Your Brain Is Amazing
Right now, something incredible is happening inside your head. Your brain is reading these words, making sense of them, and connecting them to things you already know — all at the same time, without you even trying. Your brain is the most amazing thinking machine that has ever existed. And it belongs to you!
What Does Your Brain Actually Do?
Your brain does thousands of jobs every single second. It helps you breathe, keeps your heart beating, and lets you walk without falling over. But its most special job is thinking. Thinking is what happens when your brain works something out. When you figure out that sharing six cookies between two friends means each friend gets three — that is your brain thinking. When you notice that your dog looks sad and probably wants a walk — that is your brain thinking. When you remember where you left your backpack — that is your brain thinking too. All day long, without stopping, your brain is making sense of the world around you.
Your brain is a thinking machine that never turns off. It thinks while you play, while you eat, and even while you sleep — helping you understand the world and everything in it.
Here is something that might surprise you: your brain has about 86 billion tiny cells called neurons. Neurons send tiny signals to each other like little sparks of electricity. Every time you learn something new, some of those neurons form a new connection — a new pathway — like a new road being built in a city. The more you think and learn and practice, the more of those pathways you build. A brain that thinks a lot is a brain with millions of strong, busy roads inside it.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Your Brain Is One of a Kind
Every brain is different. Your brain has been shaped by every experience you have ever had — every book you have read, every game you have played, every conversation with a friend, every time you tried something hard and kept going. That means your brain is completely, totally, one hundred percent unique. Nobody in the whole world thinks exactly the way you do. Nobody else has exactly your memories, your ideas, or your way of solving problems. That uniqueness is powerful. It means you see the world in a way that no one else ever has — and that is something computers cannot copy.
The more you use your brain — by asking questions, trying new things, and thinking hard problems through — the stronger it gets. Using your brain is like exercising a muscle: practice makes it more powerful.
What are the tiny cells in your brain that send signals to each other called?
What happens in your brain when you learn something new?
Match each brain fact to what it means.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
Brain Detective Journal
- Grab a piece of paper and a pencil. You are going to be a Brain Detective for the next five minutes.
- Write down three things you did today that required thinking. They can be small things, like choosing what to eat for breakfast or deciding what game to play.
- For each one, describe what kind of thinking your brain had to do. Did it have to remember something? Figure something out? Make a decision?
- Now write one sentence finishing this thought: My brain is amazing because...
- Share your detective notes with someone and see if they can add something to your list!