Lesson 3: Building Connections in the Brain

Think-Pair-Share

Display and read aloud the Investigation 1 Essential Question:

• How does memory help us understand who we are, and what is lost when memory disappears?

Instruct students to transition into pairs.

Say these Directions: In Spark Lesson 1, we learned that stories carry cultural memory over time. In Spark Lesson 2, we learned that traveling into space forces people to choose what they carry with them. Today, we prepare for reading The Last Cuentista by asking how stories help us remember who we are. Read the following questions and think about your responses.

Display the following questions.

• Why might stories survive longer than lists of facts?

  • (Student responses may vary.) Stories might survive longer because they have characters, sequence, and meaning. A list of facts can feel fragmented, but a story connects ideas so the brain has more ways to remember it. The article we read for homework says that “when a story connects to what you think and feel, it feels more personal” and easier to remember.

• What kinds of elements make stories or memories last?

  • Emotion, or “the feelings-and-thoughts kind” of stories, can make a memory last because people remember what they felt. According to the article, emotions tap into the default mode network, “your brain’s ‘daydream zone’” and your sense of self.

  • Sensory details can help because people can picture, hear, or almost experience the event again. The part of our brain that handles this is “the left angular gyrus, which is known to help store memories involving details from multiple senses.”

Say these Directions: Discuss your ideas with your partner. Listen for one idea you want to build on, then switch.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: You’ve considered what makes stories memorable. Now you will analyze how the brain processes stories and how that affects memory.

Part A: Making Connections Between Story and the Brain (RI.8.1, RI.8.3) (20 minutes)

Close Read & Annotation Protocol

Have students take out the article “Your Brain Forms Memories Differently Based on How Stories Are Told” and the annotations from their homework. Pair students to reread and annotate the article.

Say these Directions: Reread the article “Your Brain Forms Memories Differently Based on How Stories Are Told” with your partner. As you reread, annotate for the following:

• explanations of brain activity

• comparisons of conceptual and perceptual stories

• suggestions of how memory can be strengthened

Display the annotation criteria. Provide time for students to reread and annotate. Circulate to ensure students are identifying key details and making connections across the text.

Next, transition the pairs into discussing the questions below.

Say these Directions: Use your annotations to discuss the following questions with your partner.

• What parts of the brain are activated by stories?

  • In response to some stories, the “hippocampus teamed up with . . . the default mode network (DNM)” to store memories. In response to other kinds of stories, the “hippocampus instead connected to the brain regions that handle sensory information.”

• What is the difference between conceptual and perceptual stories? How does the impact of these kinds of stories differ?

  • The author describes conceptual stories as “the feelings-and-thoughts kind.” Perceptual stories are described as “the sights-and-sounds kind.” Conceptual stories activate the same brain region as “thinking about yourself, imagining your future, or processing emotion.” On the other hand, perceptual stories activate the brain region that “is known to help store memories involving details from multiple senses.” The article suggests those differences can change how a listener remembers the story.

• How can knowing how memory works increase the ability to remember?

  • Understanding what triggers our brains to hold on to information can help us create stories that are memorable. The article claims, “The research makes one thing clear: Details matter.” The details provide “hooks” for the brain “to hold on to when filing a memory away.” People can use that information to provide details that help others remember events and ideas.

Part B: Synthesizing Ideas About Stories and the Brain (RI.8.1, RI.8.3) (10 minutes)

Conduct a whole-class discussion based on the information students analyzed and discussed with their partners in Learning in Action Part A.

Say these Directions: We will now make connections between our ideas in a class discussion. Use evidence from the article to support your thinking.

Display the following questions. Invite volunteers to respond to the first question, then continue the discussion.

• Ask: Why might stories be easier to remember than factual information?

  • Stories might be easier to remember because they have emotion, sequence, and meaning. For example, the article explains that stories can activate connected brain systems instead of feeling like isolated facts. This shows that the brain remembers better when ideas are linked together. In addition, sensory and emotional details “give the brain ‘hooks’ to hold onto.”

• Ask: What helps the brain retain memories?

  • Emotion, repetition, personal relevance, and sensory detail can help the brain retain memories. The conceptual stories create a stronger sense of confidence in memory, probably “because conceptual memories tap into the DMN, which is also closely tied to our sense of self.”

• Ask: Why might this matter for a community trying to preserve cultural memory during long periods of isolation?

  • This could matter during isolation because a community would need more than facts to remember who they are. Stories could preserve cultural memory by carrying values, family history, and identity, as well as specific details about events and the emotions connected to them.

Provide time for students to respond and build on one another’s ideas during the whole-class discussion.

Reflection

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Quick Write

Transition students to reflect on their learning from the lesson.

Say these Directions: In three to four sentences, respond to the prompt below. Use at least two details from this lesson’s reading or discussion. Focus on your ideas rather than grammar or mechanics.

Display the following prompt.

• Prompt: Based on Spark Lesson 1 and this lesson’s learning, why does storytelling matter? What is lost if we stop telling stories?

  • Storytelling matters because it helps people remember more than facts by connecting ideas to emotion and sensory details. The article explains that these details give the brain “hooks” to hold on to, and in Spark 1, we learned that stories carry cultural memory and identity. If people stop telling stories, they may lose their sense of identity, shared knowledge, and connection to the past.

Read Chapters 1–3 of The Last Cuentista. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, annotate for the following:

• What characters are we introduced to in the exposition of this novel? What events are happening, and what conflicts surface?