1. Ask students what they think might set humans apart from other animals. Explain that there are no “right” answers, but each response should be accompanied by an explanation or justification. (Accept all answers, writing them all on a blackboard or whiteboard.) Explain that the debate about what is or is not uniquely human is highly controversial and always evolving. Ask students why they think the debate is always evolving? (Answers will vary; suggest that it is largely because so much of what informs the debate about what is uniquely human is our understanding of the human brain—the most complex human organ, and that which we understand the least.) Frame the first video clip from the PBS series The Human Spark by explaining to students that it features Dr. Stephen Pinker speaking with series host Alan Alda, attempting to answer the same question they just were by considering themselves: what makes us unique? Provide a focus question by asking students what the three parts of Pinker’s response are. PLAY Clip 1: “Dr. Steven Pinker: Language Makes Us Human.”

2. Review the focus question: what are the three parts of Dr. Pinker’s response to the question, “what makes us unique?” (Language, cooperation, and technological “know-how.”) Explain that while two other The Human Spark lesson plans focus on Cooperation (“Social Skills”) and technology (“Sticks and Stones”), this lesson will be examining language as it exists in our brains, and what it may tell us about what it means to be human.

Learning Activities

1. Frame the next clip from The Human Spark by explaining that it follows host Alan Alda as he speaks with Harvard University professor Elizabeth Spelke about what she thinks might constitute “the human spark.” Provide a focus question by asking students what Spelke believes this spark is and whether she thinks it exists in humans at birth. PLAY Clip 2: “The Language Spark.”

2. PAUSE the clip at 10:45, after Alda says that language is “an innate ability, but one which doesn’t begin to kick in until we’re a year old.” Review the focus question: what does Spelke believe the human spark is, and does she think we have it at birth?” (Spelke agrees with Pinker that language is what distinguishes us, but she does not see it in us at birth or early infancy.) Does Spelke think that human children in their early months as infants are very developmentally different from other primates? (No.) What is Spelke’s conclusion about the experiments involving children placing Kermit in the correct bucket? (That children learn by explicit linguistic instruction rather than by inference.)

Ask students how they would define language? (Answers will vary, but encourage an understanding that language is a capacity for thinking and communicating through the manipulation of symbols.) Ask students what some examples of those symbols might be? (Words, sign language signs.) What might the manipulation of those symbols be called? (Grammar.) Frame the next clip by explaining that it follows Alda as he learns more about human language development from Helen Neville, a professor at the University of Oregon. Provide a focus question by asking students what the earliest stages of language acquisition are for children, according to Neville. RESUME playing Clip 2.

3. PAUSE the clip at 11:36, after Alda says “his first two word sentence was ‘eat out.’” Review the focus question: according to Neville, what are the earliest stages of language development among human children? (First sounds, then nouns, then verbs, then simple sentences at 1.5 years of age.) Ask students if they think this developmental sequence makes sense. (Yes.) Why? (The ability to consistently make certain sounds necessarily precedes the ability to attach meaning to those sounds to make nouns, which in turn precedes the ability to arrange those nouns and other word types in complete sentences.) Ask students if they think there is any connection or correspondence between the sound and the meaning of words? (Accept all answers.) Have the class divide into five groups and distribute a “The Sound of Language” student organizer to each student. Assign each group one of the columns and allow groups 5-10 minutes to brainstorm as many words as they can think of which start with their column’s two-letter sound.

4. When time is up, have each group present their list of words to the class. Ask students in other groups to contribute any other words they can think of that were not listed. Ask the class as a whole if they can think of any commonalities in many or most of the words chosen for each sound. Do they tend to have something to do with one of the senses, or one of the sense organs? (Accept all answers, revealing those listed in the student organizer answer key when no more suggestions are forthcoming. Remind students that there will be “outlier” words with no clear connection to the others in its phonetic group.) Ask students who speak or are learning foreign languages if they think such connection between sound and meaning exists in other languages? (Generally speaking, they do.) After explaining that no answer is definitive, ask students for theories about why certain sounds seem to connote certain meanings, or apply to certain senses and/or perceptions (Answers will vary. Explain that while linguistic theory may never definitively explain the origin of human language, it is widely accepted that language evolved from simpler noises and sounds similar to those made by other animals.)

5. Ask students what they think the similarities and differences might be between human language and animal sounds. (Accept all answers.) Do they think the sounds made by animals might have specific meanings for the animals? (Accept all answers.) Do they think animals capable of understanding the meaning of human words, even if they’re unable to replicate the words themselves? (Accept all answers.) Provide a focus for the next portion of the clip by asking students to be looking for what Professor Neville thinks is the primary difference between human language and other animal communication systems. RESUME playing Clip 2.

6. PAUSE the clip at 13:26, after Neville says “I think everybody agrees about that.” Review the focus question: according to Neville, what is the primary difference between human language and the other animal communication methods? (Grammar.) What is grammar? (The set of rules that govern the composition of complex sentences, conjugations, and words.) Ask students if they think that the human capacity for grammar is something we’re born with, or something we learn? (Accept all answers.) Frame the next clip by explaining that it delves deeper into how our brains process grammar, and in so doing so suggests an intriguing connection between our capacity for language and another distinguishing human characteristic which the class discussed earlier in the Introductory Activity. Provide a focus question by asking students to be watching for what this connection might be. RESUME playing Clip 2 through to the end.

7. Review the focus question: what distinguishing human characteristic shares a connection with our capacity to process grammar? (Tool use/technology.) What is the connection? (Both activities make use of the same portion of the brain, and both activities are based upon logical, sequenced action planning. Just as a tool like a spear must be assembled in a certain manner to be useful, so too must words be assembled in certain configurations in order to make sense.) What does the EEG brain scan test undergone by Alda and the young girl reveal about the portion of the brain that processes grammar? (It is quicker and more focused in an adult brain than in a child’s.) Does this same area of the brain also process the meaning of language? (No—that is a separate part of the brain.) What does this suggest about the way language works in the brain? (Answers will vary, but encourage an understanding that language involves the use of many different parts of the brain and is a process which is refined during our maturation.)

8. Go to the “Language on the Brain” website. Provide a focus for the video clip on the website by asking students to be watching for unique capacities of human language, as opposed to animal communication. PLAY the video clip.

9. PAUSE at 1:27, after the clip of Martin Luther King, Jr, giving his “I Have A Dream” speech. Review the focus question: according to the clip, what are some unique capacities of human language? (Humans can talk about the future, abstractions, culture, and technology.) Ask students if they think these capacities could be considered subjects? (Yes.) Could they also be considered fundamental modes of thinking that might be beyond other species? (Yes. For example, a detailed prediction about the future is certainly beyond other species, but on an even more basic level, the very notion of “the future” is fundamentally–and perhaps uniquely–human.) Suggest to students that both the vocabulary and grammar of language are not only a means of our communication or expression, but the medium and currency of our thoughts. Frame the remainder of the clip by explaining that it will explore some categories of those thoughts and where they may originate in the brain. Provide a focus for the next portion of the clip by asking students to be looking for some of the specific brain processes involved with language. RESUME playing the clip.

10. PAUSE at 5:10, after Columbia neuroscientist Joy Hirsch says “our language system can be revealed through an orderly sequence of specific tasks that we use to probe it.” Review the focus question: what are some of the specific brain processes involved with language? (Conceptualizing, modulation, object naming, passive listening, problem solving, and decision making.) Ask students if they can think of any other processes involved with language. (Answers will vary, but may include word choice or physical articulation of speech.) Ask students if they think these processes might use different parts of the brain? (Yes.) Provide a focus for the remainder of the clip by asking students to list the parts of the brain which Hirsch described as the “language toolbox.” RESUME playing clip through to the end.

11. Review the focus question: what are the parts of the brain that Hirsch describes as the “language toolbox?” (Auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area, arcuate fasciculus, Broca’s area, motor cortex, visual cortex.) Ask students what they think the linguistic function of each of these parts might be? (Answers will vary; the auditory, motor, and visual cortexes are clearly linked to hearing, speaking/signing, and seeing, respectively, while Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area, and the arcuate fasciculus will be obscure.) Have the class reform the five groups they were split into earlier. Have groups log on to the “The Language Loop” website. Distribute a copy of the “The Language Loop” Student Organizer to each student and allow groups 10 minutes to complete them.

12. When time is up, ask for volunteers from all groups to answer the questions on “The Language Loop” Student Organizer for the class. Explain to students that the schematic of the brain’s linguistic function which they’ve just looked at is an extreme simplification of what is known, and that what is known is very little compared to what remains unknown. Even at this very low level of understanding, however, it is possible to appreciate in this interweaving of language functions throughout the brain what neuroscientist Joy Hirsh describes in the video as the difference between human brains and those of other primates. Ask students if they can recall what that is. (Although they share a similar anatomy, the human brain is far more interconnected than a non-human primate’s.)

Culminating Activity

1. As homework, have students write a one page essay summarizing what they learned in the course of the lesson. Each essay should make mention of the following themes:

• Language development in children
• A definition of grammar and its role in language
• What makes animal communication different that human language
• How the brain processes and produces language

Additionally, the essay should include one unanswered question about the material covered.

2. In the following day’s class, before the essays are collected, go around the room and have each student ask their question aloud. Promote classroom discussion of what the answer might be; where no answer is known solicit suggestions of what further research or experiments would need to be undertaken in order to find an answer.

Proceed to Video Segments.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to three 45-minute class periods

Overview:

In this lesson, students will use selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark to explore how the capacity for language develops in the human brain, and about how that capacity distinguishes us from other animals.

The Introductory Activity first asks students to brainstorm what distinguishes humans from other primates, and then presents a video clip in which psycholinguist Stephen Pinker suggests that language is one of three unique human qualities. The Learning Activities further explores the development of language in children, the possible origins of words, the function and nature of grammar, and the interconnected anatomy of the brain’s “language loop.” For the Culminating Activity, students will write a short essay summarizing what they’ve learned and positing an unanswered question as a jumping-off point for further research.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to linguistics or psychology, or as a supplement to a biology unit on the anatomy of the brain

Subject Matter: Psychology, Biology, Linguistics, Evolution

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Describe several ways in which humans are unique among species
• Outline the sequence of language developmental in children
• Suggest theories for the origins of language
• Explain how tool use and language capacity may be linked in the brain
• Name the parts of the brain involved in language, describing their specific function and relative location in the brain’s anatomy

Standards:

From the National Science Education Standards

Content Standard: 9-12

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

Content Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop:

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

• Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. Conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries. Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists.
• Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.
• Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.
• Results of scientific inquiry—new knowledge and methods—emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. In communicating and defending the results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge. In addition, the methods and procedures that scientists used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation.

Media Resources:

Video:

Clip 1: “Dr. Steven Pinker: Language Makes Us Human”

In this outtake from The Human Spark, Psycholinguist Stephen Pinker discusses the three things he believes makes us distinctly, uniquely human: language, cooperation, and technological “know how.”

Clip 2:  “The Language Spark”

An excerpt from episode 3 of The Human Spark, Episode Three: “Brain Matters” exploring the human brain’s unique capacity for complex language.

Websites:

“Language on the Brain”

A video exploring how the brain processes language,  produced by the American Museum of Natural History for its exhibit “Brain: The Inside Story.”

“The Language Loop”

An educational website from McGill University in Montreal exploring how specific parts of the brain process different aspects on language comprehension and production.

Materials:

For the teacher:

• A computer with internet access connected to a projector and speakers for classroom use.
• “The Sound of Language” Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• “The Language Loop” Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

For each of five group of students:

• A computer with internet access.

For each student:

• “The Sound of Language” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• “The Language Loop” Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Prep for Teachers:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Bookmark the website used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 5-8

Time Allotment: Two 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, students view and discuss video segments from the PBS program The Human Spark, as they learn about what distinguishes human beings from other species. In the Introductory Activity, students list similarities and differences between human beings and other species.  In Learning Activity 1, students explore how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees and other species. In Learning Activity 2, students explore a variety of traits/abilities (including language & symbols, social life and the ability to walk upright) and learn how they have evolved in humans over millions of years and how these traits/abilities distinguish humans from other animals. In the Culminating Activity, students compose essays about what makes humans unique.

Subject Matter: Science; Psychology

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast human traits/abilities with those of other species.
• Describe how human thinking differs from that of other species.
• Explain one specific human trait/ability and describe how it has evolved over time.
• Discuss at least four ways in which humans differ from other species.

Standards:

National Science Education Standards

Grades 5-8:
Content Standard C: Life Science
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of:

• Regulation and Behavior
  • All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.
  • Regulation of an organism’s internal environment involves sensing the internal environment and changing physiological activities to keep conditions within the range required to survive.
  • Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal or environmental stimulus. A behavioral response requires coordination and communication at many levels, including cells, organ systems, and whole organisms. Behavioral response is a set of actions determined in part by heredity and in part from experience.
  • An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its environment. How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger are based in the species’ evolutionary history.
• Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms
  • Millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms are alive today. Although different species might look dissimilar, the unity among organisms becomes apparent from an analysis of internal structures, the similarity of their chemical processes, and the evidence of common ancestry.
  • Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.
  • Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow its survival. Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct. Extinction of species is common; most of the species that have lived on the earth no longer exist.

National Standards for Psychology Curricula

Standard Area IVC: Thinking and Language

• CONTENT STANDARD IVC-1: Basic elements comprising thought
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • IVC-1.1 Define thinking as a mental process involved in the manipulation and understanding of information. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): a. Identifying mental images and verbal symbols as elements that comprise thinking.
• CONTENT STANDARD IVC-4: Theories and developmental stages of language acquisition
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • IVC-4.3 Speculate on whether animals acquire and use language. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): b.  Relating conclusions drawn from early attempts to teach language to primates; c.  Discussing contemporary views on whether animals can acquire language.

Media Resources

The Human Spark, selected segments

• Human vs. Chimp Thinking
  A discussion about how human thought differs from that of chimpanzees.

• Beyond the Present
  A look at humans’ unique ability to reflect upon events that have happened in the past and think about things that could possibly happen in the future.

• Thinking about Thinking
  A discussion about the ability of humans to think about others’ thoughts.

• Insight and Imagination

An overview of how insight and imagination distinguish humans from others.

Additional segments which students can use in their research for Learning Activity 2:

• A Matter of Size
  A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human and why some brains are bigger than others.

• Cooperation

A brief look at the cooperative and social nature of humans.

• Human Language

A look at the difference between human language and other species’ communication systems.

• The Art Spark
  An exploration of early cave art and what it tells us about our ancestors.

Website:

What does it mean to be human?

This Smithsonian Institution website explores what it means to be human and provides a variety of information, photographs and web interactives. The site features a “human characteristics” section, which can be used in Learning Activity 2. This section focuses on human characteristics which have evolved over the past 6 million years: http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics.

Materials

For the class:

• Computers with internet access
• Computer, projection screen and speakers (for class viewing of online/downloaded video segments)

Before the Lesson

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites which you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to save the links in one location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, students view and discuss video segments from the PBS program The Human Spark, as they learn about the human brain, including information about brain regions, brain activity and technologies used to explore the brain. In the Introductory Activity, students compare the brains of chimps, rats, monkeys and humans and discuss why the brains of some species are larger than others.  In Learning Activity 1, students explore which regions of the brain are activated during different types of tasks and in Learning Activity 2, students learn about different technologies which provide insight into brain activity. In the Culminating Activity, students explore different regions of the brain.

Subject Matter: Science; Psychology

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Identify the brains of chimps, rats, monkeys and humans.
• Discuss why the brains of some species are larger than others.
• Describe which different regions of the brain are activated by language activities, tool use and thoughts about other people’s thoughts.
• Discuss different technologies used to gather information about brain activity.
• Label and describe the different regions of the brain.

Standards:

National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula

Standard Area IIA: Biological Bases of Behavior
Content Standards
After concluding this unit, students understand:

• CONTENT STANDARD IIA-3: Hierarchical organization of the structure and function of the brain
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • o IIA-3.1 Identify the structure and function of the major regions of the brain. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): Identifying the regions of the brain by using diagrams and/or computer-generated diagrams; Summarizing the functions of the major brain regions.
  • IIA-3.2 Recognize that specific functions are centered in specific lobes of the cerebral cortex. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): Describing the functions controlled by the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex; Relating examples of research on cortical functioning.
  • IIA-3.3 Describe lateralization of brain functions. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): a. Identifying the role of the corpus callosum in hemispheric communication.
    
• CONTENT STANDARD IIA-4: Technologies and clinical methods for studying the brain
  Students are able to (performance standards):
  • IIA-4.1 Explain how research and technology have provided methods to analyze brain behavior and disease. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators): b. Discussing how the use of the CT scan, PET scan, MRI, fMRI, and EEG provides information about the brain.

Media Resources

The Human Spark, selected segments

• A Matter of Size
  A look at the brains of a rat, monkey, chimp and human and why some brains are bigger than others.

• Scanning the Brain
  An introduction to MRI scans.

• The Brain in Action
  A look at the regions of the brain which are activated during different tasks.

Websites:

The Secret Life of the Brain

This website for the PBS series “The Secret Life of the Brain” features information, interactives and video clips about the brain. This site includes information about the regions of the brain and brain scanning technologies, which can be used in Learning Activities 1 and 2.

Neuroscience for Kids

This website contains a variety of information and activities about the brain, spinal cord, neurons and the senses. It includes a section on “Brain Imaging,” which can be used as a resource in Learning Activity 2 (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/image.html).

Materials

For the class:

• Computers with internet access
• Computer, projection screen and speakers (for class viewing of online/downloaded video segments)
• Scanning the Brain Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

For each student:

• Scanning the Brain Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Four Brains Handout (PDF)

Before the Lesson

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Print one copy of the “ Scanning the Brain Answer Key.

Print one copy of the Scanning the Brain Student Organizer and one copy of the Four Brains Handout for each student.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites which you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to save the links in one location.

1. Let students know today’s lesson is about the brain. Ask students to brainstorm some facts they know about the human brain. Write down their answers and discuss. Keep them available for review and discussion later in the lesson.  
2. Ask students to discuss how they think the size and shape of the human brain compares with those of a rat, a chimp and a monkey.
3. Distribute the “Four Brains” handout and ask students to identify the four species whose brains are shown.
4. Let students know they will now be watching a video segment from the PBS program, The Human Spark, which features the brains of the four species featured on the Four Brains Handout. Ask students to observe which four species are featured and to try to determine which brain on their handout corresponds to which species.
5. Play A Matter of Size. After playing the segment, ask the students to review their photos and discuss which species were featured in the segment (chimp, rat, human and monkey). Ask students to discuss which brain they now think corresponds to which species. (1-chimp; 2-rat; 3-human; 4-monkey)
6. Ask students to compare and contrast the brains of the monkey, chimp and human. What do they have in common? (Their shapes.) What differs between them? (Their sizes. A human brain is three to four times bigger than a chimp brain.)
7. Ask students how the brains of primates compare to the brains of other species. (They are larger.)
8. Ask students to discuss what Robin Dunbar from Oxford University states as the reason why the brains of primates are larger than those of other species. (Their brains are bigger because of the more complex societies in which they live. The larger brains help them collaborate with others in order to solve problems of everyday life and death. Dunbar states that in order to live in a big group, one needs a big enough brain with sufficient computing power to handle all of the relationships.)

Learning Activity 1

1. Let students know they are now going to view a video segment which explores different parts of the brain and examines which sections are activated during a variety of tasks.  Ask students to record the tasks featured in the video, as well as which sections of the brain are highlighted during each task.
2. Play The Brain in Action. After playing the segment, ask the students to discuss each of the featured tasks and which parts of the brain were highlighted during each one.  

• Task: Language errors.
  • Words that don’t make sense-
    

  Region of the brain: area in back of brain, mostly on left sid

• Grammatical errors-

Region of the brain: toward front of brain, exclusively on left side (in adult). In child, the region is on left side of brain, but the area is less focused than in adult.

• Task: Tool Use

Region of brain: Left side of brain, very close to regions used for language.

• Task: Thinking about someone else’s thoughts.

Region of brain: Right Temporo-Parietal Junction (RTPJ), located on the right side of the brain, above the right ear.

3. Ask students to discuss why they think the brain regions activated for language and tool use are similar. (Both tasks involve action planning and   sequencing. Both involve the ability to modify a behavior in order to achieve a desired goal.)

4. Ask students to discuss what type of tasks stimulate the Right Temporo-Parietal Junction (RTPJ). (Thinking about other people’s thoughts). Explain this region is among a small number of cortical regions that are the most different in human brains compared to other brains. This is one of a few cortical regions that takes a long time to reach maturity in the life of a human child.

Learning Activity 2

1. Ask students to brainstorm the names of some of the machines or techniques that researchers use to find out about the activity taking place inside someone’s brain. (Possible answers: MRI scans, CAT scans, etc.)
2. Let students know they will now be viewing a video to learn about MRI scans. Ask students to observe what an MRI machine does and what type of information it can provide.
3. Play Scanning the Brain. After showing the video, ask students to discuss what MRI machines do and what type of information they provide. (MRI machines use a powerful magnetic field to image the brain and they can find out what parts of a person’s brain are active when the person is performing different tasks. The MRI takes images of slices of the brain from side to side, top to bottom and front to back. The slices are combined to give a complete 3-D image of the person’s head.)
4. Explain that the class will now be learning more about the different technologies researchers use to explore the brain. Distribute the Scanning the Brain Student Organizer and ask students to explore one of the following types of technologies in more detail:

• CAT/CT
• EEG
• MEG
• MRI and fMRI
• PET

5. Ask students to find out the following information for their assigned technology and to record their findings on the Scanning the Brain  Student Organizer:

• how it works
• the type of information it provides
• its advantages and drawbacks

Encourage students to use a variety of resources to find out the information. Here are two sites with information about brain scanning technologies:

• Secret Life of the Brain: Scanning the Brain http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/scanning/index.html
• Neuroscience For Kids: Brain Imaging http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/image.html

6. After the students have recorded their findings, ask them to share their information with the rest of the class.  As students share their information, have the rest of the class fill in the information about the technologies that they did not research. Refer to the Scanning the Brain Answer Key, as needed.

7. Lead a discussion about the different brain scanning technologies and ask students to compare and contrast the different approaches. Refer to the answer key, as needed.

Culminating Activity

1. Ask students to select one of the following brain regions to research:

● Brain Stem                     ● Limbic System and Thalamus

● Cerebellum                    ● Occipital Lobe

● Corpus Callosum           ● Parietal Lobe

● Frontal Lobe                  ● Temporal Lobe

2. Encourage students to use the “3-D Brain Anatomy” section of The Secret Life of the Brain website and other resources to explore their assigned region.

3. Ask students to find out the following about their assigned brain regions:

• the location of the region
• the main functions associated with the region
• other facts about the region

4. After students have completed their research, ask them to give a presentation to their classmates about their assigned region.

1. Ask students how they would define “society” in the most general manner possible? (Accept all answers, but explain that for the purposes of this lesson, society can be defined in very broad anthropological terms as a community of individuals bound together by custom and function for collective benefit). Ask students what they think the common, fundamental elements of all human societies might be? In other words, what qualities or behavior is required of individuals to make societies work? (Answers will vary.) Write all answers on the blackboard or whiteboard and continue to solicit suggestions until your list includes some variation on the following:

• Altruism
• Communication
• Compassion
• Compromise
• Cooperation
• Generosity
• Government
• Hierarchy
• Language
• Laws
• Leadership
• Learning
• Organization
• Politics
• Rules
• Sharing
• Sympathy
• Teaching

2. Ask students if they think any of these elements of human society can be found in the animal world? (Accept all answers.) Is there anything on the list they think might be uniquely human—anything that might, in fact, define what it is to be human? (Accept all answers.) Tell students that this is not a “right or wrong” question. Explain that the areas of anthropology, sociology, and psychology that this lesson will touch upon are all highly theoretical and occasionally hotly disputed; for the most part, they will be focused on observing scientifically conducted experiments and understanding one interpretation of their results, but other interpretations are possible.

3. Distribute the Social Skills student organizer. Explain that in this lesson, the class will be watching video segments from the PBS series The Human Spark , hosted by Alan Alda, exploring the similarities and differences in social organization among humans and our closest primate relatives, and what they may tell us about what it is—if anything—that makes us uniquely human. Tell students that they will be focusing in particular on the organizer’s three themed groupings of social attributes:

• Altruism/helping/cooperation
• Laws/rules/power/politics
• Learning/teaching

4. Explain to students that as they proceed through the lesson, they should keep notes of anything the observe in any of the video clips that pertains to these three themes as they apply either to humans or primates, and that the class as a whole will be returning to the organizers at the conclusion of the lesson.

Learning Activities

1. Ask students what they think “politics” is in its simplest form. (Accept all answers.) Explain that politics, broadly defined, is a process by which groups of individuals make collective decisions. Do students think that this is a uniquely human activity? (Accept all answers.) Frame the first segment from The Human Spark by telling students that they will be looking at how researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia are observing some basic principles of politics in the behavior of chimpanzees, including two “alpha-males”—Stewart and Skip. Ask if anyone can explain what an alpha-male is. (An assertive, powerful male holding or aspiring to a position of dominance.) Provide a focus question by asking students to pay attention to how Stewart and Skip react differently to the female chimpanzees’ entreaties to share their food. PLAY Clip #1: Chimp Politics.

2. Review the focus question: how do the two alpha-males in the segment—Stewart and Skip—react differently to the female chimpanzees’ entreaties to share their food? (Stewart doesn’t share, but Skip does.) How do the females made their request known? (They surround and pester the alpha-males.) Which is the more politically astute chimpanzee, and why? (Skip, because he recognizes that the goodwill of the females will help him in his next power struggle with Stewart or any other alpha-male.) Ask students if Skip’s power is based on physical strength? (While Skip’s initial viability as an alpha-male may be based on his physical strength, it is his awareness of others—even weaker others—and the importance of their perception of him that makes Skip more likely to prevail in a future contest between himself and Stewart.)

3. As Yerkes scientist Franz de Waal notes to Alda in the video segment, cooperation and alliances— “keeping score, trading favors”—are necessary in both chimp and human society. Ask students if cooperation, alliances, the asking and doing of favors, and remembering who’s done what for whom are ever important considerations in their own lives? If so, how? (Accept all answers.) Frame the next video segment by explaining that part of “keeping score” in relationships is simply keeping track of them all in the first place, and that scientists are making interesting discoveries about the relative ability of chimps and humans to do so. As they watch the next segment, ask students to focus on how Oxford University anthropologist Robin Dunbar defines a relationship. PLAY Clip #2: Social Networks and the Spark.

4. PAUSE at 0:51, right after Alda says “Robin notes that the threefold increase in group size, from 50 in chimps to 150 in humans, fits in nicely with the three times bigger brains we humans possess.” Review the focus question: how does Robin Dunbar define a relationship? (When two people know each other as persons, know where they fit into each other’s social world, and are willing to do favors for each other.) Ask students approximately how many relationships they think they have, according to Dunbar’s definition. (Accept all answers.) Suggest to students that new technologies have made it easier than ever to quantify the number of relationships we have; can anyone guess what some are? (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and other social networking sites.) Tell students that Dunbar’s figure of 150 real relationships is very close to the average person’s number of Facebook friends (120). Many people have more than 150 Facebook friends, and some number their Twitter followers in the thousands or even millions, but how many of these would fit Dunbar’s definition of a relationship? (Accept all answers, but suggest that any one person probably has fewer “real” relationships than his or her social networking profile would indicate.) Suggest to students that even as technology allows us to make at least superficial connections with a virtually infinite number of people, the amount of time—and brain power—we can spend on relationships remains stubbornly unchanged from what it has always been.

5. Working within these limitations on the quantity and quality of our relationships, how do we choose who we will develop as our closest friends and allies? (Accept all answers.) Putting aside personal interests, beliefs, appearance and all the other subjective qualities that draw us to (or repel us from) other people, what is a fundamental quality that anyone is looking for in someone else? [Hint: Skip understood this, and Stewart didn’t!]  (Cooperation.) Explain that both individual relationships and great societies depend on the same thing: the expectation that others will be willing to work together, to give and to take in the inherently shared enterprise of human relations. One-sided friendships don’t last long, and uncooperative societies disintegrate. Ask students if they think the impulse to cooperate is something we’re born with or something we learn? (Accept all answers.) Frame the next clip by explaining that it will demonstrate how deeply ingrained the principle of cooperation is among humans. Provide a focus question by asking how psychology professor Karen Wynn interprets the results of the experiment shown in the segment. RESUME Clip #2: “Social Networks and the Spark.”

6. Review the FOCUS question: how does psychology professor Karen Wynn interpret the results of the experiment shown in the segment? (She believes that it reflects our hard-wired nature as cooperative social beings, who must be able to distinguish cooperators from non-cooperators.) Ask students why it would be so important for us to make that distinction? (Cooperators make much better mates, friends, and allies than non-cooperators.) Tell students that many scientists and researchers have indeed come to see cooperation as humanity’s primary evolutionary strategy—the “secret weapon” that has enabled us to develop faster and further than any other species. Ask students why cooperation would be an evolutionary asset? (Unlike most other animals who rely for their evolutionary advancement on individual attributes like speed or strength, humans’ greatest evolutionary assets are other humans, with whom we cooperate to accomplish things—the hunting of large animals, for instance, or the invention of the computer—that would otherwise be beyond the abilities of individuals.) Frame the next clip by explaining that it shows another series of psychological experiments with both human children and primates, this time at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Provide a focus question by asking students what similarities and differences they see between human children and chimps with regard to their tendency to cooperate. PLAY Clip #3: How We Learn.

7. PAUSE segment at 31:37, after Alda says “human children are eager to help with all sorts of troubles, and what’s more, they seem to enjoy it.” Review the focus question: what similarities and differences are there between human children and chimps with regard to their tendency to cooperate? (Both children and primates offer help to others in reaching objects, but the impulse to help is much stronger in human children, extending to a greater range of actions—e.g. opening and closing closet doors—and it appears to give them actual pleasure and/or satisfaction.) Ask students why they think children seem to get pleasure from helping others? (Accept all answers.) Do they think children offer help for political reasons? In other words, do children help because they feel they have something to gain by doing so? (Accept all answers.) Or do they think that children’s impulse to help is genuinely altruistic? In other words, is helping someone else its own reward? (Accept all answers.) Explain that while it is an age-old philosophical debate whether or not altruism is truly “selfless” or only “enlightened self-interest,” what is certain is that both human children and adults tend to derive pleasure and/or satisfaction from helping others, which in turn tends to help them establish and promote themselves within the social web of human relationships. Provide a focus question for the remainder of the video segment by asking what the similarities and differences are in learning methods between human children and orangutans. RESUME playing segment #3 through to the end.

8. Review the focus question: what are the similarities and differences in learning methods between human children and orangutans? (Humans learn by observing and imitating others—especially if the other is older and more skilled—while orangutans tend to do their own thing, even after observing a different method.) Which method do students think would be more effective? Why? (Observing and imitating, because it allows for knowledge and experience to be more effectively and efficiently transmitted among individuals, as opposed to each individual “re-inventing the wheel.”) Could this be described as a more “social” approach? (Yes.) Explain that an approach to learning which emphasizes observation and imitation of others capitalizes on the human tendency for cooperation and social behavior the class has been discussing. Frame the next video segment by explaining that it will be examining how chimpanzees learn. Provide a focus question by asking students what the similarities and differences are between how humans and chimps learn. PLAY Clip #4: Monkey See, Monkey Do.

9. Review the focus question: what are the similarities and differences between how humans and chimps learn? (Both species learn by observing others, but while chimps tend to “passively tolerate” those observing them, humans “actively engage” in the “mutually cooperative” process of teaching and learning.) Ask students if they think chimp behavior is closer to our own than orangutans? (Yes.) Why might this be? (Chimpanzees are much closer relatives to us than orangutans, having diverged from us on the evolutionary tree 6 million years ago, compared with 15 million for orangutans.) Have the researchers in the video segments been exhibiting active engagement in teaching their subjects? (Yes.) Ask students if they can think of an instance in which the human subject of one of those experiments stepped into the teaching role? (The video segment in which the young boy was shown the “right” way to push a cube off of a platform—i.e. assembling a tool and using it to push a cube—and then attempted to teach the polar bear puppet to do the same.) How did the boy react when the polar bear puppet attempted to complete the task using the “wrong” method (i.e. tilting the platform)? (The boy tried again to show the puppet the right method, scolded the puppet for not using it, and finally attempted to physically prevent the puppet from using the wrong method.) Assuming that this behavior is typical among other children—and research has shown that it is—what conclusions might we draw from it? (That humans tend to prefer—and occasionally insist—that others do things as they’ve been taught.) Do students think that this is a healthy social impulse? (Accept all answers.) How might it be healthy? (It encourages an orderly and efficient transfer of knowledge.) How might it be unhealthy? (It could discourage individual creativity and initiative.) What if the “wrong” way to do something is in fact the better method? The puppet’s solution to the problem, for example, bypassed the need to construct a tool. Could that be considered an innovation? (Accept all answers.) Ask students if they think humans would ever have become humans in the first place if they always did what they observed others doing, or did things as they were taught. (No—we might even still be chimps!)

10. Return to the list of a society’s basic elements the class compiled in the Introductory Activity, and discuss which elements are being demonstrated in the experiment with the boy and the puppet? (Accept all answers, but keep prompting until someone offers the response of laws/rules.) What happens to a society without them? (Chaos and anarchy.) What happens if a society has too many laws, rules, and enforcement? (Authoritarianism and repression.) Explain that just as individuals must find the balance between following established precedents and striking out on their own, a healthy society must find the balance between laws and liberty, between tradition and innovation. Explain that there is a distinctly human quality which enables this social balance to be struck, and that it may in fact be the foundation of all uniquely human endeavors—what is it? (Accept all answers.) Provide a focus for the next clip by asking students to be looking for what it is that Alda suggests may be “the human spark” which ultimately distinguishes us from primates and other animals. PLAY Clip 5: Cooperation Over Competition.

11. Review the focus question: what is it that Alda suggests may be “the human spark” which ultimately distinguishes us from primates and other animals? (Our ability to get along and work together, even with individuals we don’t know.) What does evolutionary psychologist Mike Tomasello call this? (A sense of “we-ness”.)

Culminating Activity

1. Divide students into three groups. Allow 15-20 minutes for groups to compare and contrast the notes they have been keeping throughout the course of the lesson on their “Social Skills” student organizers, rewatching video clips as necessary on their computer(s). In addition, have each group select ONE of the elements of society compiled as part of the Introductory Activity that is NOT one of the organizer’s three themed groups, and find examples of it in the video excerpts. (Each group should select a different element.).

2. After groups have completed their discussions, have each group make a brief presentation to the rest of the class, citing examples in the video clips and explaining any conclusions drawn about ONE of the three themes on the organizer PLUS the additional “element” which they selected to watch for in the video clips. After each presentation, encourage contribution and discussion from the rest of the class. Do they agree with the presenting groups conclusions? Why or why not? (Accept all answers, and note that the “answers” given on the Student Organizer Answer Key are not comprehensive or definitive, but rather examples of possible conclusions.)

Proceed to Video Segments.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to three 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, students will use selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark to investigate the differences and similarities between the respective social dynamics of humans and our closest primate relatives and what they may tell us about what—if anything—may make us uniquely human.

In the Introductory Activity, students are asked to brainstorm what the basic building blocks of human society are, and asked to consider whether any of these are indeed unique to humans, or if they may also be found in the animal world. In the Learning Activity, they will watch a series of excerpted clips from The Human Spark comparing and contrasting the social and individual behavioral tendencies of humans and primates along three main themes: altruism/helping/cooperation, laws/rules/power/politics, and learning/teaching. In the Culminating Activity, students will divide into groups to compare the observations they have made throughout the lesson on their student organizers and make brief presentations to the rest of the class.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to (or supplement to) a unit on anthropology or sociology.

Subject Matter: Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Evolutionary Biology

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Outline the essential elements of human society
• Describe the basic dynamics of chimpanzee society
• Define a relationship in anthropological terms
• Provide experimental examples of an innate human tendency to cooperate
• Compare and contrast the learning and teaching behavior of humans and primates
• Explain why the extent of our ability to cooperate may constitute a “human spark” distinguishing us from animals

Learning Standards

(From the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies available at www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands)

Chapter 2—The Themes of Social Studies

1. CULTURE

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity.

Human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. The study of culture examines the socially transmitted beliefs, values, institutions, behaviors, traditions and way of life of a group of people; it also encompasses other cultural attributes and products, such as language, literature, music, arts and artifacts, and foods. Students come to understand that human cultures exhibit both similarities and differences, and they learn to see themselves both as individuals and as members of a particular culture that shares similarities with other cultural groups, but is also distinctive. In a multicultural, democratic society and globally connected world, students need to understand the multiple perspectives that derive from different cultural vantage points.

4. INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity.

Personal identity is shaped by an individual’s culture, by groups, by institutional influences, and by lived experiences shared with people inside and outside the individual’s own culture throughout her or his development. Given the nature of individual development in a social and cultural context, students need to be aware of the processes of learning, growth, and interaction at every level of their own school experiences. The examination of various forms of human behavior enhances an understanding of the relationships between social norms and emerging personal identities, the social processes that influence identity formation, and the ethical principles underlying individual action.

5. INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUTIONS

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

Institutions are the formal and informal political, economic, and social organizations that help us carry out, organize, and manage our daily affairs. Schools, religious institutions, families, government agencies, and the courts all play an integral role in our lives. They are organizational embodiments of the core social values of those who comprise them, and play a variety of important roles in socializing individuals and meeting their needs, as well as in the promotion of societal continuity, the mediation of conflict, and the consideration of public issues.

Media Components:

Video:

Selected segments of The Human Spark: So Human, So Chimp

Chimp Politics

Host Alan Alda and scientist Franz de Waal observe and compare two alpha-male chimpanzees’ different approaches to sharing at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta.

Social Networks and the Spark

Oxford University’s Alan Dunbar compares human social networks  to those of chimps;  at Yale University, host Alan Alda observes how babies as young as three months old favor cooperative puppets over those that won’t play.

How We Learn

Host Alan Alda observes experiments at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology which demonstrate how differently human children and orangutans learn how to complete tasks.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

At the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Vicki Horner explains the ways chimps “passively tolerate” learning as opposed the “active” engagement of human teaching.

Cooperation Over Competition

Scientists discuss what may be the uniquely “human spark” which separates us from animals: our ability to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate with others.

Materials:

For the teacher:

1 projected computer with internet access

Social Skills Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

For each of three groups of students:

1 computer with internet access

For each student:

Social Skills  Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Prep for Teachers:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Print/copy the Social Skills Student Organizer for each student.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

Grade Levels: 9-12

Time Allotment: Three 45-minute class periods

Overview: In this lesson, selected segments from the PBS series The Human Spark are used to help students understand both the construction and context of some of the prehistoric tools which allowed early humans to survive and thrive. Particular attention is paid to the design and use of these early tools, the specific techniques used in their construction, and the reciprocal relationship between human technology and human evolution.

In the Introductory Activity, students will review the six simple machines and their role as the building blocks of most technologies. The Learning Activities will examine the progressively more sophisticated stone-age technologies of the hand-ax, the spear, and the atlatl assisted spear. The Culminating Activity asks students to brainstorm other tools and technologies which have affected the course of human development, and to conduct further research into them.

This lesson is best used as an introduction to a unit on the history of technology, or as a supplement to an anthropology or archaeology unit about Neanderthals and/or early humans. 

SUBJECT MATTER: Archaeology, Anthropology, Technology

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Describe  the six simple machines and give examples of each
• Describe detailed construction techniques for several different prehistoric tools
• Distinguish between natural and man-made wear patterns on rocks.
• Discuss how certain tools and technology have advanced human development and may have affected human biological evolution

LEARNING STANDARDS:

(From the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, available at www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands)

Chapter 2—The Themes of Social Studies

8. Science, Technology, and Society

Science, and its practical application, technology, have had a major influence on social and cultural change, and on the ways people interact with the world. Scientific advances and technology have influenced life over the centuries, and modern life, as we know it, would be impossible without technology and the science that supports it.

There are many questions about the role that science and technology play in our lives and in our cultures. What can we learn from the past about how new technologies result in broader social change, some of which is unanticipated? Is new technology always better than that which it replaces? How can we cope with the ever-increasing pace of change, perhaps even the concern that technology might get out of control? How can we manage technology so that the greatest numbers of people benefit? How can we preserve fundamental values and beliefs in a world that is rapidly becoming one technology-linked village? How do science and technology affect our sense of self and morality? How are disparate cultures, geographically separated but impacted by global events, brought together by the technology that informs us about events, and offered hope by the science that may alleviate global problems (e.g., the spread of AIDS)? How can gaps in access to benefits of science and technology be bridged?

(From the National Science Education Standards, available at www.nap.edu)

Content Standards: 9-12

Science as Inquiry

Content Standard A: As a result of activities in grades 9–12, all students should develop

• Understandings about scientific inquiry

1. Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. Conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries. Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists.
2. Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.

Science and Technology

Content Standard E: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop

• Understandings about science and technology

1. Scientists in different disciplines ask different questions, use different methods of investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support their explanations. Many scientific investigations require the contributions of individuals from different disciplines, including engineering. New disciplines of science, such as geophysics and biochemistry often emerge at the interface of two older disciplines.
2. Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.

MEDIA COMPONENTS:

Video:

Selected segments of The Human Spark: Becoming Us

These video segments may be accessed by clicking the links below or on the Video Segments Page.

If It Ain’t Broke…

Archaeologist John Shea explains the context and construction of one of early humans’ first tools–the stone hand ax.

Pyroengineering

Archaeologist Curtis Marean explains a recent discovery about how early humans used fire in the creation of certain stone tools.

Making Stone Tools is Sooo Millions of Years Ago

Archaeologist Curtis Marean explains a recent discovery about how early humans used fire in the creation of certain stone tools.

To Make A Spear

Archaeologist John Shea demonstrates the construction of a primitive spear and explains its  impact on the social development the early humans who used them.

Websites:

“Simple Machines”

A website from the Center of Science and Industry featuring animated interactives about the nature and applications of simple machines.

MATERIALS:

For the teacher:

• A computer with internet access connected to a projector and speakers for classroom use.

PREP FOR TEACHERS:

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video segments used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s internet connection.

Bookmark the website used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.

1. Ask students how they would define “technology” in the most simple and general terms possible. (Accept all answers, but explain that anthropologists define technology as the use and knowledge of tools, techniques, and systems to solve problems or otherwise serve some purpose.) Ask students how they would define a tool in the most simple and general terms possible. (Accept all answers, but explain that a simple working definition of a tool is that it is some sort of instrument used to perform or facilitate work.) According to this definition, ask students if they think something as complex as a computer could be considered a tool. (Yes.) What about the software that runs on that computer? (Yes.) But what were the tools that made these tools, and what in turn were the tools used to make them? Where does it end? Ask students to come up with a list of  10 of the simplest tools they can think of. In other words, 10 of the most physically useful objects which they think cannot be broken down into even simpler useful objects. (Probable answers include a knife, a hammer, a screwdriver, etc.) Write all answers on a blackboard or whiteboard.

2. Log on to the “Simple Machines” website. Click on “The Essence Of Simple Machines” tab on the bottom left of the screen. The screen will show images of the six classic simple machines. Ask the class to identify and explain the basic function of each one, clicking on the machine’s link to get more information if necessary. (Pulley, inclined plane, lever, screw, wedge, and wheel.)

3. For each tool on their list of 10 simple tools, ask students if it is, or contains, one or more of the six simple machines. (E.g. a knife would be an example of a wedge; a hammer would be example of a lever.)

4. Explain that these simple machines do indeed constitute some of humanity’s earliest tools—developed and used long before they were named or recognized as the basic building blocks of future technologies. Tell students that in this lesson they will be taking a closer look at some specific instances of “stone age technology,” exploring how some of humanity’s earliest tools were created, what they were used for, and what further evolutions and advancements in humanity itself they may have sparked.

Learning Activities

1. Tell students that in this lesson they will be watching some segments from the PBS series THE HUMAN SPARK, which explores different theories about what it is that makes humans unique among animals. Ask students what ideas they may have about what makes us unique? (Accept all answers.) Ask students if they think that making and using tools are traits unique to humans? (Accept all answers.) Explain that while tool making and use was once considered uniquely human, more recent research has revealed that other species also make and use tools. Chimpanzees, for example, have been observed stripping sticks with their fingers and teeth so that they may more easily be inserted into ant and termite nests as probes to collect the edible inhabitants. Nevertheless, for no other species has tool making and use—on other words, technology—been such a central part of an evolutionary strategy as it has been for humans.

2. Tell students that they will know be looking at a video segment which examines the context and construction of one of humanities’ earliest tools—the hand ax. As they watch, ask students to be watching for the reason why archaeologist John Shea believes the design of the hand ax changed so little for so long.  PLAY Clip 1: “If It Ain’t Broke…”

3. Review the focus question: why does archaeologist John Shea believe the design of the hand ax changed so little for so long? (The design of the hand ax was not under a   “powerful pressure of natural selection” to evolve and improve; in other words, it wasn’t broke, so it wasn’t fixed!) Ask what natural selection is? (Charles Darwin’s principle of “survival of the fittest.”) Explain that Shea is using an evolutionary term usually applied to organisms and applying it instead to an organism’s inanimate creation; the more “fit” a tool seems to serve its purpose, the less it is refined or “evolves”, and the more it “survives” in its existing form.

4. Ask students how stone-age hand axes were made, based on Professor Shea’s demonstration. (A piece of rock is hit with another piece of rock, which chips pieces off, creating a sharp edge.) What kind of rock would work best for constructing hand axes in this manner? (Accept all answers, but point out that flint and certain other sedimentary rocks are ideal.) What are sedimentary rocks? (Sedimentary rocks are created by the geological compression over time of layer upon layer of sediments, generally left behind where there were once rivers or other bodies of water.) Why are they ideal materials for creating tools? (Their sedimentary layers can easily be chipped or “flaked” away to produce a sharp edge.)

5. Tell students that besides being a good stone for making into blades, flint possesses another extremely useful quality—what is it? (Flint, when struck with a rock containing iron, can generate sparks which can be kindled into flame.) Explain that this technique, known as “percussion firestarting,” is generally though to have developed around 7,000 B.C.—much later than the stone hand axes seen in the previous clip. Recent archaeological discoveries, however, suggest that fire did indeed play a role in the creation of certain stone blades dating back at least 72,000 years ago. As they watch the next clip, have students pay attention to what “silcrete” is and what role fire played in its use as a raw material for stone blades.  Play Clip 2: “Pyroengineering.”

6. Review the previous question: what is silcrete? (A material long thought to be ideal for making stone blades, many high-quality examples of which have been found by archaeologists). How was archaeologists’ actual experimental experience with silcrete problematizing this theory? (They themselves couldn’t make silcrete into good blades.) What was the archaeologists’ breakthrough in understanding how the high-quality silcrete blades were made? (They discovered silcrete encased in ash, suggesting that it had been heat-treated.) What happened when they heat-treated silcrete themselves during a barbeque? (It took on the same red color as the original silcrete blades they’d found, and when struck, flaked off sharp edges beautifully.)

7. Tell students that hardening by fire is also known as “tempering,” and that it is widely used in almost every type of manufacturing today, but that silcrete was perhaps its original use. Ask student how this type of “pyroengineering” might first have been discovered by early man? (Accept all answers, but point out that it may very well have been discovered accidentally when raw silcrete was heated in a cooking fire not unlike that made by Curtis Marean and his fellow archaeologists at their barbeque.) Remind students that silcrete blades have been found that date back over 72,000 years. Ask students how they think tempering would have been possible so many years before humans developed the ability to create fire? If necessary, offer this hint: how does fire occur naturally? (Flames started naturally by lighting strikes could, with care, be maintained more or less indefinitely.)

8. Point out how the case of silcrete is a good illustration of how much archaeological knowledge must be extrapolated from relatively mundane artifacts (e.g. an ash-encrusted rock) and confirmed through modern experimentation (e.g. the archaeologists’ barbeque.) When most of the prehistoric archeological record consists of various types of rock, even the subtlest differences can be significant to the trained eye. Ask students how archaeologists can distinguish between pieces of flint which were simply broken naturally from pieces that were deliberately fashioned into axes by early humans? (Accept all answers, and tell students to be thinking about this question as they watch the next clip.) PLAY Clip 3: “Making Stone Tools Is Sooo Millions of Years Ago.”

9. PAUSE at 1:54 right after John Shea says to Alan Alda “Of course they didn’t have guns yet.” Review the previous question: how can archaeologists distinguish between pieces of rock which were naturally broken from pieces that were deliberately fashioned into axes by early humans? (Rocks that are naturally fractured tend to be worn equally over their entire surface, and chipped in all directions, whereas artificially created ax heads show careful chipping only along the cutting edges, and always in one direction. Also, the environmental context in which rocks were found gives strong indication of whether they were made by humans.) Ask students what specific uses they think hand-axes had. PLAY Clip 3 through to the end.

10. Review the previous question: for what specific uses were hand-axes used? (They were multi-use tools, but depending on the nature of the edge they could be used for cutting or scraping.) Ask students to review the six classic simple machines. (Screw, inclined plane, pulley, wheel, lever, and wedge.) What kind of simple machine is a hand axe? (A wedge.) How does a wedge work? (It splits objects.)

11. Ask what would happen if you somehow attached a hand axe to a long stick or shaft?  (You would have created a spear.) What are the advantages of a spear over a hand axe? (Greater range.) Ask if a spear is fundamentally a different type of simple machine than a hand axe. (No—a spearhead is a wedge exactly like a hand-axe; only the nature of the force behind it is different—i.e. the force of a thrust, or the force of momentum if thrown.) Ask students how they think early humans went about making spears. (Accept all answers.) Tell students to be watching in the next clip for the answer to this question. PLAY Clip 4: “To Make A Spear.”

12. PAUSE at 35:55, after Shea says “In a real one we’d have a lot of glue in there.” Review the previous question: how did early humans make multi-part spears? (A stone spearhead would be made in a manner similar to a hand ax, inserted into a groove cut in a wooden stick or shaft, held in place with pitch or some other type of glue, and secured by multiple windings of animal sinew or plant fiber.) Explain that the spear, when thrown, was one of the earliest examples of “projectile technology.” Ask what the very earliest example probably was? (A thrown rock.)  Ask students what advantage projectile weapons had against the handheld variety? (Greater range.) What are the benefits of a weapon with greater range? (Accept all answers.) Have students pay particular attention to this question as they watch the remainder of the clip. PLAY Clip 4 through to the end.

13. Review the previous question: what are the benefits of a weapon with greater range? (Larger, more dangerous prey like woolly mammoths could be hunted at a safer distance.) Ask students if in the last clip they observed Shea and Alda using another example of stone-age technology to give their spears even greater range? If necessary, go back and play the clip from the previous pause point at 35:55. (They were using wooden “spear-throwers,” one end of which fit over the spear’s end with the other being held in the hand of the thrower.) Ask students how they think a spear-thrower works. (Accept all answers.) Tell students that the spear thrower used by Shea and Alda—also known as an “atlatl”—has been developed by many primitive cultures around the world. Ask students if they think the atlatl is an example of another simple machine? (Yes—a lever.) Explain that an atlatl is specifically a “third class lever,” which works by applying force between the fulcrum (the thrower’s shoulder) and the load (the spear or dart). By allowing a smaller movement on the fulcrum end of the lever to be magnified into a larger movement on the load end, an atlatl adds speed—and accordingly, distance—to the spear’s trajectory by effectively lengthening the thrower’s arm.

14. Ask students whether early humans hunted larger game animals individually or in groups? (In groups.) Why? (Because even the more advanced projectile technology of the atlatl-thrown spear wasn’t powerful enough for one person to kill a larger animal single-handedly.) Ask students why John Shea suggests in the clip that the nature of cooperative hunting was in itself also a major factor in humans’ evolutionary advancement. (The coordination and cooperation necessary for a group of early humans together required communication and planning, which in turn required language.)

15. Ask students which they think came first—primitive hunting implements or the language necessary to coordinate their use? (Accept all answers.) Point out that the likely answer to this “chicken and egg” dilemma is that the development of hunting tools and language was intertwined, with an advance in one leading to an advance in the other. Ask how else improvements in hunting might have affected human evolution? (Accept all answers.) Explain that, generally speaking, improvements in hunting allowed more and bigger game to be hunted, providing more meat in early humans’ diet; more meat, in turn, is believed to have contributed to a larger brain size; a larger brain size, among other things, helped contribute to even more sophisticated tool technology and language use, and so on. Essentially, our tools are extensions of ourselves—technologies that are both the artifacts of our evolutionary development to date, and catalysts for future development.

Culminating Activity

1. Divide students into groups of 4-5. Allow 20-30 minutes for groups to brainstorm five other basic tools or technologies which they think may have contributed to human advancement. Instruct groups to keep their ideas as simple and elemental as possible (e.g. “the plow,” rather than “farming machinery”).

2. Have each group present their ideas to the rest of the class as you write down all ideas on the blackboard or whiteboard. Encourage questions and comments from the class. Can any tool or technology be reduced to a simpler, more basic element? Is the tool an example of a simple machine? Does it include multiple simple machines? What human advancement might it have helped facilitate?

3. After all groups have presented, have each student choose one of the tools or technologies listed on the black or whiteboard as the subject for a short research essay addressing the following questions:

• When was the tool or technology developed/invented?
• What need did it address?
• Who developed/invented it?
• What advance did it make possible?
• How has the tool or technology been developed, improved, or expanded beyond its original incarnation?

Proceed to Video Segments.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: 3 45-minute class periods

Overview: Where did life on Earth come from, and how did it become what it is today?  Students will explore the answer to that question in this lesson on evolution.  The lesson begins with an overview of the history of evolutionary theory, and then takes students on a tour of three billion years of life on the planet using an online interactive timeline.  Students will learn, using video segments from the PBS series The Human Spark, how modern humans evolved from our earliest primate ancestors.  As a culminating activity, students will examine some of the factors that continue to contribute to the evolution of new species and life on Earth.

Media Resources:

The Human Spark, selected segments

Links in the Evolutionary Chain

An exploration of some of the different characteristics that distinguish different branches of the hominid “family tree,” such as brain and face size, ability to make tools, and location.

Human Nature

A look at the ways in which monkeys and apes are similar to humans, not just biologically but mentally and socially

Websites:

Evolution: Change: Deep Time

This interactive timeline from the PBS series NOVA’s extensive Evolution website shows geological and biological milestones on Earth starting 4.5 billion years ago.

Materials:

Deep Time Milestones Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

Deep Time Milestones Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Explain the history of evolutionary theory, and the theory of natural selection as developed by Charles Darwin;
• Identify milestones in the evolution of life on Earth over the past 3.8 billion years;
• Compare and contrast characteristics of modern humans with early human and primate ancestors, and analyze how this may have affected our evolutionary path;
• Define the terms genetic drift, speciation, biodiversity, and extinction, and discuss how these factors contribute to the evolution of species.

Standards

National Science Education Standards

Life Science

Content Standard C

BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

[See Unifying Concepts and Processes]

• Species evolve over time. Evolution is the consequence of the interactions of (1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life, and (4) the ensuring selection by the environment of those offspring better able to survive and leave offspring.
• The great diversity of organisms is the result of more than 3.5 billion years of evolution that has filled every available niche with life forms.
• Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms, as well as for the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms.
• The millions of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that live on earth today are related by descent from common ancestors.
• Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related. Organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities which reflect their evolutionary relationships. Species is the most fundamental unit of classification.

Before the Lesson/Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and websites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer(s) or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark all websites that you plan to use in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as delicious.com or diigo (www.diigo.com) (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Prepare all classroom materials. Print out and make copies of the “Deep Time Milestones” student organizer for each student in your class.

a. Prepare for the Gallery Walk activity by writing the following questions at the top of flip chart pages or large pieces of paper (one question per page): Genetic Drift: When a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population there tends to be a lack of genetic variation.  This is called the Founder Effect.  What are some of the disadvantages to this lack of variation?

b. Speciation: It is speculated that the Homo heidelbergensis population split – some moving to Europe and evolving into Neanderthals, others remaining in Africa to become Homo sapiens.  What type of speciation is this, and what effect did it have on the human population?

c. Biodiversity: During the Cretaceous period, biodiversity levels were high.  Mammals, dinosaurs, birds, marine creatures, and plant life flourished all over the planet.  Then, a massive meteor impact 65 million years ago wiped out 60 – 80% of all species on the planet.  Why did some survive and not others?

d. Extinction: The most recent large scale extinction event, the Holocene, includes many plants and animals but most notably large mammals and rainforest species.  Many believe that humans are largely responsible for these extinctions.  Do you feel that humans have contributed to extinctions over the past 10,000 years?  Why or why not?

e. Natural selection: Survival isn’t always based on physical fitness, but on the way our brains work.  Things like social skills, language, and technological capability may have been what allowed us to dominate over our ancestors.  What skills do we have that our earlier or primate ancestors didn’t, and why might they have been passed down to younger generations?

Post the flip chart pages around the room prior to the Culminating Activity.  If you are not familiar with conducting a “Gallery Walk” in your classroom, review the procedure at the “How to Use Gallery Walk?” Web page.

Proceed to Lesson Activities.