The Brain's Alarm: teacher key

Feelings, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Many parts of the brain work together to make an emotion. Read how an alarm sounds and how the body settles.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What works like an alarm that helps protect the body from danger?
   • The nose
   • The amygdala (answer)
   • The heart
2. What helps the body settle back to calm after danger has passed?
   • The parasympathetic nervous system (answer)
   • The fight-or-flight response
   • The Stanford study
3. What did one minute of guided slow breathing do for children about seven years old?
   • It sped up their hearts
   • It changed nothing
   • It lowered their heart rates (answer)
4. What does fear help the body get ready to do?
   • Fall asleep
   • Get away from danger (answer)
   • Grow taller
5. What does emotion regulation mean?
   • Never feeling anything
   • Hiding in a room
   • Changing or managing your feelings (answer)

Words

• amygdala: brain's alarm
• regulation: managing it
• parasympathetic: calming system
• prefrontal: front brain
• emotion: a feeling