Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
New: Student View Preview
How Students and Families Can Log In
1 min.
Setting Up Student View
Sharing Articles with Your Students
2 min.
Interactive Activities
5 min.
Sharing Videos with Students
Using Choices with Educational Apps
Join Our Facebook Group!
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Choices magazine.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
To understand the science behind adolescent brain development and identify healthy ways to deal with emotional changes.
HEALTH ED STANDARD
Comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health (NHES 1)
KEY VOCAB
restructuring, harness, dopamine, neurons, mindset, estrogen, testosterone, aggression
Lesson Plan: A User’s Guide to Your Raging Brain
Teens’ brains are rapidly changing, which can cause confusing mood swings. This piece helps them understand those seemingly random moods and how to survive them.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What coping strategies can help me deal with my most unpleasant moods?
CLOSE-READING QUESTIONS
Like What You See?
Then you'll love Choices, our health, social-emotional learning, and life-skills magazine for grades 7–12
CRITICAL-THINKING QUESTIONS
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
WRITE AND REFLECT
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10
Keeping a journal is scientifically proven to help people de-stress and increase their levels of happiness. Have your students use the MOOD TRACKER handout to jot down their emotions for a week. Afterward, split them into pairs and ask them to reflect on the patterns they notice, paying special attention to what seems to trigger different feelings
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8
Adults often forget what it’s like to be a teen. In small groups, students are going to use the GUIDE TO THE TEEN BRAIN worksheet to design a visual for parents about the inner workings of the teenage brain. They can create a pamphlet, an infographic, or a poster to help remind the adults in their lives about what they’re going through.
Print This Lesson Plan