1. Brain Health

2. Music and Memory How does music affect your brain?
Grabber: How does music effect your brain?
Teaching methods: small group poster paper, peer to peer, individual.
Technology Method: poll anywhere app or interactive class flow so students can use their own devices to respond with answer and see class responses instantly. This method can be used throughout mini lesson.
There are no wrong answers, this is just to get them thinking.

3. Music and the Brain
When the brain is listening to music, areas all over the brain are engaged in the task.
Watch an excerpt from ‘The Tango Brain’
Areas of color are areas of the brain that are being activated as the person is listening.
‘The Tango Brain’ can be found here:
It is 8 minutes long, however selecting a minute from the middle of the video should be enough to demonstrate the point.
This animation shows how the cortex is activated during listening to a piece of Argentinian tango. It is based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, computational musical feature extraction and statistical modeling. For more information, see Alluri V, Toiviainen P, Jääskeläinen IP, Glerean E.

4. Music and Dementia
One of the most powerful examples of how music can affect the brain comes when people with dementia listen to their favorite songs.
Watch ‘Alive Inside’
The movie trailer runs 6:45 is can be accessed here
If you have time to show the full documentary, ‘Alive Inside’ can be purchased and shown in classroom settings using the following exemption from having to purchase a license.
Face-to-face teaching exemption: ‘Alive Inside’ is reserved for educational institutions (like universities, high schools, etc.) using the film in curricular settings to students registered for a particular course. A license must be purchased for any screenings open to the public.

5. The Human Brain
We are born with all the brain cells we will ever have, and they grow and develop over time.
There are roughly 2500 connections between brain cells when we are born. Some are from the sounds heard in the womb, like their mother’s voice or music.
The brain reaches peak volume around age 16, so you have the physically largest brain when you are a teenager.
Interactive opportunity:
What is the memory they have from the farthest back in time. How old were they? What was the memory about?

6. The Human Brain
The brain continues to develop until age 25, when the peak of memory function is reached.
Although the brain is only 2% of your total body mass, it uses between 20% and 50% of all the energy in your body.
As we age, our brains will lose some cells as a normal part of aging.
Confusion and memory loss are not normal at any age.
In reviewing the first two bullet points, ask the kids what this information means to them.
Did they know their brain is still growing?
Did they realize how much energy it takes to use your brain?

7. The Virtual Brain Tour, Part 1
Review the first 7 slides of the tour under ‘Brain Basics’.

8. Normal Aging What does it look like?
Method: Students brainstorm (think-pair-share)
Interactive opportunity: Students can split into small groups to create a poster presentation of what they think normal aging looks like.

9. What does normal aging look like?
Slowing of reaction time
Bone loss
Loss of muscle mass
Some vision and hearing loss
Decreased sensitivity to tastes and smells
Loss of cells throughout the body
Slight slowing of brain processing speed, but no loss of abilities
What does normal aging look like?
Memory loss and dementia are not a normal part of aging. As people age their bodies change, including the brain. People who age normally can expect the following:
Slowing of reaction time
Bone loss (both men and women)
Slowing of metabolism
Decrease in muscle mass
Decreases in sensory ability
Need glasses to see clearly. It also becomes harder to see in the dark because pupils become more rigid over time and cannot open as far
Some hearing loss, especially high frequency sounds
Less sensitivity to touch
Less sensitivity to odors
Less sensitivity to tastes 
Normal aging also includes the process of cell loss throughout the body as cells die and are not able to replicate or be replaced. The number of times the cells in our body can replace themselves is limited. As the body ages, cells begin to die and not be replaced.
Example: Skin of an elderly person is much thinner and contains fewer cells. This is happening in all parts of the body.

10. Risks to Brain Health
What are some things that can be harmful to your brain?
Think pair share, other
Correct answers include:
Alcoholism
Smoking
Obesity
Cardio-vascular disease
Diabetes
Concussion
Diseases that cause dementia

11. Risks to Brain Health Alcoholism Smoking Obesity
Cardio-vascular diseases
Diabetes
Concussion
Diseases that cause dementia
An opportunity to discuss how diet and exercise not only effect your body, but also your brain. The first six bullets all lead to increased risk for developing dementia.

12. Concussions Jenna’s Story Wisconsin State Law
It is recommended this slide and corresponding video is high school age appropriate.
Possible discussions: Professional sports and concussions
Head injuries may increase your risk for dementia, concussions are a serious form of head injury. This short video talks about the importance of preventing, reporting, and caring for concussions.
View Video
Review the concussion law
Wisconsin State Law
Concussion Law, Wis. Stat. sec
The law requires all youth athletic organizations to educate coaches, athletes, and parents on the risks of concussions and head injuries, and prohibits participation in a youth activity until the athlete and parent or guardian has returned a signed agreement sheet indicating they have reviewed the concussion and head injury informational materials. The law requires immediate removal of an individual from a youth athletic activity if symptoms indicate a possible concussion has been sustained. A person who has been removed from a youth athletic activity because of a determined or suspected concussion or head injury may not participate again until he or she is evaluated by a health care provider, and receives written clearance from the health care provider to return to the activity

13. Prevent Concussions What can you do to prevent concussions?
Think-pair-share
Have students list ways to prevent a concussion
Scenario: Your friend wants you to go for a bike ride (moped, motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile) and not wear a helmet – stating “we won’t be gone long nothing is going to happen”
What are some possible responses be to avoid the risk of injury?
How could a concussion change the quality of life?

14. Dementia What does dementia look like? Who gets dementia?
Interactive opportunity ask: How many know someone with dementia or memory loss? This is an opportunity for the kids to relate their experiences with family members or others they know if they want.
Or:
Answer the questions ‘What does it look like’ and ‘who gets dementia’ via small group discussions and report out, poster presentation, etc.
What does it look like? It is invisible, you cannot see dementia. We may have stereotypes in our heads of people with dementia, but people with dementia come from all walks of life.
Who gets dementia? The number one risk factor for dementia is age, but they should understand that dementia can affect people in their 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s, and is not just a disease for old people.
People of color are also at greater risk for developing dementia, with Latinos at 1.5 times the risk and African Americans at twice the risk of Caucasians. This is thought to be due to the higher amount of diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and other health-related risk factors in those populations.

15. Dementia Facts
One out of every eight people over age 65 has Alzheimer’s disease.
At age 85, one out of every three people will have it.
In Wisconsin in the year 2020 there will be enough people with dementia to fill Lambeau Field and Miller Park.
Alzheimer's disease is much more common than most people think.

16. Family Caregivers
70% of people with dementia are living in the community at home or with family members, not in nursing homes.
One out of every four family caregivers are also caring for children under age eighteen.
Kids are often helping to provide care.
Affirm that those kids in the class that know someone, or may even be living with someone with dementia, that they are not alone and many kids are going through the same thing.
Discuss potential teachers or school counselors that are available for kids to talk to about their concerns if they want to talk to someone about what is happening.

17. Virtual Brain Tour, Part 2
Review slides 8-16 under Alzheimer’s Disease and the Brain

18. Most Common Types of Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease
Stroke-Related (vascular)
Lewy Body Disease
Types of dementia
The three most common types of dementia include:
Alzheimer’s Disease – Most common type of dementia. Common symptoms include memory loss, difficulty in word finding, increased confusion, becoming lost in familiar places, struggling with mental tasks that were formerly easy to do.
Vascular (stroke-related) – Symptoms depend upon where in the brain the stroke occurred, and can be very similar to Alzheimer’s disease.
Lewy-body dementia – Symptoms include hallucinations, stiffening of arms and legs, increased falls and difficulty in walking.

19. Dementia Symptoms Difficulty in planning or problem solving
Difficulty in completing familiar tasks
Confusion with time or place
Trouble understanding visual images
Getting lost in familiar places
Unable to follow conversations or TV shows
Trouble coming up with the right words
Questions for the kids:
How would you feel if these things were happening to you?
What would you do?
Use Know the Ten Signs sheet as reference

20. Young Daughter Faces Alzheimer’s
Watch the video, ‘My Name is Lisa’.
My name is Lisa video.
Skill based lesson attached in .pdf
Methods: Group, peer to peer, individual
Video discussion questions?
What did you notice Lisa’s mother doing?
How did Lisa initially respond to her mom’s behaviors?
What worried you most about her mom’s behavior?
What do you think the future holds for Lisa and her mother?

21. Changes in Behavior Blaming others for things they can’t remember
Withdrawing from social activities and friends
Make things up when unable to remember
Insist things are true that are not
Become angry or upset easily
Repeat the same questions over and over
Although we cannot look at someone and see that they have dementia, we do notice changes in how they behave.
Questions for the kids: What would you do if you knew someone had dementia and was accusing you of taking something that you did not take? What would you do? Would you treat them differently than someone who did not have dementia? What would be different?

22. Reduce Your Dementia Risk
What can you do to reduce your risk of developing dementia?
Brainstorm: Pair-Share with a partner or small group.

23. Answers Exercise Refrain from smoking Wear a helmet
Eat a healthy balanced diet
Social Engagement
Cognitive Stimulation
Music and Memory
What does that look like?
Exercise: Health-related components of fitness (link to video)
Diet: Good fats: fish oils, nuts, fruits and vegetables (Mediterranean diet)
Avoid sugar!
Social Engagement: healthy relationships
Cognitive Stimulation: Music, academics, games (board games, card games) and new experiences

24. Brain Health and Music
There are benefits to your brain not only from listening to music, but also playing music.
Watch ‘How the Brain Benefits from Playing Music’