include both authors’ names and both titles of the texts.

� Right here you summarize what the reader is going to encounter in your essay: that both Phineas, who suffered from a cerebral cortex injury, and an adolescent exhibit similar behavior, like taking foolish risks. However, you’ve forgotten to include the names of the texts and how they will support the claim. Refer back to the sample introduction and look at how the writer incorporates the texts and their connection to the claim. I’ll come back in a few minutes to see what you’ve come up with.

AC T I V I T Y 5

Editing Process

1. Read each part of your essay aloud to yourself, quietly and slowly. This list shows you how the pieces you have written will go together:

• Introduction

• Body paragraphs with revisions and in the order you prefer

2. Refer to the Guidelines for Citing and Punctuating Direct Quotes From a Book or an Article to make sure you have written your direct quotes correctly.

3. Reread your essay to correct any errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar that you can find.

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� Your level of concentration and attention to detail when writing your introductions was very impressive. Introductions are not easy, and this is a skill to continue honing, as well, because crafting a strong introduction helps make a strong piece of writing.

� I am so proud of the way you developed your essay over the past week. You have identified your evidence, described and explained it, and shown how it supports your claim using multiple texts. This is not an easy task, but we will have plenty of opportunity in the future to practice the skills you’ve learned in this process.

Tell students that if they didn’t finish writing their introductions or their editing, they will need to finish these during their Solo. Students should finish their essays for homework and on their own time, rather than adding any more time in class.

After ClassAfter students hand in their polished piece, grade the essays using the Response to Text Essay Rubric—Unit C (page 348).

Solo

If you did not complete the following activities in class, please complete them for your Solo.

AC T I V I T Y 6

Writing an Introductory Paragraph


2. Write your introductory paragraph and include all of the elements.

3. When you are done, move onto Activity 5.

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AC T I V I T Y 7

Editing Process

1. Read each part of your essay aloud to yourself, quietly and slowly. This list shows you how the pieces you have written will go together:

• Introduction

• Body paragraphs with revisions and in the order you prefer

2. Refer to the Guidelines for Citing and Punctuating Direct Quotes From a Book or an Article to make sure you have written your direct quotes correctly.

3. Reread your essay to correct any errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar that you can find.

Write out your essay on a computer or a clean piece of paper to create a polished piece.

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Appendix A

For Unit C Lessons, Amplify ELA

Excerpts from Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Scienceby John Fleischman

Excerpts from PHINEAS GAGE: A Gruesome but True Story About

Brain Science by John Fleischman. Copyright (c) 2002 by John

Fleischman. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

The most unlucky/lucky moment in the life of Phineas Gage is only a minute or two away. It’s almost

four-thirty in the afternoon on September 13, 1848. Phineas is the foreman of a track construction gang

that is in the process of blasting a railroad right-of-way through granite bedrock near the small town

of Cavendish, Vermont. Phineas is twenty-six years old, unmarried, and five feet, six inches tall, short

for our time but about average for his. He is good with his hands and good with his men, “possessing

an iron will as well as an iron frame,” according to his doctor. In a moment, Phineas will have a horrible

accident.

It will kill him, but it will take another eleven years, six months, and nineteen days to do so. In the short

run, Phineas will make a full recovery, or so it will seem to those who didn’t know him before. Old friends

and family will know the truth. Phineas will never be his old self again. His “character” will change. The

ways in which he deals with others, conducts himself, and makes plans will all change. Long after the

accident, his doctor will sum up his case for a medical journal. “Gage,” his doctor will write, “was no

longer Gage.” Phineas Gage’s accident will make him world famous, but fame will do him little good. Yet

for many others—psychologists, medical researchers, doctors, and especially those who suffer brain

injuries—Phineas Gage will become someone worth knowing.

That’s why we know so much about Phineas. It’s been 150 years since his accident, yet we are still

learning more about him. There’s also a lot about Phineas we don’t know and probably never will. The

biggest question is the simplest one and the hardest to answer: Was Phineas lucky or unlucky? Once

you hear his story, you can decide for yourself. But right now, Phineas is working on the railroad and his

time has nearly come.

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Building a railroad in 1848 is muscle work. There are no bulldozers or power shovels to open a way

through Vermont’s Green Mountains for the Rutland & Burlington Railroad. Phineas’s men work with

picks, shovels, and rock drills. Phineas’s special skill is blasting. With well-placed charges of black

gunpowder, he shatters rock. To set those charges, he carries the special tool of the blasting trade, his

“tamping iron.” Some people confuse a tamping iron with a crowbar, but they are different tools for dif-

ferent jobs. A crowbar is for lifting up or prying apart something heavy. A tamping iron is for the delicate

job of setting explosives. Phineas had his tamping iron made to order by a neighborhood blacksmith.

It’s a tapering iron rod that is three feet, seven inches long and weighs thirteen and a half pounds. It

looks like an iron spear. At the base, it’s fat and round, an inch and three quarters in diameter. The fat

end is for tamping—packing down—loose powder. The other end comes to a sharp, narrow point and is

for poking holes through the gunpowder to set the fuse. Phineas’s tamping iron is very smooth to the

touch, smooth from the blacksmith’s forge as well as from constant use.

His task is to blast the solid rock into pieces small enough for his crew to dig loose with hand tools and

haul away in ox carts. The first step is to drill a hole in the bedrock at exactly the right angle and depth,

or the explosion will be wasted. All day, Phineas must keep an eye on his drillers to make sure they stay

ahead. All day, Phineas must keep an eye on his diggers to make sure they keep up. All the time be-

tween, Phineas and his assistant are working with touchy explosives.

They follow a strict routine. His assistant “charges” each new hole by filling the bottom with coarse-

grained gunpowder. Phineas uses the narrow end of his iron to carefully press the ropelike fuse down

into the powder. The assistant then fills up the rest of the hole with loose sand to act as a plug. Phineas

will tamp the sand tight to bottle up the explosion, channeling the blast downward into the rock to shat-

ter it. While his assistant is pouring the sand, Phineas flips his tamping iron around from the pointy end

to the round end for tamping. Black powder is ticklish stuff. When it’s damp, nothing will set it off.

When it’s too dry or mixed in the wrong formula, almost anything can set it off, without warning. But

Phineas and his assistant have done this a thousand times—pour the powder, set the fuse, pour the

sand, tamp the sand plug, shout a warning, light the fuse, and run like mad.

But something goes wrong this time. The sand is never poured down the hole; the black powder and

fuse sit exposed at the bottom. Does his assistant forget, or does Phineas forget to look? Witnesses dis-

agree. A few yards behind Phineas, a group of his men are using a hand-cranked derrick crane to hoist

a large piece of rock. Some of the men remember seeing Phineas standing over the blast hole, leaning

lightly on the tamping iron. Others say Phineas was sitting on a rock ledge above the hole, holding the

iron loosely between his knees.

There is no argument about what happens next. Something or someone distracts Phineas. Does he

hear his name called? Does he spot someone goofing off? Whatever the reason, Phineas turns his head

to glance over his right shoulder. The fat end of his tamping iron slips down into the hole and strikes

the granite. A spark flies onto the exposed blasting powder. Blam! The drill hole acts as a gun barrel.

Instead of a bullet, it fires Phineas’s rod straight upward. The iron shrieks through the air and comes

down with a loud clang about thirty feet away.

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This is what happens. Imagine you are inside Phineas’s head, watching in extreme slow motion: See

the pointy end of the rod enter under his left cheekbone, pass behind his left eye, through the front of

his brain, and out the middle of his forehead just above the hairline. It takes a fraction of a fraction of a

second for the iron rod to pass from cheekbone to forehead, through and through.

Amazingly, Phineas is still alive. The iron throws him flat on his back, but as his men come running

through the gunpowder smoke, he sits up. A minute later, he speaks. Blood is pouring down his face

from his forehead, but Phineas is talking about the explosion. His men insist on carrying him to an ox

cart for the short ride into town. They gently lift him into the back of the cart so he can sit up with his

legs out before him on the floor. An Irish workman grabs a horse and races ahead for the doctor while

the ox cart ambulance rumbles slowly down the half-mile to Cavendish. Phineas’s excited men crowd

alongside, walking next to their injured boss. Still acting as a foreman, Phineas calls out for his time

book and makes an entry as he rolls toward town.

Something terrible has happened, yet Phineas gets down from the cart without help. He climbs the

steps of the Cavendish hotel, where he has been living, and takes a seat on the porch beside his land-

lord, Joseph Adams. A few minutes earlier, Adams had seen the Irishman ride past shouting for Dr.

Harlow, the town physician. Dr. Harlow was not to be found, so the rider was sent on to the next village

to fetch Dr. Williams. Now Phineas takes a neighborly seat on the porch and tells his landlord what hap-

pened to him.

That’s how Dr. Edward Williams finds Phineas nearly thirty minutes after the accident. Dr. Williams pulls

up in his buggy at the hotel porch, and there is Phineas, talking away. Friends, workmates, and the

curious crowd around as Dr. Williams climbs down from his carriage. “Well, here’s work enough for you,

Doctor,” Phineas says to him quite cheerfully.

Dr. Williams examines Phineas’s head. He can’t believe that this man is still alive. His skull is cracked

open, as if something has popped out from the inside. Accident victims are often too shaken to know

what happened, so Dr. Williams turns to Phineas’s workmen for the story, but Phineas insists on speak-

ing for himself. He tells Dr. Williams that the iron went right through his head.

Dr. Williams does not believe him. “I thought he was deceived,” Dr. Williams writes in his notes. “I asked

him where the bar entered, and he pointed to the wound on his cheek, which I had not before discov-

ered. This was a slit running from the angle of the jaw forward about one and a half inch. It was very

much stretched laterally, and was discolored by powder and iron rust, at least appeared so. Mr. Gage

persisted in saying that the bar went through his head. An Irishman standing by said, ‘Sure it was so, sir,

for the bar is lying in the road below, all blood and brains.’”

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It’s now an hour after the accident. The town’s regular physician, Dr. John Martyn Harlow, finally arrives

at the hotel. The two doctors confer, but Dr. Harlow takes over the case. Phineas is a gruesome sight.

Bleeding freely from his forehead and inside his mouth, Phineas looks to Dr. Harlow like a wounded

man just carried in from a battlefield. Yet Phineas is alert, uncomplaining, and still telling anyone who’ll

listen about the accident. Dr. Harlow wants Phineas to come in off the porch so he can treat his wound.

Phineas gets up and, leaning only lightly on Dr. Harlow’s arm, climbs up a long flight of stairs to his

room. He lies down on his own bed so Dr. Harlow can shave his head and examine the wound more

closely. What the doctor sees is terrible. Something has erupted through the top of Phineas’s head,

shattering the skull in its path and opening the brain to plain sight.

Dr. Harlow does what he can. He cleans the skin around the hole, extracts the small fragments of bone,

and gently presses the larger pieces of skull back in place. He looks inside Phineas’s mouth. He can see

the hole where the iron passed upward through the roof of his mouth. Dr. Harlow decides to leave the

hole open so the wound can drain. Then Dr. Harlow “dresses” the wound, pulling the loose skin back

into position and taping it in place with adhesive strips. He puts a compress bandage directly over the

wound and pulls Phineas’s nightcap down tightly over it. Finally he winds a roller bandage around his

forehead to hold all the bandages securely. Only then does he notice Phineas’s hands and forearms,

which are black with powder burns. Dr. Harlow dresses the burnt skin and has Phineas put to bed with

his head elevated. He gives strict orders that his patient is to remain in that position.

Phineas should have been dead long before this. A thirteen-pound iron rod through the head should kill

a person instantly. Surviving that, he should have died of shock soon after reaching Cavendish. He’s

lost a lot of blood, yet he remains awake and talkative. Even surviving the loss of blood, Phineas should

have died of brain swelling. Any hard blow to the body causes injured tissue to swell. The brain is soft,

and the skull is hard. A hard blow to the head can rattle the brain around inside like a BB in a tin can.

The rattling bruises the brain, and bruised tissue swells. The brain swells, but the skull stays the same

size; a swollen brain can jam itself so tightly it will cut off its own blood supply. This swelling can choke

off oxygen to parts of the brain long enough to cause permanent damage. It can also cause death.

That’s a “closed brain” injury (sometimes called a concussion). The possibility of a closed brain injury

is why doctors fuss if you bang your head falling off a bicycle or crashing a car or getting hit hard in the

head with anything. (To prevent closed brain injuries, you should wear a helmet when bicycling, driving

a race car, fighting in the infantry, playing tackle football, parachuting, exploring a cave, working on a

construction site, or doing just about anything where you could strike your head hard. In Phineas’s case,

however, a helmet would not have helped.)

Here Phineas has a stroke of luck. His is an “open brain” injury. The hole on top of his head gives his bat-

tered brain swelling room. The bad news is that his brain is open to infection. At first, though, he does

remarkably well. The bleeding from his forehead slows and then stops within twenty-four hours. He

remains cheerful and tells Dr. Harlow that he “does not care to see his friends, as he shall be at work in

a few days.” The morning after the accident, however, he is glad to see his mother and uncle when they

arrive from New Hampshire. Two days after the accident, he takes a turn for the worse. He develops a

fever and begins to have delirious spells. His wound is leaking a foul-smelling liquid, a sure sign of infec-

tion. His death seems just a matter of time now.

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More than any other organ, the brain is sealed off from the outside world and from the rest of the body.

There are many layers of tissue, bone, and skin to keep it protected from the outside, but there’s also

a “blood-brain barrier” that keeps out many substances circulating in the blood. Oxygen and nutrients

can cross the blood-brain barrier, but many dangerous substances like bacteria cannot. With his skull

fractured, Phineas’s exposed brain is wide open, making him an ideal candidate for a fatal infection.

No one in Cavendish in 1848, no scientist in America or Europe, has the slightest notion that bacteria

cause infection.

Medical science in 1848 knows very little about bacteria, even though they were first seen through

microscopes nearly two hundred years before. Today we are used to seeing the microscopic world, but

when the microscope was invented in the middle of the seventeenth century, it caused a sensation. The

microscope became a new kind of “high-tech” entertainment for cultured gentlemen, and in 1665 an

Englishman named Robert Hooke came up with a microscopic “hit.” He showed off a slide he’d made of

an extremely thin slice of cork. Under the microscope lens, Hooke saw that the tissue inside a cork tree

was made up of rows of tiny, boxlike structures. They reminded him of the bare rooms used by monks

in a monastery. Hooke called them “cells.” His cork cells, though, were empty because they were dead

and dried out. It would take two centuries to figure out that it’s the living stuff inside cells that makes

them the fundamental unit of life.

While Hooke was showing off his “cells,” a sharp-eyed Dutch merchant named Anton van Leeuwenhoek

was making more powerful microscopes. Leeuwenhoek took a single drop of water from a rain barrel

and turned his microscope on it. In that drop of water, Leeuwenhoek found a whole new planet of very,

very small life forms. “Animalcules,” he called them. Leeuwenhoek was the first to see single-celled mi-

croorganisms, tiny plants and tiny animals, including bacteria. Yet Leeuwenhoek never had the faintest

suspicion that some of his “animalcules” caused humans to sicken and to die.

That’s more or less the state of knowledge in 1848. Few doctors have ever used a microscope, because

it is not considered a medical instrument. These microscopic animals might be marvels of nature, but

no doctor suspects that they have anything to do with disease, let alone infections. Doctors in 1848

don’t use the word infection, but they know its symptoms well. They call it “sepsis,” and they know from

bitter experience how quickly a “septic” wound can go from slight redness to gross swelling to a fatal

condition called gangrene.

The doctors of 1848 don’t realize that gangrene is the end result of bacterial infection. They don’t real-

ize that floating in the air on dust particles, lurking on fingertips, or growing on the shiny steel blades

of their unwashed surgical scalpels are single-celled bacteria and other microscopic life forms. On the

smallest surface, there are hundreds of millions of them. They represent thousands of different spe-

cies; there are tiny plants, tiny fungi, tiny viruses, and tiny animals. Among the microanimals are two

particularly dangerous families of bacteria—streptococci and staphylococci (“strep” and “staph,” for

short). What doctors don’t know in 1848, strep and staph do: that the broken head of Phineas is an

ideal location to land.

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A wound is an open door. A cut or break in the skin lets staph and strep bacteria colonize the warm, wet,

nutrient-rich cells inside. Once these bacteria get established in the body, they reproduce wildly. The

body’s immune system tries to kill the invading bacteria with an array of special immune cells, while

the bacteria try to protect themselves against immune cells by cranking out toxic chemicals. That’s

an infection. The site of this biological battle between the immune system and bacteria swells up and

turns red.

In 1848, science is still twenty years away from figuring out that infections are the work of living—that

is, “biotic”—things. It will take nearly a century for science to develop the first “antibiotic,” penicillin, to

counter infections. In 1848, a young Frenchman named Louis Pasteur is still studying chemistry in Paris.

Eventually, Pasteur will unravel the three great biological mysteries of his time—fermentation, decay,

and infection. All three processes are the work of living microorganisms; Pasteur will call them “germs.”

Pasteur’s “germ theory” will lead to a revolution in medicine. It will inspire an English surgeon named

Joseph Lister to try performing surgery in sterile conditions that exclude or kill all microorganisms.

Lister will scrub his hands almost raw before operating, he will boil surgical clothing and instruments,

and he will set up a machine to spray carbolic acid in the operating room to kill germs in midair. Lister’s

first sterile operations in 1868 will cut the number of deaths from infection after surgery by 90 percent.

For the first time in history, doctors will help more patients with surgery than they harm with postsurgi-

cal infections.

None of this progress to come will do Phineas a bit of good back in 1848. Instead, Phineas is saved by

good luck and good care. Dr. Harlow follows the best medical advice of his time—keep the wound clean

but covered and watch for inflammation. A sign of infection is a fluid called “pus” (it’s actually dead

white blood cells, a sign that the body’s immune system is attacking bacterial invaders) that collects in

pockets to form abscesses. Fourteen days after the accident, Phineas develops a huge abscess under

the skin just above his eyes. Phineas is feverish, losing his appetite, and sinking fast. Dr. Harlow lances

(punctures) the abscess. He drains the pus and dresses Phineas’s forehead again. The fever abates. His

scalp begins to heal. Phineas is saved by his youth, his iron constitution, and Dr. Harlow’s good nursing.

Dr. Harlow will always be modest about his role in saving Phineas. “I dressed him,” Dr. Harlow will say.

“God healed him.”

The patient gains strength. Too much strength, in his doctor’s opinion. Dr. Harlow is called out of town

for a few days, and when he comes back he finds Phineas out of his sickbed. His head still heavily

bandaged, Phineas is roaming about Cavendish in the rain with no coat and thin shoes. He is eating

unwisely, refusing nursing advice, and ignoring doctor’s orders. Phineas says he wants to go home

to his mother’s house in Lebanon, New Hampshire, twenty miles away. He intends to walk. According

to the best medical theories of his day, Dr. Harlow diagnoses an imbalance of bodily “humors.” This

theory, which goes back to the ancient Greeks, declares that health is maintained by a balance of four

liquids, or humors, in the body—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. To bring them into balance,

Dr. Harlow prescribes two powerful drugs—an “emetic” to make Phineas throw up and a “purgative,” a

powerful laxative, to evacuate his bowels. Phineas is knocked flat by the medicines and spends the next

two weeks in bed, where Dr. Harlow keeps him on a “low,” or bland, diet. His humors may or may not be

in balance, but Phineas is resting quietly at last.

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Ten weeks after the accident, Dr. Harlow declares Phineas fully recovered from his wounds. He puts

Phineas in a closed carriage and sends him home to his mother in New Hampshire. Phineas is very

weak, but he can walk short distances. He can count, feed and dress himself, and sing. He can speak

clearly and make sense of what he hears. Yet there is something odd about the “recovered” Phineas.

Just before he leaves Cavendish, Dr. Harlow gives Phineas a little test. The doctor offers Phineas $1,000

for the pocketful of pebbles that Phineas has collected walking along the Black River near town. Dr.

Harlow knows that Phineas can add and subtract, yet Phineas angrily refuses the deal. Dr. Harlow tells

himself that a man who was so badly hurt is going to need time to regain his full powers.

As soon as Phineas leaves for home, Dr. Harlow writes a short report for theBoston Medical & Surgical

Journal. Most doctors ignore Dr. Harlow’s article. The few who read it don’t believe it. How could a man

survive such an injury, let alone make a “complete recovery”? But one Boston doctor is intrigued. He

writes to Harlow for information and urges the Vermont doctor to back up his case by collecting formal

statements from eyewitnesses in Cavendish. The letter is from Henry J. Bigelow, professor of surgery at

the Harvard Medical College.

In the spring, Phineas is back in Cavendish, carrying his tamping iron. He never goes anywhere without

it these days. Phineas has come for a final examination by Dr. Harlow and to reclaim his old job on the

railroad. His left eye looks intact, but the vision has gradually faded away. Phineas has a huge scar on

his forehead and a small scar under his cheekbone, but otherwise he is physically healed. Yet Dr. Harlow

has private doubts about Phineas’s mental state. Phineas is just not his old self.

His old employers on the railroad quickly come to the same conclusion. The new Phineas is unreliable

and, at times, downright nasty. He insults old workmates and friends. He spouts vulgar language in the

presence of women. He changes his mind and his orders from minute to minute. The railroad contrac-

tors let him go. Dr. Harlow, who is keeping confidential notes on Phineas, sadly writes, “His contractors,

who regarded him as the most efficient and capable foreman in their employ previous to his injury,

considered the change in his mind so marked that they could not give him his place again.”

Phineas’s old friends also wash their hands of him. Dr. Harlow writes: “He is fitful, irreverent, indulging

at times in the grossest profanity (which was not previously his custom), manifesting but little defer-

ence for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires.” Phineas comes

up with all sorts of new plans, the doctor writes, but they are no sooner announced than he drops them.

Phineas is like a small child who says he is running away from home after lunch and then comes up

with a new idea over his sandwich. Dr. Harlow writes, “A child in his intellectual capacities and mani-

festations, he has the animal passions of a strong man.” A doctor is bound by his oath not to reveal the

details of a patient’s condition without permission, so Dr. Harlow will keep his observations to himself

for twenty years.

Meantime, Dr. Harlow has another letter from Dr. Bigelow at Harvard, who thanks him for collecting the

eyewitness statements about the accident. Would Mr. Gage consider coming to Boston at Dr. Bigelow’s

expense so his case could be presented at the medical school and before the Boston Society of Medical

Improvement? Dr. Harlow and Dr. Bigelow make arrangements.

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You can have a look for yourself. Imagine you could click open the top of your head and lift your brain

out. It weighs about three pounds. Some compare it to half of an enormous walnut, but if you can’t

visualize a three-pound walnut half, think of a bicycle helmet (bicycle helmets look the way they do so

they can surround the brain). Think of your brain as a big cap perched on a stalk and protected by the

neck flap. The big cap is your cerebral cortex. The stalk is your brain stem, which plugs into your spinal

cord. The brain stem keeps many of your automatic functions going, like your breathing and heartbeat.

The neck flap covers your cerebellum, which coordinates movement. Without your cerebellum, you

couldn’t walk upright, touch your finger to your nose, or turn this page. Without your brain stem, you

couldn’t breathe. Without your cerebral cortex, you wouldn’t be human.

The cortex is where you think, remember, learn, imagine, read, speak, listen, and dream. In the cortex,

you feel your emotions and you make sense of what your senses are telling you. The cortex is where

you actually see what your eyes transmit, smell what your nose senses, taste what your tongue sam-

ples, touch what your nerves report, and hear what your ears pick up. None of this vital activity is visible

in gross anatomy. By just holding a brain in your hands you (and the doctors of Phineas’s day) can’t see

the thing that makes this organ work, the brain’s fundamental unit, which is the brain cell, or neuron.

You’ll need a microscope and a lot of skill to see a single neuron, but all of these structures—the cortex,

cerebellum, brain stem, and spinal cord—are made up of neurons specialized to relay and transmit tiny

electrical impulses. By layering and connecting billions of neurons, you get a brain.

But by looking at your brain in your hand, you’ll notice that the cortex splits in half right down the

middle. The left hemisphere and the right hemisphere are separated on top by a deep crack—the

interhemispheric fissure—but joined in the middle of the brain by a thick mat of nerves—the corpus

callosum. The corpus is the switchboard for signals back and forth between the two halves. In recent

times, scientists have learned that the two hemispheres specialize in certain skills. Sometimes you’ll

hear brain researchers talk about a “right brain” or a “left brain” skill. They really mean right or left

hemisphere. But you can’t see any skills by looking at the outside of a brain.

The Boston doctors watching Phineas in 1850 haven’t a clue about neurons, which won’t be discov-

ered for another twenty years. Still, these doctors know that the brain sits atop the spinal cord, a thick,

bundled cable of thousands of threads. Doctors do not know that each thread is a bundle of microscop-

ic neurons. They do know that cutting the spinal cord results in paralysis. The higher the break in the

spinal cord, the more complete the paralysis. They know that if the cord is cut at the base of the brain

stem, the patient dies.

That’s why Phineas interests the doctors. His injury is not at the back of his head in the cerebellum or

at the bottom of the brain near the brain stem. He was struck through the forehead, and the iron must

have pierced the frontal lobe of the cortex. If Phineas survived with a large piece of his cortex destroyed,

then what does the cortex do? Across America and Europe, doctors are fiercely divided over this very

question. These are the two rival schools. One group thinks the brain is a “whole intelligence,” that is,

that your brain is one interconnected “mind.” Let’s call them the “Whole Brainers.” They think of the

cortex as a chamber holding a formless cloud or jelly driven by a mysterious “vital force.” Through this

force, every part of the brain is connected to every other part. The Whole Brainers believe that thoughts

and commands can originate anywhere in the brain jelly/cloud and flash into action. If one part of the

brain is injured, then the functions or thoughts that came from there will flow to another part.

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Unfortunately, the Whole Brainers have no hard evidence for their theory. Instead they must look for

unusual cases that might back them up. Phineas seems to be such a case. Dr. Bigelow of Harvard

thinks so. He is a Whole Brainer.

His opponents believe in “localized function”; that is, they believe that the brain is divided into specific

areas that control specific things. Let’s call them the “Localizers.” They are followers of the Austrian Dr.

Gall, who started the brain revolution by declaring that the brain was the seat of intelligence, emotions,

and will. Dr. Gall called his brain science “phrenology” (a made-up Greek word). By any name, the Local-

izers, or Phrenologists, believe that “organs” inside the brain control specific functions. They draw up

a model Phrenological Head to show the “organs” in their correct positions. The “Organ of Veneration

[respect]” and the “Organ of Benevolence [kindness],” for example, are supposed to be just above the

left eyebrow. (Remember where Phineas was hit by the iron? Stay tuned.) Unfortunately, the Phrenolo-

gists have no way of knowing which part of the brain controls what. “Benevolence” cannot be seen on

the outside of the brain.

Later in the nineteenth century, scientists will discover that a weak electrical current applied to the

exposed brain of a laboratory animal will make certain muscles twitch involuntarily and certain senses

sharpen or go dead. In the early twentieth century, scientists will invent more sophisticated and less

dangerous ways to “see” brain activity. Eventually they will chart the brain’s electrical signals by attach-

ing electrodes to the scalp for an “electroencephalograph,” or EEG. The EEG plots amazing patterns of

electrical activity that match specific areas of the brain with specific functions. Toward the end of the

twentieth century, scientists will invent brain scanners that can “image” the electrical and chemical

activity inside a living brain.

Back in 1850, the Localizers/Phrenologists haven’t seen a single thought or brainwave. Still, that

doesn’t stop them from identifying thirty-seven “organs” of the brain. How do they do it? Bumps. That’s

right. Bumps on the head. The Phrenologists reason that if you have a strong organ, it will be big and

project from your skull as a bump. If you have a weak organ, it will be small and you’ll have a dip or

depression in your skull. Run your hand over your own skull and you will find all sorts of knobs, bumps,

dips, and so on. The Phrenologists decide that if you have a bump over your Organ of Amativeness, you

are a person with a strong talent for physical love. If you have a dip or a depression over your Organ of

Philoprogenitiveness (also known as parental love), you’re not going to be fond of children.

Among Boston doctors, phrenology is considered serious stuff when Phineas walks into the middle of

the debate of the Whole Brainers versus the Localizers. Both sides seize him as proof of their belief. Dr.

Bigelow and his fellow Whole Brainers say that Phineas would surely have died if specific areas of the

brain were vital to specific functions. After all, the tamping iron carried away pieces of Phineas’s brain.

If every part of the brain was vital, then he should be dead. Yet here is Phineas alive in Boston, walking,

talking, and taking care of himself. Therefore, say the Whole Brainers, the whole brain must be able to

perform any function of one part.

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On the other side, Dr. Harlow is a Localizer, or at least he is a friend of some leading Localizers/Phre-

nologists. The Localizers say Phineas proves their theory. The tamping iron has not killed him because

the damage is limited to specific organs that are not critical to life. Yet the Localizers/Phrenologists

don’t have all the facts. In 1850, when Phineas comes to Boston, Dr. Harlow feels he must keep the de-

tails of his patient’s personality problems confidential, but he does tell some of the truth to Dr. Nelson

Sizer. Dr. Sizer is a big man in phrenology and lectures on it all over New England. Dr. Harlow leaks the

information to Dr. Sizer that the “completely recovered” Phineas is not the old Phineas. Dr. Sizer tries

to disguise the source of his report to the American Phrenological Journalin 1851, writing, “We have

been informed by the best authority that after the man recovered, and while recovering, he was grossly

profane, coarse, and vulgar, to such a degree that his society was intolerable to decent people.”

Dr. Sizer’s report is wonderful news for the Localizers/Phrenologists. As Dr. Sizer explains, “If we

remember correctly, the iron passed through the regions of the organs of BENEVOLENCE and VEN-

ERATION, which left these organs without influence in his character, hence his profanity, and want of

respect and kindness.”

In the long run, the Localizers will turn out to be somewhat right about localization but completely

wrong about phrenological organs. The Whole Brainers will turn out to be right about the complex in-

terconnections of the brain but wrong about the brain acting as a whole. The 10 billion neurons in your

brain are not connected at random. They are organized into “local circuits” within the cortex; the local

circuits form “subcortical nuclei,” which together form “cortical regions,” which form “systems,” which

form “systems of systems,” which form you.

Specific areas of the brain do control specific functions and behaviors, but it’s not always as “logical”

as we would imagine. Skills that you think should be in the same brain patch are scattered about in

different places in the cortex. Different areas of the cortex let you recognize letters in a book or faces in

a crowd, or know whether you are standing upright. Yet many of these localized functions are also con-

trolled by interactions with other parts of the brain. The human brain, it turns out, is both localized and

interconnected. We know so much more about the brain today than the Phrenologists and the Whole

Brainers did in 1850, yet we really understand only the rough outlines.

Half the world away from San Francisco in 1862, French surgeon Paul Broca in Paris announces a dis-

covery that finally turns brain theory into brain science. Dr. Broca shows how damage to one very small

spot in the brain causes one very specific kind of damage. Broca is still unable to study a living brain,

but he has been performing autopsies on the brains of stroke victims. A stroke is an interruption of the

blood supply to the brain that causes localized damage and often leaves stroke patients without the

ability to speak. Broca notices that in the brains of stroke patients who’d lost the power to speak there

is visible damage in a small area on the outside of the left frontal lobe.

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The spot becomes famous as “Broca’s area.” To find it, put your hand on the top of your left ear, directly

above your ear hole. Move your fingers about two inches forward. Underneath the skull is your “Broca’s

area.” If it’s damaged, you will lose the ability to speak. In medical language, you will have “aphasia.”

Soon after Broca’s announcement, a German named Carl Wernicke identifies a second area on the

left temporal lobe that separately controls the ability to understand speech. The loss of the ability to

understand what is said to you is called “receptive aphasia.” Who could have imagined that these two

skills would be controlled from two different places in the brain? Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are the

first anatomical proof of localization. Other brain researchers soon learn to use low-voltage electricity

to stimulate specific points on the brain. Bit by bit, the map of the brain grows more detailed and more

localized.

The new scientific map of the brain has no relation to our old friend the Phrenological Head. Phrenol-

ogy falls into disgrace, even though the Phrenologists were right about localization. The Whole Brainers

are also shaken. If speech is localized on these two spots, how could someone with massive frontal

lobe injuries—Phineas Gage, for example—speak? And yet Dr. Harlow had said that Phineas had fully

recovered. Of course, few doctors in Boston remember much about the Gage case, and even Dr. Harlow

has lost track of Phineas.

By the time Dr. Harlow finds Phineas again, he is too late. After Phineas leaves for South America in

1852, Dr. Harlow’s contact with the Gage family is broken. Quietly, he has wondered what became of

his most celebrated patient. Then in 1866, the year after the Civil War ends, Dr. Harlow, now running

a small practice in Woburn, Massachusetts, finds an address for Hannah Gage in San Francisco. He

writes to her, and his letter makes the long trek across America. Mrs. Gage is delighted to hear from

the doctor who’d done so much for her son. Unfortunately, she has the sad duty to report his death six

years before.

It is too late for an autopsy, and California is too far for a research visit. But Dr. Harlow doesn’t give up.

They exchange cordial letters. Mrs. Gage describes Phineas’s last illness. She fills in the details of his

life after he left the medical spotlight in Boston. She recalls how Phineas was extremely fond of his little

nephews and nieces. Dr. Harlow notes her description of how Phineas would entertain them “with the

most fabulous recitals of his wonderful feats and hairbreadth escapes, without any foundation except

in his fancy.” Dr. Harlow concludes that Phineas had “a great fondness for children, horses, and dogs—

only exceeded by his attachment for his tamping iron, which was his constant companion during the

remainder of his life.”

Finally, Dr. Harlow makes an unusual request. Explaining the importance of her son’s case to science,

Dr. Harlow recalls how many scoffed at Phineas when Dr. Bigelow first presented his case in Boston.

Now there is a way to settle the question, Dr. Harlow explains. Would Mrs. Gage allow her son’s body to

be exhumed—dug up—from his grave? Would she allow the skull to be removed and shipped to Mas-

sachusetts?

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What a request. Surely Dr. Harlow must be held in the highest regard by Hannah Gage. Why else would

she consent? With her son-in-law and the mayor of San Francisco, who happens to be a physician,

standing by as witnesses, Phineas’s coffin is uncovered and carried to a shed. There, Dr. J. D. B. Still-

man, a local surgeon, removes the skull. The huge fracture on the forehead is unmistakable. Dr. Stillman

removes something else from the coffin—the tamping iron that Phineas carried everywhere, even to his

grave. That December, David Shattuck takes the skull and tamping iron with him when he travels east

on business. Early in the new year, he hands them over to an extremely grateful and very excited Dr.

Harlow in Massachusetts.

At last Dr. Harlow is at liberty to tell the full story of Phineas Gage’s “recovery” twenty years before. He

appears before the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1868 and spills the beans. “This case has been

cited as one of complete recovery ... without any impairment to the intellect,” he says, but in truth,

Phineas’s personality changed drastically after the accident. “Previous to his injury, though untrained

in the schools, he possessed a well-balanced mind, and was looked upon by those who knew him as a

shrewd, smart business man, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation. In

this regard, his mind was radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he

was ‘no longer Gage.’”

Phineas went from being “the most efficient and capable foreman” on the railroad to a man who

couldn’t be trusted because he couldn’t get along with anyone. The new Phineas was pigheaded and

stubborn one moment and wishy-washy and vague the next. “I think you have been shown that the

subsequent history and progress of the case only warrant us in saying that physically, the recovery was

quite complete,” says Dr. Harlow. “Mentally the recovery certainly was only partial.” The new Phineas

could walk, drive a team of horses, and sail away to Chile, but he had lost a vital skill—he no longer knew

how to be social.

Being social is a hard skill to measure. Social behavior goes beyond the ability to activate the correct

muscles or decode the right spoken sounds. It’s different from having manners. Manners are learned,

and they differ greatly from culture to culture. Your parents teach you the “right” way to eat or to greet

strangers, but other parents in other countries teach their children other “right” ways. Forks or chop-

sticks or fingers, there’s no “right” way to put food in your mouth, yet all humans swallow the same way.

Swallowing is automatic behavior. Using a fork is learned behavior. Eating politely in the company of

others is social behavior.

In your brain, Broca’s area may let you speak and Wernicke’s area may let you understand, but listen-

ing is also a complicated social behavior. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve been taught how to

listen—how to make or break eye contact, how to murmur agreement or quiet objection, how to smile

at the right moment or not to smile at all if the subject is grave. You also know how to show (or hide)

your emotional reactions. You can laugh or yawn, roll your eyes upward in boredom, or open your eyes

wide in delight. All of these behaviors can mean something entirely different in another culture, but all

cultures have listening behavior. To act human, you mix emotions, actions, routines, customs, manners,

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words, and expressions in a predictable way. That’s what Phineas seems to have lost. Bossing a railroad

construction gang requires more than a loud voice. A gang has to be able to “read” the social behavior

of the foreman. They have to know if he’s angry or just joking, if his orders are reasonable, or if his judg-

ment can be trusted. He has to be able to “read” the social behavior of his men, to know who are the

reliable ones and who are the troublemakers. By all reports, the old Phineas was an excellent foreman.

The new Phineas was not. All these changes were brought on by a hole through a specific part of his

brain.

In Boston twenty years before, the central exhibit had been Phineas himself, alive and seemingly well.

Now Dr. Harlow reveals the clincher—his skull. He has “prepared” it for inspection, carefully sawing

through the bone at just above eyebrow level so the top of the cranium can be lifted off. Now his audi-

ence can see the hole in the top of his mouth through which the rod passed. The top of Phineas’s skull

is an amazing sight. The doctors can see where Dr. Harlow pushed two large fragments back into place

and how the edges started to regrow, unmistakable proof that Phineas survived the trauma and that his

body started to heal the damage. Yet there is a visible hole in the top, a small triangular opening the size

of a quarter, where the iron either smashed or carried away the bone completely. The skin closed over

it, but for eleven years, Phineas had a real hole in his head.

At last, the true story of Phineas Gage is out in the open. The scientific debate about the brain, though,

has moved on. The theories of the Localizers and Whole Brainers are being replaced by a new experi-

mental brain science. In time, the pinpointing of control areas will become more and more detailed.

Knowledge of cells in general and neurons in particular will transform understanding of the brain. Yet

the truth about Phineas poses a question that no one seems eager to answer. If there are exact loca-

tions in the brain that allow for the ability to hear or to breathe, is there a place that generates human

social behavior? If that place is damaged, do you stop acting human?

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Appendix B


Demystifying the Adolescent BrainBy Laurence Steinberg

Source: “Demystifying the Adolescent Brain.” by Laurence Steinberg,

2011, Educational Leadership, 68(7) pp. 42-46. © 2011 by ASCD.

Reprinted with permission. Learn more about ASCD at www.ascd.org

Adolescents can be mature one moment and frustratingly immature the next.

The nature of brain development helps explain why.

In addition to being a transitional time in physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development,

adolescence is a time of important changes in the structure and function of the brain. Scientists are

beginning to understand how the psychological changes of adolescence are linked to brain maturation.

Before the development of brain imaging technology, scientists could only speculate about the work-

ings of the adolescent brain. Now, however, with the same scanners that are used to identify tumors

and torn ligaments, researchers can see inside the adolescent’s brain and watch what happens when

teenagers think. We now know that, other than the first three years of life, no period of development is

characterized by more dramatic brain changes than adolescence.

What We’ve Learned from fMRI

It used to be thought that improved intellectual functioning in adolescence would be reflected in larger

brain size. However, the brain has reached its adult size by age 10, making it impossible that changes in

thinking during adolescence are the result of sheer increases in the brain’s size or volume.

Since 2000, there’s been an explosion in research on adolescent brain development, and our under-

standing of brain maturation has grown at breathtaking speed. Major contributions to our understand-

ing have come from studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This technique

enables researchers to take pictures of individuals’ brains and compare anatomy (brain structure) and

activity (brain function).

Some aspects of brain development in adolescence are reflected in changes in brain structure (for

instance, certain parts of the brain are relatively smaller in childhood than in adolescence, whereas

other parts are relatively larger). Other aspects of brain development are reflected in changes in brain

function (for instance, adolescents may use different parts of the brain than children do when perform-

ing the same task).

In addition, greater interconnectedness among various regions of the brain allows for better communi-

cation between parts associated with different functions. For example, connections between regions of

the brain responsible for logical reasoning become better connected with those responsible for expe-

riencing intense emotions; “cross-talk” between these regions enables better impulse control and self-

regulation. That’s one reason that older teenagers are so much better than younger ones at controlling

their emotions.

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You may have had an MRI exam to diagnose the underlying cause of some sort of pain. Although the

technology used in this sort of imaging is the same as that used by neuroscientists who study brain

development, the “f” in fMRI refers to the use of the test to examine how the brain functions, and not

just its anatomy. Researchers use fMRI to examine patterns of brain activity while individuals perform

a specific task (for example, recalling a list of words, viewing photos of one’s friends, or listening to

music). Participants in an fMRI study are asked to perform tasks on a computer while they lie inside

a brain scanner. With this setup, it’s possible to study both how patterns of brain activity differ during

different tasks (for example, when we actively read as opposed to being read to) and whether people

of different ages show different patterns of brain activity while performing the same task. Many of the

most important brain changes that take place during adolescence are not in the brain’s structure, but

in how the brain works.

At Temple University, we’re studying how patterns of brain activity vary when individuals perform tasks

either alone or with their friends watching them, and whether the ways in which the presence of friends

changes brain activity differs between teenagers and adults. We’ve found that the mere presence of

peers activates adolescents’ reward centers—but not those of adults. This may make teenagers more

inclined to take risks when they’re with their friends because they’re more likely to focus on the re-

wards of a risky choice than on the potential costs.

A Primer on Brain MaturationSynapse Formation

The human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons, cells that carry information by transmit-

ting electrical charges within the brain by means of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurons do

not actually touch; there’s a miniscule gap between them called a synapse. When the electrical charge

travels through a neuron, it stimulates the release of neurotransmitters, chemicals that carry the signal

across the synapse from one neuron to the next. Anytime we perceive something (for example, feel an

itch); move something (scratch the itch); or process information (wonder where the itch came from),

this process of electrical transmission is involved.

A key process in early brain development is the development of connections—synapses—between neu-

rons. By age 2, a single neuron may have 10,000 connections to other neurons. The formation of some

synapses is genetically programmed, but others are formed through experience. The rate of synapse

formation peaks at about age 1 and slows down in early childhood, but the development of new syn-

apses continues throughout life as we learn new skills, build memories, acquire knowledge, and adapt

to changing circumstances.

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Synaptic Pruning

Initially, the brain produces many more connections among cells than it will use. The number of synaps-

es in the brain of a 1-year-old is about twice the number in the adult brain. However, soon after birth, un-

used and unnecessary synapses start to be eliminated, a process called synaptic pruning. As a general

rule, we tend to assume that “more is better,” but that’s not the case here. Imagine a meadow between

two patches of forest. Hundreds of lightly trodden paths connect one side to the other (the unpruned

brain). Over time, people discover that one path is more direct than others. More people begin using

this path more often, so it becomes wider and deeper. Because the other paths are not used anymore,

the grass grows back and those paths disappear. That’s what synaptic pruning is like.

The elimination of synapses continues through adolescence and is normal and necessary to develop-

ment and functioning. Just as pruning a rose bush—cutting off weak and misshapen branches—pro-

duces a healthier plant with larger flowers, so synaptic pruning enhances the brain’s functioning. It

makes the brain more efficient by transforming an unwieldy network of small pathways into a better

organized system of superhighways.

In general, the development of synapses is characterized by a period of growth (when more and more

synapses are created) followed by a period of decline (when more and more synapses are pruned). Al-

though synaptic pruning takes place throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence, different regions

of the brain are pruned at different points in development. As a rule, the brain regions in which pruning

is taking place at a particular point in development are the regions associated with the greatest chang-

es in cognitive functioning during that stage.

Myelination

Initially, neurons are “nude,” but in the course of development, white fatty tissue called myelin encases

the projections of neurons that interconnect them, a process called myelination. Myelin, which acts like

plastic insulation around an electrical wire, increases the speed of neural impulses and so improves

information transmission. Myelination occurs in waves, beginning in the prenatal period and continu-

ing into adulthood. As with synaptic pruning, examining where myelination occurs most dramatically

at a particular point in development provides clues about the aspects of cognitive functioning that are

changing most at that stage.

What This Means for the Adolescent BrainMore Advanced Reasoning…

During adolescence, the brain is remodeled through synaptic pruning and myelination in particular

brain regions. The most important part of the brain to be pruned in adolescence is the prefrontal cortex,

the region of the brain directly behind your forehead, which is most important for sophisticated think-

ing abilities, such as planning, thinking ahead, and weighing risks and rewards. There’s also continued

myelination of the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other parts of the brain throughout adoles-

cence, which leads to many cognitive advances, including improvements in our ability to regulate our

emotions and coordinate our thoughts and feelings. Maturation of the prefrontal cortex is not complete

until the mid-20s, a much later point in development than scientists had once thought.

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Imaging studies have also shown important changes in the functioning of the prefrontal cortex in

adolescence. Patterns of activation within the prefrontal cortex typically become more focused. For

instance, in experiments in which participants are presented with a rapid succession of images and

asked to push a button when a certain image appears but refrain from pushing it when a different im-

age appears, adolescents are less likely than children to activate prefrontal regions that are not relevant

to performing the task well. In addition, individuals become more likely to use multiple parts of the

brain simultaneously and coordinate activity among prefrontal regions and other areas of the brain,

such as the limbic system, a region that’s important for our experience of reward and punishment and

for processing emotional and social information, such as reading someone’s facial expression or judg-

ing what a person thinks of us.

But More Risk Taking

At the same time that the adolescent brain is maturing in ways that enable teenagers to become more

capable of reasoned thinking, it’s also changing in ways that make them do risky things.

Do you remember how good your first passionate kiss felt? How much you loved the music that was

popular when you were a teenager? How hard you laughed with your high school friends? Things that

feel good feel better during adolescence. Scientists now understand why.

A chemical substance in the brain called dopamine is responsible for the feeling of pleasure. When

something enjoyable happens, we experience what some scientists have called a “dopamine squirt,”

which leads to the sensation of pleasure. It makes us want whatever elicited the squirt because the

feeling of pleasure it produces is so strong. (Some stimuli produce so much pleasure that we get a

dopamine squirt just anticipating the experience.)

We now know there’s a rapid increase in dopamine activity in early adolescence—in fact, there’s more

dopamine activity in the brain’s reward center in early adolescence than at any other time of life. Be-

cause things feel especially pleasurable during early adolescence, young adolescents go out of their

way to seek rewarding experiences. At all ages we seek out things that make us feel good, of course. But

the drive to do this is much more intense in early adolescence than before or after.

The urge to seek out rewarding and pleasurable experiences is a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it’s

part of what makes it so much fun to be a teenager. But sometimes this drive is so intense that adoles-

cents can exhibit a sort of reward tunnel vision. They’re so driven to seek pleasure that they may not

pay attention to the associated risks. To teenagers, driving fast, having unprotected sex, and drinking

alcohol feel so good that thoughts about a speeding ticket (or worse), an unwanted pregnancy, or being

grounded for coming home smelling of beer may not even make it onto their radar screen.

This combination of advanced (but not yet totally mature) reasoning and heightened sensation-seeking

explains why otherwise intelligent adolescents often do surprisingly foolish things. More important, the

fact that teenagers’ ability to control their impulses is immature at the same time that their interest in

sensation seeking is stronger than ever makes them vulnerable to making mistakes. Early adolescence

is like starting a car without having a skilled driver behind the wheel.

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What This Means for Adolescent BehaviorAlthough scientists agree about the ways in which the structure and function of the brain change dur-

ing adolescence, the implications of these changes for adolescent development are still the subject of a

great deal of ongoing research and considerable speculation. I’m often asked when adolescents begin

to think like adults. This is hard to answer on the basis of brain science alone because it depends on

which aspects of thinking you’re concerned about.

Both Mature and Immature

Psychologists draw a distinction between “cold” cognition (when we think about something that

doesn’t have much emotional content, like how to solve an algebra problem) and “hot” cognition (when

we think about something that can make us feel exuberant or excited, angry or depressed, like whether

to go joyriding with friends or throw a punch at someone who insulted a girlfriend). The systems of the

brain responsible for cold cognition are mature by the time most individuals are 16. But the systems

that control hot cognition aren’t—they’re still developing well into the 20s. That’s why teenagers who

get straight As in algebra can also do really dumb things when out with their buddies.

Teachers sometimes are surprised by the inconsistency in students’ behavior, especially during the

middle school years. Understanding the nature of brain development in adolescence helps explain

why adolescents can vacillate so often between mature and immature behavior. When it comes to

more basic abilities, such as those involving memory, attention, and logical reasoning, especially under

optimal conditions, the average 15-year-old is just as mature as the average adult. But research on

brain maturation indicates that relatively more sophisticated cognitive abilities, such as thinking ahead,

envisioning the consequences of a decision, balancing risks and rewards, or controlling impulses, are

still developing at that age.

The Need to Practice Autonomy

It’s important to keep in mind that the brain is very malleable, or “plastic,” and that its development

is affected by experience as well as biology. Both synaptic pruning and myelination are influenced by

experience, such that repeated activation of a specific collection of neurons as a result of engaging in a

particular behavior will actually strengthen the connections among those neurons, which, in turn, will

make them function more efficiently. This is one reason that practicing the same task over and over

again makes that task easier to perform each time.

Although research on brain plasticity during adolescence is just in its infancy, many scientists believe

that the maturation of the brain systems responsible for thinking ahead and controlling impulses is

influenced by the sorts of experiences young people have, including their experiences in the classroom.

Given the well-documented finding that practicing something will strengthen the brain circuits that

control that behavior, it’s important that, as educators, we provide adolescents with opportunities to

practice things like planning, anticipating the consequences of a decision, and regulating their own be-

havior. Although it can be frustrating to teachers and parents when young adolescents push for more

autonomy, we need to respond by gradually granting them more control. Assignments that require

teenagers to think ahead, make a plan, and carry it out may stimulate the maturation of brain systems

that enable more mature self-regulation.

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Initially, adolescents who haven’t been given many opportunities to develop these capabilities may not

always succeed. But be patient. Over time, with practice, as synapses are pruned and neural circuits

myelinated, adolescents’ ability to exercise mature control over their own behavior will improve.

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Appendix C


Case studiesSource: THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT And Other

Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks. Copyright © 1970, 1981, 1983, 1984,

1985 by Oliver Sacks, used by permission of The Wylie Agency LLC.

Excerpts from chapter 1, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”From pages 10–11:

[Dr P] saw all right, but what did he see? I opened out a copy of the National Geographic Magazine and

asked him to describe some pictures in it.

His responses here were very curious. His eyes would dart from one thing to another, picking up tiny

features, individual features, as they had done with my face. A striking brightness, a colour, a shape

would arrest his attention and elicit comment—but in no case did he get the scene-as-a-whole. He

failed to see the whole, seeing only details, which he spotted like blips on a radar screen. He never

entered into relation with the picture as a whole—never faced, so to speak, its physiognomy. He had no

sense whatever of a landscape or scene.

I showed him the cover, an unbroken expanse of Sahara dunes.

‘What do you see here?’ I asked.

‘I see a river,’ he said. ‘And a little guest-house with its terrace on the water. People are dining out on the

terrace. I see coloured parasols here and there.’ He was looking, if it was ‘looking’, right off the cover into

mid-air and confabulating nonexistent features, as if the absence of features in the actual picture had

driven him to imagine the river and the terrace and the coloured parasols.

I must have looked aghast, but he seemed to think he had done rather well. There was a hint of a smile

on his face. He also appeared to have decided that the examination was over and started to look around

for his hat. He reached out his hand and took hold of his wife’s head, tried to lift it off, to put it on. He

had apparently mistaken his wife for a hat! His wife looked as if she was used to such things.

From pages 12–13:

I turned on the television, keeping the sound off, and found an early Bette Davis film. A love scene was

in progress. Dr P. failed to identify the actress—but this could have been because she had never en-

tered his world. What was more striking was that he failed to identify the expressions on her face or her

partner’s, though in the course of a single torrid scene these passed from sultry yearning through pas-

sion, surprise, disgust, and fury to a melting reconciliation. Dr P. could make nothing of any of this. He

was very unclear as to what was going on, or who was who or even what sex they were. His comments

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on the scene were positively Martian.

Excerpt from chapter 2, “The Lost Mariner”

From pages 24–25:

Jimmie was a fine-looking man, with a curly bush of grey hair, a healthy and handsome forty-nine-year-

old. He was cheerful, friendly, and warm.

‘Hiya, Doc!’ he said. ‘Nice morning! Do I take this chair here?’ He was a genial soul, very ready to talk

and to answer any questions I asked him. He told me his name and birth date, and the name of the little

town in Connecticut where he was born. He described it in affectionate detail, even drew me a map. He

spoke of the houses where his family had lived—he remembered their phone numbers still. He spoke

of school and school days, the friends he’d had, and his special fondness for mathematics and science.

He talked with enthusiasm of his days in the navy—he was seventeen, had just graduated from high

school when he was drafted in 1943. With his good engineering mind he was a ‘natural’ for radio and

electronics, and after a crash course in Texas found himself assistant radio operator on a submarine.

He remembered the names of various submarines on which he had served, their missions, where they

were stationed, the names of his shipmates. He remembered Morse code, and was still fluent in Morse

tapping and touch-typing.

A full and interesting early life, remembered vividly, in detail, with affection. But there, for some reason,

his reminiscences stopped. He recalled, and almost relived, his war days and service, the end of the

war, and his thoughts for the future. He had come to love the navy, thought he might stay in it. But with

the GI Bill, and support, he felt he might do best to go to college. His older brother was in accountancy

school and engaged to a girl, a ‘real beauty’, from Oregon.

With recalling, reliving, Jimmie was full of animation; he did not seem to be speaking of the past but

of the present, and I was very struck by the change of tense in his recollections as he passed from his

school days to his days in the navy. He had been using the past tense, but now used the present—and

(it seemed to me) not just the formal or fictitious present tense of recall, but the actual present tense of

immediate experience.

A sudden, improbable suspicion seized me.

‘What year is this, Mr G.?’ I asked, concealing my perplexity under a casual manner.

‘Forty-five, man. What do you mean?’ He went on, ‘We’ve won the war, FDR’s dead, Truman’s at the helm.

There are great times ahead.’

‘And you, Jimmie, how old would you be?’

Oddly, uncertainly, he hesitated a moment, as if engaged in calculation.

‘Why, I guess I’m nineteen, Doc. I’ll be twenty next birthday.’

Looking at the grey-haired man before me, I had an impulse for which I have never forgiven myself—it

was, or would have been, the height of cruelty had there been any possibility of Jimmie’s remembering

it.

‘Here,’ I said, and thrust a mirror toward him. ‘Look in the mirror and tell me what you see. Is that a

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nineteen-year-old looking out from the mirror?’

He suddenly turned ashen and gripped the sides of the chair. ‘Jesus Christ,’ he whispered. ‘Christ,

what’s going on? What’s happened to me? Is this a nightmare? Am I crazy? Is this a joke?’—and he

became frantic, panicked.

‘It’s okay, Jimmie,’ I said soothingly. ‘It’s just a mistake. Nothing to worry about. Hey!’ I took him to the

window. ‘Isn’t this a lovely spring day. See the kids there playing baseball?’ He regained his colour and

started to smile, and I stole away, taking the hateful mirror with me.

Two minutes later I re-entered the room. Jimmie was still standing by the window, gazing with pleasure

at the kids playing baseball below. He wheeled around as I opened the door, and his face assumed a

cheery expression.

‘Hiya, Doc!’ he said. ‘Nice morning! You want to talk to me—do I take this chair here?’ There was no sign

of recognition on his frank, open face.

‘Haven’t we met before, Mr G.?’ I asked casually.

‘No, I can’t say we have. Quite a beard you got there. I wouldn’t forget you, Doc!”

Excerpt from chapter 11, “Cupid’s Disease”

From pages 104–105:

Very recently (January 1985) I have seen some of these same dilemmas and ironies in relation to an-

other patient (Miguel O.), admitted to the state hospital with a diagnosis of ‘mania’, but soon realized to

be suffering from the excited stage of neurosyphilis. A simple man, he had been a farmhand in Puerto

Rico, and with some speech and hearing impediment, he could not express himself too well in words,

but expressed himself, exhibited his situation, simply and clearly, in drawings.

The first time I saw him he was quite excited, and when I asked him to copy a simple figure (Figure A)

he produced, with great brio, a three-dimensional elaboration (Figure B)—or so I took it to be, until he

explained that it was ‘an open carton’, and then tried to draw some fruit in it. Impulsively inspired by his

excited imagination, he had ignored the circle and cross, but retained, and made concrete, the idea of

‘enclosure’. An open carton, a carton full of oranges—was that not more exciting, more alive, more real,

than my dull figure?

A few days later I saw him again, very energised, very active, thoughts and feelings flying everywhere,

high as a kite. I asked him again to draw the same figure. And now, impulsively, without pausing for

a moment, he transformed the original to a sort of trapezoid, a lozenge, and then attached to this a

string—and a boy (Figure C). ‘Boy flying kite, kites flying!’ he exclaimed excitedly.

I saw him for the third time a few days after this, and found him rather down, rather Parkinsonian (he

had been given Haldol to quiet him, while awaiting final tests on the spinal fluid). Again I asked him to

draw the figure, and this time he copied it dully, correctly, and a little smaller than the original (the ‘mi-

crographia’ of Haldol), and with none of the elaborations, the animation, the imagination, of the others

(Figure D). ‘I don’t “see” things anymore,’ he said. ‘It looked so real, it looked so alive before. Will every-

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thing seem dead when I am treated?’

Excerpt from chapter 13, “Yes, Father-Sister”

From pages 116–117:

Mrs B., a former research chemist, had presented with a rapid personality change, becoming ‘funny’

(facetious, given to wise-cracks and puns), impulsive—and ‘superficial’ (‘You feel she doesn’t care

about you,’ one of her friends said. ‘She no longer seems to care about anything at all.’) At first it was

thought that she might be hypomanic, but she turned out to have a cerebral tumour. At craniotomy

there was found, not a meningioma as had been hoped, but a huge carcinoma involving the orbitofron-

tal aspects of both frontal lobes.

When I saw her, she seemed high-spirited, volatile—‘a riot’ (the nurses called her)—full of quips and

cracks, often clever and funny.

‘Yes, Father,’ she said to me on one occasion.

‘Yes, Sister,’ on another.

‘Yes, Doctor,’ on a third.

She seemed to use the terms interchangeably.

‘What am I?’ I asked, stung, after a while.

‘I see your face, your beard,’ she said, ‘I think of an Archimandrite Priest. I see your white uniform—I

think of the Sisters. I see your stethoscope—I think of a doctor.’

‘You don’t look at all of me?’

‘No, I don’t look at all of you.’

‘You realise the difference between a father, a sister, a doctor?’

‘I know the difference, but it means nothing to me. Father, sister, doctor—what’s the big deal?’

Thereafter, teasingly, she would say: ‘Yes, father-sister. Yes, sister-doctor’, and other combinations.

Testing left-right discrimination was oddly difficult, because she said left or right indifferently (though

there was not, in reaction, any confusion of the two, as when there is a lateralising defect of perception

or attention). When I drew her attention to this, she said: ‘Left/right. Right/left. Why the fuss? What’s

the difference?’

‘Is there a difference?’ I asked.

‘Of course,’ she said, with a chemist’s precision. ‘You could call them enantiomorphs of each other. But

they mean nothing to me. They’re no different for me. Hands…Doctors…Sisters…’ she added, seeing my

puzzlement. ‘Don’t you understand? They mean nothing—nothing to me. Nothing means anything…at

least to me.’

‘And…this meaning nothing…’ I hesitated, afraid to go on. ‘This meaninglessness…does this bother you?

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Does this mean anything to you?’

‘Nothing at all,’ she said promptly, with a bright smile, in the tone of one who makes a joke, wins an argu-

ment, wins at poker.

Was this denial? Was this a brave show? Was this the ‘cover’ of some unbearable emotion? Her face

bore no deeper expression whatever. Her world had been voided of feeling and meaning. Nothing any

longer felt ‘real’ (or ‘unreal’). Everything was now ‘equivalent’ or ‘equal’—the whole world reduced to a

facetious insignificance.

I found this somewhat shocking—her friends and family did too—but she herself, though not without

insight, was uncaring, indifferent, even with a funny-dreadful nonchalance or levity.

Mrs B., though acute and intelligent, was somehow not present—‘de-souled’—as a person. I was

reminded of William Thompson (and also of Dr P.). This is the effect of the ‘equalisation’ described by

Luria which we saw in the preceding chapter and will see in the next.

Excerpt from chapter 8, “Eyes Right!”

From pages 77–78:

She sometimes complains to the nurses that they have not put dessert or coffee on her tray. When they

say, “But, Mrs S., it is right there, on the left’, she seems not to understand what they say, and does not

look to the left. If her head is gently turned, so that the dessert comes into sight, in the preserved right

half of her visual field, she says, ‘Oh, there is it—it wasn’t there before’. She has totally lost the idea of

‘left’, with regard to both the world and her own body. Sometimes she complains that her portions are

too small, but this is because she only eats from the right half of the plate—it does not occur to her that

it has a left half as well. Sometimes, she will put on lipstick, and make up the right half of her face, leav-

ing the left half completely neglected: it is almost impossible to treat these things, because her atten-

tion cannot be drawn to them (‘hemi-inattention’—see Battersby 1956) and she has no conception that

they are wrong. She knows it intellectually, and can understand, and laugh; but it is impossible for her

to know it directly.

Knowing it intellectually, knowing it inferentially, she has worked out strategies to deal with her imper-

ceptions. She cannot look left, directly, she cannot turn left, so what she does is to turn right—and right

through a circle. Thus she requested, and was given, a rotating wheelchair. And now if she cannot find

something which she knows should be there, she swivels to the right, through a circle, until it comes

into view. She finds this signally successful if she cannot find her coffee or dessert. If her portions seem

too small, she will swivel to the right, keeping her eyes to the right, until her previously missed half now

comes into view; she will eat this, or rather half of this, and feel less hungry than before. But if she is still

hungry, or if she thinks on this matter, and realises that she may have perceived only half of the missing

half, she will make a second rotation till the remaining quarter comes into view, and, in turn, bisect this

yet again. This usually suffices—after all she has now eaten seven-eighths of the portion—but she may,

if she is feeling particularly hungry or obsessive, make a third turn, and secure another sixteenth of her

portion (leaving, of course, the remaining sixteenth, the left sixteenth, on her plate). ‘It’s absurd,’ she

says. ‘I feel like Zeno’s arrow—I never get there. It may look funny, but under the circumstances what

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else can I do?’

It would seem far simpler for her to rotate the plate than rotate herself. She agrees, and has tried this—

or at least tried to try it. But it is oddly difficult, it does not come naturally, whereas whizzing round in

her chair does, because her looking, her attention, her spontaneous movements and impulses, are all

now exclusively and instinctively to the right.

Especially distressing to her was the derision which greeted her when she appeared only half made-up,

the left side of her face absurdly void of lipstick and rouge. ‘I look in the mirror,’ she said, ‘and do all I see.’

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