Test Your Brain Power

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The answer is 13 boxes.

There are two ways to improve our brains’ ability to function as well as decrease the effects of aging.  One way is through mental exercises, brain teasers, crosswords, etc.  The other way is through certain types of physical exercise.

It makes sense that doing activities that use the brain will improve its ability to function properly.  The best mental exercises are the ones that you enjoy since this means you are more likely to keep doing them.  The more you use your brain for critical thinking and reasoning, the more it will improve.  Activities like crossword puzzles, logic problems, spatial reasoning puzzles, and sudoku puzzles will make your brain work harder than it does when it is completing normal everyday tasks.  But even normal everyday tasks, like cooking dinner, can be turned into mental exercises.  How can cooking dinner be turned into a mental exercise?  Most people are used to cooking certain styles of food, which are usually the ones they grew up eating.  So let’s say you have a penchant for Asian cuisine, making something French or Italian will make your brain work harder because you will be using unfamiliar ingredients and cooking methods.

Physical exercise can also improve the brain.  The results of certain types of physical activities can visibly improve the physical structure of the brain.  The exercises that accomplish this are ones that involve timing and coordination.  Any exercise that improves the cardiovascular system will also support increased brain function through the increased blood flow.  Exercises that involve timing and coordination actually cause a physical change in the brain which leads to improved brain function.  These activities include things like tennis, baseball, drawing, and playing musical instruments.  The timing and coordination required by these types of activities causes new dendrite growth which means there are more possible connections to be made, which helps improve brain function.  With sports that involve timing and coordination, you get the benefit of both the dendrite growth and the increased blood flow.

Improving brain function and health now through the use of both mental and physical exercises will lead to better brain function later in life.  People who keep their brains healthy  early on often have less loss of brain function later in life due to aging.  The nice thing is that the right brain exercise for you is something that you enjoy because this means you will keep on doing it.

Move 3 lines to make these five squares into 4 squares.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Remember to think outside the box!

Stumped?  Here’s a hint:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Here’s the answer:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Go from CAMP to HINT changing one letter at a time, making a real word each time.  Highlight the area next to the ladder for the answers.

• .
• .

Pint

Pine

Dine

Dime

Lime

Lima

Luma

Lump

Lamp

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The answer is 2nd place.  When Tom passes the person in 2nd, he is taking that person’s place and there is still a person ahead in 1st place.

There were several guests who voted for the correct answer, congratulations!  Please comment to this post with your email address (the comments will not be published) so that we can choose a winner.

This scramble is based on Monday’s post, Reading Levels.  Unscramble each line and then unscramble the circled letters to answer the following question:

What reading level is best to use for teaching new vocabulary?

Click on image for printer-friendly copy

Every year the Hampton Bays community holds a race to raise money to maintain the community playground.  Each person who enters the race pays and entrance fee, half of which goes to the playground fund, the other half goes to the winner of the race.  The first five people across the finish line were Adam, Debbie, Kim, Mark, and Tony.  From the clues below, can you determine each runner’s last name, finishing place, and shirt color?

You can print this 3×5 grid to help you solve the puzzle.

1. The five runners are Adam, the runner with the last name Taylor, the runner who came in 1st, the runner who came in 5th, and the runner who wore the orange shirt.
2. Debbie came in 3rd, but did not wear the yellow shirt and does not have the last name Baker.
3. The runner who came in 4th did not wear the blue shirt and is not named Smith.
4. Of Kim and the runner who wore blue, one has the last name Baker and the other came in 1st.
5. Tony’s last name is Gordon, but he did not come in 1st and did not wear red.
6. The runner who wore green finished the race sometime before Mark.
7. Neither the runner with the last name Andrews nor the runner who wore red came in 2nd.
8. Adam wore green but is not the runner who came in 4th nor is he the runner with the last name Andrews.

You can view the answer here.

One of the focal points of education is reading level.  There are standards that have been set on how well a person should be able to read at the completion of each grade level.  This level incorporates both the ability to read words in isolation as well as comprehend the meaning of whole passages.

The average reading level in the United States of America is a 8th grade reading level.  This is significantly lower than countries like Norway, Bermuda, Switzerland, and Canada.  Most books on the bestseller list are written at a 7th grade reading level, as are many newspapers, like the New York Times.

When people talk about reading level, they are usually talking about the Instructional Reading Level.  There are actually three types of reading levels.

Independent Reading Level: This is when a person can read a selection with ease, making 0 - 1 errors per every 100 words and having 100% comprehension about what they read.

Instructional Reading Level: This is the level that most people are referring to when they use the term “reading level.”  At the instructional reading level, a person will make no more than 5 mistakes per every 100 words and have 80% comprehension.  Vocabulary is best taught at the instructional level, requiring some assistance, either from a teacher or a reference source.

Frustration Reading Level: This level is marked by an increase in errors, more than 5 per every 100 words and 70% comprehension.  When people read at a frustration level, the focus becomes about individual words and the overall meaning of the text is lost.  It is not recommended to have people work at their frustration level.

How is a person’s reading level determined?  The simplest way is to look at the reading levels of a person’s favored reading material.  This must be for material that they are reading, not listening to.  Listening comprehension usually exceeds that of reading comprehension.  There are also resources on the internet that give you access to the tools that teachers use to determine reading levels.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/060899.htm is one such site.  It has two sets of word lists to use, along with instructions on how to use them to determine reading level.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/reading_test1.htm is another site that offers printable copies, scoring sheets, and directions.

http://www.test4free.com/ is an online reading test.  It is a two part test, the results of which show you your phonics reading level (how well you read words) and your comprehension reading level (how well you understood the text).

According to www.online-utility.org, this blog post has a 9th grade reading level.

In 2008, a girl celebrated her birthday. Two days later, her older twin brother celebrated his. The girl and boy are fraternal twins.  How is this possible?

Stumped? Here’s a hint:

They were born on a boat traveling east.

Solution:

The fraternal twins were born on a boat that was traveling east across the International Date Line.  The brother was born on March 1st, the boat crossed the International Date Line and then the sister was born, on February 28th.  2008 was a leap year, so the sister’s birthday was on February 28th, then came February 29th, then the brother’s birthday on March 1st.

Every year the Turner family has a reunion.  The five Turner cousins, Amber, Hannah, Lisa, Patty, and Tina, always bring a dessert to the pot luck dinner.  Each of the cousins is also an artist.  From the clues below can you determine the age of each cousin, what type of art each does, and what dessert each brought this year?

You can use this 3×5 grid to help you solve the problem.

1. The five cousins are: Lisa, the 26 year old, the 31 year old, the one who weaves, and the one who brought tiramisu.
2. Amber is not the cousin who does oil painting or the one who brought chocolate cake.
3. The 31 year old does not paint with water colors and did not bring the makings for ice cream sundaes.
4. Hannah is not 35, did not bring chocolate cake, and does not do pottery.
5. The cousin who sculpts is not 35 and did not bring key lime pie.
6. Tina is 29 and brought apple pie.
7. Patty, who is 42 and does sculpting, did not bring chocolate cake.
8. Amber is 31 years old.

Click here to view the answer.