A theme page with lesson plans about IQ and the Brain, suitable for intermediate level students (B1-B2), yr 9 and up in Sweden.
Warm-up
Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science.mp4 – YouTube (7:23) https://youtu.be/nrU2cch6hf4
Symphony of Science – Video, song and music about the magic of the brain
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Groups – The Mindhttp://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blwordgroups_mind.htm
English vocabulary about the mind and mental processes including verbs, nouns, adjectives as well as example sentences for context.
Lesson Plans
Sleep more! Your brain needs it! (+ structures of used to) | ESL Brainshttp://eslbrains.com/sleep-more-your-brain-needs-it/
The lesson plan includes exercises on idioms and fixed phrases connected with sleep and focuses on different structures of used to.
What would happen if you didn’t sleep? – Claudia Aguirre | TED-Ed (4:34)https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-would-happen-if-you-didn-t-sleep-claudia-aguirre
Claudia Aguirre shows what happens to your body and brain when you skip sleep. – Comprehension and discussion questions
Language & The Brain – DreamreaderDreamreaderhttp://dreamreader.net/lesson/language-the-brain/
An incredible story with text, audio, video and quiz
Headbanging – Breaking News English Lesson – ESLhttp://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1407/140708-headbanging.html
English News Lessons: Free 26-Page lesson plan / 2-page mini-lesson – Headbanging – Handouts, online activities, speed reading, dictation, mp3… current events.
Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Brain Powerhttp://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1205/120504-brain_power.html
A reading/listening lesson plan with various activities
Use It Or Lose Ithttps://webenglish.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/use_it-1.pdf
A downloadable text about the basics of the brain with Activities
NB! There is an English to Swedish glossary just to help students with Swedish as their mother tongue to understand the text.
Reading
10 Mind-Blowing Facts About The Brain – Oddeehttp://www.oddee.com/item_98246.aspx
The mind is a terrible thing to waste. The human brain is the strangest, most unique organ in our body – Pictures and short texts to learn about your brain
You Can Grow Your Intelligencehttps://www.mindsetworks.com/websitemedia/youcangrowyourintelligence.pdf
New research shows the brain can be developed like a muscle
10 Brain Health Principles That Will Change Everything In Your Lifehttps://www.amenclinics.com/blog/principles-change-brain-health/
Knowing what hurts and harms your brain is important for brain health! These are 10 principles that will help you get on the path to brain health.
ELC Study Zone: The Most Amazing Structure on Earth: Main Idea & Comprehension Questionshttps://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/410/reading/most-amazing-structure1.htm
Five Interactive Reading Comprehension texts with questions
Boost Your BrainpowerSecrets of a Happy BrainMemory MagicThe Effects of Stress
Listening
A Tale of Two Brains – YouTube (13:34)https://youtu.be/3XjUFYxSxDk
In this entertaining film, marriage expert Mark Gungor explores the differences between men and women. Quiz
Podcast – Left-Brained Vs Right-Brained – ESL Library Blog (2:31) http://blog.esllibrary.com/2011/02/09/left-vs-right-brain/
This lesson includes a reading, comprehension questions, vocabulary review tasks, and a gap-fill listening task.
Music and The Human Brain (15:15)https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/music-human-brain-communication/1756857.html
American study explores how musical training in childhood can influence the adult brain | Transcript available
The teenage brain: 6 Minute English – YouTube (6:33)https://youtu.be/4YHtcINPkjM
This programme delves inside the teenage brain, hears from an expert and teaches some useful vocabulary along the way to stretch your own brain!
Viewing
This Is How Your Brain Grows – YouTube (3:21)Â https://youtu.be/aucscX191vQ
So why is our brain in our head? Find out over on It’s Okay To Be Smart:
The Upside of Forgetting – YouTube  (3:21) https://youtu.be/e5zH4N3ohR0
Why we forget things and how there’s a silver lining. What was I talking about?
7 “Facts” About The Brain That Are Not True – YouTube (1:51)https://youtu.be/C7_GYz6vAB0
This is your brain on BS. – Short animation, text with music, no narration.
The Nature of Memory – YouTube (6:40)Â https://youtu.be/zDwa4FI7wEQ
Interesting but a bit of Information Overload. Watch in shorter bits?
Brain Studies
What happens when you remove the hippocampus? – Sam Kean – YouTube (5:25)https://youtu.be/KkaXNvzE4pk
TEDEd-talk. The story of H.M., whose brain was studied over 100 times View full lesson When
Insight Into the Teenage Brain: Adriana Galván at TEDxYouth@Caltech – YouTubehttps://youtu.be/LWUkW4s3XxY
Dr. Adriana Galván is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, where…
Brain and Languages
How Your Brain Learns a New Language – YouTube (2:29)https://youtu.be/GLAMS7OloEM
Discover the true way your brain learns a new language, and what you can do to make learning any language incredibly easy and effortless.
Bilingual Brains are Better – YouTube (4:01)Â https://youtu.be/yyBrO2bsLfg
Being bilingual can drastically alter your life… and we don’t just mean being able to order from a menu when visiting a foreign country!
The benefits of a bilingual brain – Mia Nacamulli – YouTube (5:03)Â https://youtu.be/MMmOLN5zBLY
TEDEd-talk. Mia Nacamulli shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged View full lesson
The “Brain Dictionary”: Beautiful 3D Map Shows How Different Brain Areas Respond to Hearing Different Words | Open Culture (3:19)Â http://www.openculture.com/2016/04/the-brain-dictionary.html
We’ve all had those moments of struggle to come up with le mot juste, in our native language or a foreign one. But when we look for a particular word, where exactly do we go to find it?
Brain and Food
How sugar affects the brain – Nicole Avena – YouTube (5:02)Â https://youtu.be/lEXBxijQREo
TEDEd-talk. When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice.
Brain and Feelings
Inside Out – ALL Clips (Sneak Peek) – YouTube (9:37)https://youtu.be/8Cn1pYnAZSE
Watch all of your favorite clips of Inside Out the movie.
A Very Happy Brain – YouTube (4:23)Â https://youtu.be/GZZ0zpUQhBQ
This is the story of how Broody, a very unhappy brain, became very happy. (Warning: partly read by a child, in rhyme!)
Emotions and the Brain – YouTube (2:02)https://youtu.be/xNY0AAUtH3g
The Sentis Brain Animation Series takes you on a tour of the brain through a series of short and sharp animations.
Brain and Social Media
What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains – YouTube (3:53)https://youtu.be/cKaWJ72x1rI
Most of us are on the Internet on a daily basis and whether we like it or not, the Internet is affecting us. It changes how we think, how we work
5 Crazy Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Brain Right Now – YouTube (3:15)https://youtu.be/HffWFd_6bJ0
Your brain may never be the same! (Warning: fast speech, choose .75 speed)
Brain and Sleep
Amazing Effects of Sleep (And Lack of it) – YouTube (3:58)Â https://youtu.be/ZPpvS9wDOcA
How our knowledge about sleep deprivation has changed in 15 years
Brain Experiments
The Backwards Brain Bicycle – Smarter Every Day 133 – YouTube (7:57)https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0
What happens when you unlearn and relearn an ability like riding a bike?
Brain Tricks – This Is How Your Brain Works – YouTube (4:40)Â https://youtu.be/JiTz2i4VHFw
The difference between your slow brain and your fast brain
Wayne Dyer – An Experiment – YouTube (5:25)Â https://youtu.be/4FoYZKZVxFg
How your thoughts affect your strength. Chiropractors use this to help people recover from deep emotional and physical injuries.
Special Interest
BBC Science Documentary | Human Brain How smart can we get (HD Documentary ) – YouTube (52:42)https://youtu.be/BE53EkxKWpw
BBC Science Documentary | Human Brain – How smart can we get (HD Documentary)
The Brain with David Eagleman – What Is Reality – BBC Documentary 2016 – YouTube (56:44)https://youtu.be/C8k-lrJrldw
The Brain with David Eagleman – What Is Reality – Part 1 in a series that explores how the brain conjures up the rich and beautiful world – BBC Documentary
Speaking
ESL Conversation Questions – Brainshttp://www.eslconversationquestions.com/brains/
Questions to discuss in pairs, groups or in class from ESL Conversation Questions
ESL Discussions: Conversation Questions: Speaking Lesson: Brainhttp://www.esldiscussions.com/b/brain.html
Questions to discuss in pairs, groups or in class from ESL Discussions.com
Lateral Thinking Puzzles – Preconceptionshttp://www.folj.com/lateral/
Lateral Thinking Puzzles with answers and hints. – Warning: Solutions are displayed. To hide and show the solutions as desired, enable javascript on your browser
Brain Food: Realistic Lateral Thinking Puzzleshttp://www.rinkworks.com/brainfood/p/latreal1.shtml
Lateral Thinking Puzzles, unlike most puzzles, are inexact. In each puzzle, some clues to a scenario are given
Brain Games
Brain Games & Brain Training – Lumosityhttps://www.lumosity.com/landing_pages/970?gclid=CPaDiLnE7pACFQppQgodplik0w
Our scientists work side-by-side with our designers. They make sure each game maintains the core mechanics of the original task designed to challenge a specific cognitive skill.
CC
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License