Memory 1.0 Class 6 Pilot
CLASS 6 | WHAT’S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Work against the clock to improve attention and focus.
TRAINER OVERVIEW
- Timer or stopwatch
- Whiteboards or flip charts and markers, enough for each team
- Now Do It! worksheets and TBH Takeaway handouts, enough for each student.
WELCOME TO CLASS
- Welcome everyone.
- Introduce the class topic.
Welcome to today’s class. Our topic is “What’s Age Got To Do With It?”
Our TBH Blueprint focus is the “Sharpen Skills” action point.
We will learn how aging can impact memory, and work against the clock to boost our thinking.
We will be working on the following thinking skills today:
- Perception
- Attention
- Speedy Thinking
- Nimbleness
- Verbal Skills
- Visual Skills
- Problem Solving
- Executive Control
Hand out the TBH Welcome Packet to all new students for a more complete introduction.
TBH LET'S GET IT STARTED!
Get everyone ready to learn with this seated toes-to-top warmup.- Use the TBH music to set your pace, or choose your own.
We are going to begin with TBH Let’s Get It Started!
Being physically active is great for our brains. This quick warmup is a great way to get focused, build energy and get us ready to learn. We’ll do this right at our seats at the beginning of every class. Just watch what I do and follow along!
(At end of warmup) Great job, everyone! We are started up and ready to go!
FEET GET STARTED!
- Rock feet together up on the toes, then back on the heels. 8 repetitions. Count together from 1 to 8.
- Alternate rocking action simultaneously with left foot starting with toe up and right foot starting with heel up. 8 repetitions. Count backward together H to A.
LEGS GET STARTED!
- Gently lift 1 leg off the ground and circle ankle. 8 repetitions. Count together from A to H.
- Gently lift alternate leg off the ground and circle ankle. 8 repetitions. Count backward together 8 to 1.
- March feet on the ground, alternating feet. 8 repetitions. Make “noise” with group.
HIPS GET STARTED!
- Circle upper body right to left. 4 repetitions. Offer 4 words to remember as the count.
- Circle upper body left to right. 4 repetitions. Repeat backwards the 4 words to remember as the count.
- Wiggle hips side to side. 4 repetitions. Ask class to recall 4 words to remember as the count.
ARMS GET STARTED!
- Gently shake arms to the side of the body.
- Circle wrists a few times in clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Flick fingers while circling arms first low in front, then below shoulder level, up high, out to the sides, and down front. 4 circle repetitions. Count by 2’s (2,4,6,8).
- Shrug shoulders up and down, alternating right left shoulder. 4 repetitions. Ask class to recall 4 words to remember as count.
- Roll shoulders forward, then backward. 3 repetitions each direction. Count together 1 to 3 and then 3 to 1.
VOICES GET STARTED!
- Say “OHHHHHHHHHH.” Have group say sound with you. Hold for a few seconds.
- Say “EHHHHHHHHHH.” Have group say sound with you. Hold for a few seconds.
- Say “AHHHHHHHHHH.” Have group say sound with you. Hold for a few seconds.
- Say “OH – EH – AH.” Hold each sound for a few seconds. 3 repetitions.
- Say “She says she shall sew a sheet.” Repeat this tongue twister exercise, focusing on articulation and participation. 3 repetitions.
MEMORY GETS STARTED!
- Ask class to recall 4 words learned as part of counts above.
BREATH GETS STARTED!
- Slow focus to bring awareness to sitting still in chair.
- Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale out through the mouth.
- Give a full body shake and a wiggle.
- Give selves big hug, wrapping arms across waist and squeezing gently, as able.
- Thank selves and send some “TBH love” to our brains!
Click to open the TBH Let’s Get It Started! playlist.
Click to open the TBH Let’s Get It Started! complete guide.
TBH BRAIN PLAY | Things That Get Better With Age
- Briefly lead an All Together cognitive warm up to fire up the neurons.
- Challenge everyone to identify things that get better with age – and why!
Now let’s do our “Brain Play.” Research shows that working against the clock is an important way we can keep our thinking focused, fast and nimble. And all these skills are essential to learning and remembering better. We will “play” with our brains at the start of every class to support these important cognitive skills.
Today’s Brain Play is called “Things That Get Better with Age.” As a group we will name things that get better with age – but with a twist. One person will name a thing, then call on a fellow student who has to say WHY that thing gets better with age. Let’s clap snap or tap the table as a group to keep a good pace.
- Have students take turns calling out things that get better with age, with the next student stating why that might be.
- Encourage distance learners to join in from home.
LEARN THE TBH SCIENCE
- Present the science behind the class.
- Allow for brief discussion of the science with your students.
Now let’s begin our workout for today, “What’s Age Got To Do With It?” Most folks begin to notice some minor differences in memory performance around the time they hit their fifties. Such changes are perfectly normal. That first “senior moment” is typically not a symptom of dementia but rather of cognitive aging.
For starters, aging can make it harder to sustain our attention. Aging also affects how quickly we process information. Psychologists call this our processing speed or “reaction time.” We might not pick up on facts as quickly as we used to, especially if a lot of stuff is coming at us at once. As we age, we can also have trouble multitasking. It becomes harder to be nimble in our thinking and jump between tasks. And finally, getting older can impact our memory. Our ability to learn and retain information relies on skills like attention and reaction time. So changes in these skills impacts our memory capacity as well.
But here’s some really good news! Science shows we can maintain and even improve these cognitive skills through training. You may have heard of the phrase “use it or lose it?” Well, that applies here.
One of the best ways we can do this is to train our thinking skills against the clock. Activities played against time force us to give those skills a great workout. There’s nothing like having to race the clock to get us focused and thinking more quickly and nimbly. There are lots of ways we can train our brains against the clock. Timed games are the perfect training solution to keep our thinking skills sharp. And they are fun! Timed puzzle games, electronic hand-held games, and console-based games like those played on the Wii are wonderful choices. This is also where brain fitness software products are of value. These programs offer targeted cognitive training, and sometimes customized to your performance level, to keep “pushing” you to try harder, like a personal trainer would do in the gym.
You can get a good brain work out with any kind of timed activity! Just keep increasing the difficulty as you get better.
Click here to view the TBH Learn the Science video for this class.
Password: TBHSCIENCE
Share this video in your classroom or with your community.
NOW DO IT!
Team up in a friendly competition to find words from within a longer word. - Adapt as needed to include everyone as they are able.
Now let’s have some fun together and train our brains against the clock!
Let’s break into two teams. Each team should choose a scribe who will write things down on this (whiteboard/flip chart).
In a moment I’m going to share with you a long word. Your team scribe will then write that word at the top of your team’s (whiteboard/flip chart). Each team will have two minutes to work together to find as many words as possible using the letters of that word. Your words have to be at least three letters long. And you can’t repeat words! Every word found is worth one point and the team with the most points will win the round. We’ll play at least two rounds of the game. Ready?
Team (select a team), can you please read out the words you found? If both teams have the same word, both teams will cross that word off that list. Then we will count up each team’s points and see who won this round!
- Option to distribute Now Do It! class worksheets.
- Break your class into two teams. Have each team choose a scribe.
- Provide each team with a whiteboard or flip chart and markers.
- Select a prompt word for the first round. Have each team write that word at the top of their whiteboard/flip chart. Instruct each team to work together to find as many words as they can using the letters of the prompt word. Each word has to be at least 3 letters or more in length. Words cannot repeat. Allow 2 minutes for teams to “find” their words.
- When time is up, have one team read their words out loud. Both teams should cross out any words they have in common. Then “count” the words they have left on their board, giving 1 point for each word remaining. The team with the most points wins the round.
- Play at least two rounds, more as time allows, using prompt words from the list.
- Distance learners will add to their teams’ list at the end of the round.
- For virtual delivery, modify workout to do “All Together” and have all students share words found using the prompt word letters. Adjust scripting accordingly.
“NOW DO IT!” WORKOUT PROMPT WORDS (pick one at a time)
NEUROPLASTICITY
ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY
PERSPICACIOUS
KINDHEARTEDNESS
STRAIGHTFORWARD
RAMBUNCTIOUS
VENTILATION
FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION
ALETHIOLOGY
TBH TAKEAWAY
Share this brief wrap-up to end the workout.- Distribute or email class handouts.
- Ask students to talk about one thing they will “take away” from today’s class.
Today we learned that while aging can affect our thinking skills, research shows that training those very skills can help us keep our minds and our memory sharp and nimble. We should all find something we love to do each day that trains our thinking against the clock.
Here is a handout you can take home to help you practice challenging your thinking skills against time.
What is something you will do to train your brain against the clock each day?
TBH TAKE A BREATH
- Lead this cooldown exercise to end class.
- Use the TBH music to set your pace, or choose your own.
Let’s wrap up with our “TBH Take a Breath.” Being mindful of our breath and sharing some positive thoughts is a wonderful way to acknowledge what we’ve learned together before we go back to our day.
Research also shows that these kinds of exercises help us focus better and even learn more effectively.
- Have students get comfortable, resting both feet flat on the floor, hands resting in their laps.
- Have students close their eyes and keep them gently closed.
- Ask students to focus their attention on their breathing, noticing the rate and rhythm of their breath. Allow them to focus on their natural breathing for a few moments.
- Instruct students to begin rhythmic breathing. Ask them to inhale slowly and deeply through their nostrils, breathing gently into their chest and belly. Then ask them to exhale slowly through their lips, slowing the rate and rhythm of their breath.
- Have students continue rhythmic breathing, instructing them to continue to focus on gently and slowly inhaling and exhaling, allowing their attention to simply “ride” the wave of their breath. Allow them to focus on rhythmic breathing for several moments.
- Offer the following positive affirmation statements below in a calm, slow voice. Invite students to simply listen, repeat the phrase silently to themselves, or to think about what each statement means to them.
My mind is relaxed.
I am grateful I can train my brain.
I am grateful for my classmates.
I am grateful for myself.
I take this time and this breath for me.
- Pause for several moments.
- End the exercise by inviting students to bring their awareness back to the room, gently opening their eyes and becoming more aware of their surroundings.
- Invite them to end practice with gratitude for taking a moment for themselves, for the chance to learn together and connect with each other.
Click for the TBH Take a Breath music playlist.
Click to open the TBH Take A Breath complete guide.
COMING UP NEXT!
- Thank students for attending the class.
- Invite students to join you for the next TBH class.
I am glad we had this time to learn together today. It was fun exercising our brains and connecting with each other.
I look forward to seeing you for our next Total Brain Health class. Be sure to bring a friend!
CLASS RESOURCES
NOW DO IT! WORKSHEETS
Use these optional worksheets to run your class.
What’s Age Got To Do With It? Worksheet. Use this worksheet to support the class exercise as needed.
TBH TAKEAWAY HANDOUTS
Distribute these optional handouts to extend the learning experience.
Work Against the Clock for Your Memory Handout. Challenges thinking skills against time outside of the classroom.
