The Adolescent Brain

Name: The Adolescent Brain
Author: Thomas Armstrong

A story that explores patience and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

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♥ This book teaches: Patience. staying calm while something unfolds.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: Patience means having self-control, waiting and enduring when one would rather not. In short: Stay calm while you wait. Summary: Dan Siegel discounts the negative myths about adolescence with lots of positive facts about teen brain development. Remodeling or pruning of the brain and myelin formation or linkage within the brain occurs at this time. Teens and those who work with them need to be aware of the specific growth patterns of the adolescent brain and the need for a proper learning environment that promotes insight, empathy, and integration. Caring about others and wanting to help them are the outcomes of proper integration within the brain. Lesson Objectives:

Teachers can use this as an introduction to an anatomy lesson on brain development (health science).
Teachers guide students to a greater understanding of how to apply this knowledge, discussing questions like this one: Why is this a good time to focus your attention on training in some activity like sports, music, or learning a skill? (answer: the brain wants to focus on specializing in something so it can grow to its optimal potential - use it or lose it)

Guiding Questions:

The author says that teenage behavior is often regarded in a negative way: teens will lose their mind, act immaturely, and are affected by raging hormones. Do you agree or disagree and why?
What does the author think about adolescence and why?
It’s obvious that your body is growing because you see and feel it. Can you feel your brain growing? Explain your answer.
Explain what you learned from the video about how the teen brain grows.
Why is it important to learn new skills in your teenage years?
What does the saying, use it or lose it, mean in regards to brain development?
Do you enjoy learning new things? Share about an experience you’ve had in which you learned something new.
If you had the opportunity, what sport, musical instrument, artistic expression, or some other skill development area, would you like to pursue?
What help do you need in order to pursue your interests?
What’s holding you back from learning a new skill or following your dream?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Patience means waiting without losing yourself.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.

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Patience · Family Discussion Guide

The Adolescent Brain

by Thomas Armstrong

Guiding Questions

Teachers can use this as an introduction to an anatomy lesson on brain development (health science).
Teachers guide students to a greater understanding of how to apply this knowledge, discussing questions like this one: Why is this a good time to focus your attention on training in some activity like sports, music, or learning a skill? (answer: the brain wants to focus on specializing in something so it can grow to its optimal potential - use it or lose it)

Guiding Questions:

The author says that teenage behavior is often regarded in a negative way: teens will lose their mind, act immaturely, and are affected by raging hormones. Do you agree or disagree and why?
What does the author think about adolescence and why?
It’s obvious that your body is growing because you see and feel it. Can you feel your brain growing? Explain your answer.
Explain what you learned from the video about how the teen brain grows.
Why is it important to learn new skills in your teenage years?
What does the saying, use it or lose it, mean in regards to brain development?
Do you enjoy learning new things? Share about an experience you’ve had in which you learned something new.
If you had the opportunity, what sport, musical instrument, artistic expression, or some other skill development area, would you like to pursue?
What help do you need in order to pursue your interests?
What’s holding you back from learning a new skill or following your dream?

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The Adolescent Brain

Guiding Questions for Parents.

About the Story.

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The Adolescent Brain

Guiding Questions