Lesson #T5A: Amygdala— the Emotional Elephant Time: 50 minutes Overview This lesson covers Session One of Emotional Competence—an indicator of thriving. Young people begin the lesson thinking about this emotional elephant called the Amygdala. The Amygdala connects the brain with the senses and is the brain’s center for emotions. It is commonly in a tug-of-war with the Pre-Frontal Cortex of the brain, which is the zone of reason or judgment. In the lesson, youth start out by watching a tug-of-war video of an Emotional Elephant and in Sri-Lanka. As the session it’s rider, progresses, each young person draws a cartoon of a recent scenario where his/her own Elephant won the Tug-Of-War with the Rider. These cartoons are shared anonymously and form the basis for Freeze Drama in Session Two of Emotional Competence. The lesson concludes with a short clip of Dan Heath, author of talking about the Chocolate Switch: Change When Change Is Hard, Chip Cookie and Radish Experiment that demonstrates self-control is an exhaustible resource. Goal Youth learn that is fundamentally tied to life success, and they form the intention to grow that skill during regulating one’s emotions the adolescent opportunity of vast brain growth. Objectives By participating in this lesson, young people will: Learn scientific research about the emotional region of the brain (Amygdala) and common tug-of-wars with the judgment center (Pre-frontal Cortex). Reflect upon their own experiences when their emotions overcame reasoning. Unpack the meaning of emotional competence as an indicator of thriving. Identify personal growth opportunities and research-based tips for growing emotional competence.
Lesson #T5A: Amygdala— the Emotional Elephant Time: 50 minutes Overview This lesson covers Session One of Emotional Competence—an indicator of thriving. Young people begin the lesson thinking about this emotional elephant called the Amygdala. The Amygdala connects the brain with the senses and is the brain’s center for emotions. It is commonly in a tug-of-war with the Pre-Frontal Cortex of the brain, which is the zone of reason or judgment. In the lesson, youth start out by watching a tug-of-war video of an Emotional Elephant and it’s rider, in Sri-Lanka. As the session progresses, each young person draws a cartoon of a recent scenario where his/her own Elephant won the Tug-Of-War with the Rider. These cartoons are shared anonymously and form the basis for Freeze Drama in Session Two of Emotional Competence. The lesson concludes with a short clip of Dan Heath, author of Switch: Change When Change Is Hard, talking about the Chocolate Chip Cookie and Radish Experiment that demonstrates self-control is an exhaustible resource. Goal Youth learn that regulating one’s emotions is fundamentally tied to life success, and they form the intention to grow that skill during the adolescent opportunity of vast brain growth. Objectives By participating in this lesson, young people will: Learn scientific research about the emotional region of the brain (Amygdala) and common tug-of-wars with the judgment center (Pre-frontal Cortex). Reflect upon their own experiences when their emotions overcame reasoning. Unpack the meaning of emotional competence as an indicator of thriving. Identify personal growth opportunities and research-based tips for growing emotional competence.
T5a_Amygdala_Emotional_Elephant.docx