The Magic School Bus- Inside Ralphie’s Brain (1)

The Magic School Bus:
Inside Ralphie’s Brain

By Krina Patel

Meet the
Cast of the
Magic School
Bus.

The c
s ol

It was a hot Saturday morning and
everyone was gathered for the soccer
competition. Tim, Carlos, and Phoebe
were in one team, while Keesha,
Ralphie, and Arnold were on the other
team. Everyone was very excited about
the game. Miss Frizzle was going to be
the judge and Liz the scorekeeper. All
the students were on the soccer field
ready to start the game.

Miss Frizzle blew the whistle to start the game and Tim kicked the soccer ball
high in the air towards the goal. Ralphie, the goalkeeper, tried to keep an eye on
the ball, but he got hit with the ball on the head. “I am sorry,” said Tim running
towards Ralphie. Ralphie slowly started to fall towards the floor. He laid on the
floor like he was sleeping.

Everyone ran towards him. “What is happening to Ralphie, Miss Frizzle?” said Phoebe. “He
might have a concussion, it is when someone gets hit in the head like Ralphie did. Hop on
the bus and let’s check it out,” said Miss Frizzle. All the students went towards the bus
and sat in their seats, including Liz. Miss Frizzle came inside and sat in the driver’s seat.
“Where are we going?” said Arnold. “We are going to see Ralphie’s brain and see if he is
fine,” said Miss Frizzle. Liz sat next to Miss Frizzle as she started the bus. “HURRAY!”
shouted all the students. Everyone tied their seat belts. Miss Frizzle started the bus. The
bus slowly shrank to the size of an ant. The bus flew towards Ralphie and went inside his
mouth.

Everything was red, it was his
blood. “Everyone we are in
Ralphie's bloodstream. Think of
the bloodstream as a straw that
passes blood around in our
bodies,” said Miss Frizzle. “Wow
that is so cool, I have a straw in
my body,” said Tim.

“What are those big things, Miss Frizzle?”
asked Keesha to Miss Frizzle. “Those are
glands they make hormones to help our
bodies maintain homeostasis. It is like a
factory that makes things that our body
wants. Like if we are hot, it makes cold
drinks. If we are cold, it makes jackets.
Hormones are those things that our bodies
need to be the same and feel calm.
Otherwise, we would always be too happy or
too sad,” said Miss Frizzle. “Like Liz!” said Tim.
Everyone started to laugh. “Yes, like Liz.
There are many glands in our body. You
know the most important one is the
Pituitary gland that controls our behavior
like we act,” said Miss Frizzle.

They all moved to Ralphie’s nerves. “Miss Frizzle,
Ralphie has such fat muscles, he is so strong,”
said Arnold. “Those are not his muscles Arnold,
those are his nerves, nerves are like strings that
tell our body what to do. Our brain, our body’s
boss, is always telling these nerves what to do,”
said Miss Frizzle. “Wait, what? I have a boss. I
thought I was the boss,” said Keesha. “No Keesha,
you see those small dot shine? Those are
Ralphie’s neurons,” said Miss Frizzle. ¨They look
like an octopus Miss Frizzle,” said Tim. ¨Did you
guys know that this octopus looking things,
controls your body?” said Miss Frizzle. Everyone
stared at her and said, “How?” Miss Frizzle replied,
“Think of the two octopus’ as two walkie-talkies.
The battery is the cell body that charges the
walkie-talkie. The remote control is the nucleus
that tells the walkie-talkie what to do. The
antenna is the axon that sends the messages
from one walkie-talkie to the other and the small
rubber end of the antenna is the axon terMinal.
You know the space between the two
walkie-talkies is the synapse and the air in the
Middle of the walkie-talkies is the dendrite
because it carries the messages. The metal
around the antenna is the myelin that protects
it.”
“So Miss Frizzle, do we have these tiny
walkie-talkies around our body, but how do they
get the messages?” said Tim.

Miss Frizzle replied, “Tim we do have these walkie-talkies in our bodies. So there are
two parts to how the messages get the messages first the messages go from our
brains to the spinal cord and this is called the central nervous system. Then we have
these tiny nerves or strings around or body that is linked to our spinal cord and they
tell our body parts what to do. It is like a huge octopus, first, the message goes from
the octopus’ brain to his body, then to his legs that tell him what to do.” “So right now
when I lift my leg my brain is telling it what to do?” said Keesha. “Right Keesha,
everything we do is told by our brains,” said Miss Frizzle.

“Now let’s go to Ralphie’s
brain to see what’s wrong
with him. Everyone buckle
up!” said Miss Frizzle. The
bus sped towards the
spinal cord. “Is that the
spinal cord Miss Frizzle?”
said Tim. “Yes that is the
spinal cord, it is the most
important part because it
tells the rest of our body
what to do. So if the
octopus’ body doesn’t work,
will his legs work?” said
Miss Frizzle. “No!” replied
everyone. “Do you think
that I might have hit
Ralphie’s spinal cord and
that he will not be able to
do anything from now?”
said Tim. “No, Tim don’t
worry, look his spinal cord
is fine, it is strong!” said
Miss Frizzle.

Everyone went up to Ralphie’s brain through his spinal cord. “Wait
for Miss Frizzle, this part looks different. It is not the spinal cord
right?” said Carlos. “Right Carlos, we are now in the brain stem of
Ralphie’s brain,” said Miss Frizzle. “Wait, our brain has a stem like a
plant?” said Carlos. Everyone was shocked. “Yes, and just like a
stem, it holds our brain, like it is a flower,” said Miss Frizzle. The bus
went higher up in the brain.

“Students we are now in the
Medulla, the most important part
of our brain,” said Miss Frizzle.
“Why is it the most important
part of the brain?” said Tim.
“Everyone breath in and breath
out!” said Frizzle. Everyone breathed
in and out. “Do you know what tells
our body to breath, it is the
Medulla. Without it, we would not
breathe and we would die. We also
would not be able to swallow food
and you know that food is very
important for us, right?“ said Miss
Frizzle. “Yea, I can not live without
food!” said Carlos. Everyone laughed,
“Look, Ralphie’s Medulla is fine!”
said Miss Frizzle. “Thank god,
otherwise he would have would not
able to eat or breath, right Miss
Frizzle?” asked Tim. “Correct!” replied
Miss Frizzle.

The bus went a bit higher
up in Ralphie's brain. Liz
jumped off his seat and
said, “We are in the pons!”
Everyone laughed saying,
“Pons, what a funny name?”
“It is a funny name, but you
know it controls how our
bodies move, pay attention,
and sleep,” said Miss Frizzle.
“That is very important
because when I move my
hand the pons is controlling
it,” said Keesha. Everyone
started to move their legs
and hands. Miss Frizzle
laughed. “So if the pons is
broken, you will not be able
to move, pay attention in
class, or sleep for a very
long time,” said Miss Frizzle.
Everyone shouted, “Sleep!”
“So if I sleep a lot, does that
mean that my pons is
broken?” asked Arnold. “No
Arnold, that just means you
sleep a lot. You would have
to sleep for days,” said Miss
Frizzle. Everyone started to
giggle.

The bus started again and moved a little up this time. “Everyone this is the
cerebellum, it is like a teacher because it tells the students or the body how to
coordinate things, like how to walk in class.” Everyone yelled, “Hello teacher!” to the
cerebellum. “So Miss Frizzle, if part of Ralphie’s brain is damaged, he won’t be
able to walk properly?” said Tim. “So he would be like Liz then because he is
always hitting into things,” said Arnold. “Correct Tim, but look it is fine, so Ralphie
will be able to walk,” said Miss Frizzle.

The bus starts and goes upwards in the brain. “Everyone looks out us at the police station!” said Miss Frizzle.
Everyone looks outside from the window. “Miss Frizzle I don’t see any policemen here,” said Keesha. “Everyone
we are in the Thalamus, it is the police station because it checks every message that goes in and out of the
brain!” said Miss Frizzle. “If this is broken, then Ralphie will do anything he thinks of. That would be very bad,”
said Tim. “Tim look outside, the messages are still being sent in and out of the brain, meaning it is working,”
said Miss Frizzle. Everyone looked outside and said, “Thank god.”

The bus moved to the left side of the brain. “Who has ever left sad, happy, or angry at anything?” asked Miss
Frizzle. Everyone quickly raised their hands and said, “Me!” “You know this part of the brain is a complete puzzle
piece that has many small parts to it, each with a different function. It is called the limbic system,” said Miss Frizzle.
“What does this limbic system do then Miss Frizzle?” asked Keesha. “This part of the brain tells the body how it
feels, is it happy, sad, or angry. It also controls our memory and how we learn in class,” said Miss Frizzle. “Wait, so if
I am not memorizing anything for a test, it is the Limbic system’s fault?” asked Arnold. “But can you still remember
what you ate last night?” asked Miss Frizzle. Arnold put his head down and said, “Yes.” “Then you see Arnold, no it is
not the limbic system’s fault. If the limbic system is not working then you Might not be able to make new
memories. You can remember anything that happened before the accident, but nothing after. You might also
become very angry at times,” said Miss Frizzle. “Oh my god, what have I done, he won’t be able to remember
anything from now on!” said Tim, crying. “Ohh Tim, stop crying look he has a healthy limbic system. Nothing is
wrong with this part of the brain!” said Miss Frizzle. Tim wiped off his tears. “Students, do you want to see a puzzle
piece the limbic system?” asked Miss Frizzle. “Yes!” replied everyone. “Let’s go then. Ready, set, go!” said Miss Frizzle.

The bus moved towards the
right side of the limbic
system. “Who is hungry,
thirsty, or cold?” asked Miss
Frizzle. “I am very hungry!”
shouted Carlos, from the
back of the bus. “ Do you
want to tell your body that
you are hungry, Carlos?”
said Miss Frizzle. ”No!” said
everyone. “The
Hypothalamus,” said Miss
Frizzle. “The Hypothal..what?”
said Tim as everyone
smiled. “The hypothalamus!
It tells our bodies when we
are hungry, thirsty, cold, hot,
and more. If this is broken
than Ralphie will have
different eating or drinking
habits. Like he might drink
20 cups of water or not eat
at all because he will not
know when he is hungry,”
said Miss Frizzle. “Then he is
fine?” asked Tim. “Yes, this
part of the brain is fine,
look no holes or black
areas! Now let us move on,”
said Miss Frizzle.

The bus went towards the upper part of the brain. “Do you guys know what part of the brain makes up 70 percent
of its weight?” asked Miss Frizzle. The children were so excited, they all raised their hands. “We learned this in
science, it was…” said Arnold. “It’s the ce-re-brum.” said Tim. “Tim, it’s not “drum”, it is ce-re-brum,” said Miss Frizzle.
Everyone laughed. “You know this part of the brain controls many things like your intelligence, thoughts, memory,
and how your muscles move,” said Miss Frizzle. Keesha started to move her hands, and said, ”My cerebrum is
working, look I can move my hand muscles.” Everyone looked at Keesha. “Miss Frizzle, what happens if Ralphie’s
cerebrum is damaged?” asked Tim. “Then Tim, he won’t be able to be aware of what is happening around him, he
might act slower, and he might not be able to learn new things, ” said Miss Frizzle. “Wait then, he won’t be able to
soccer anymore?” asked Carlos. “Don’t worry children, look outside your windows his cerebrum is totally fine!” said
Miss Frizzle. Liz stood up and pointed at the cerebrum. They all sat down and went to the next part of the brain.

“Now who here knows English?” asked Miss Frizzle. Everyone raised their hand and said, “Me!” “You
know we are in the cerebral cortex (ce-re-bral cor-tex) it deals with our language, memory, emotion,
and more. It is like Siri from your parents’ iPhones. It can speak different languages and can tell you
anything you want to know. But, if Siri dies than you Might have mood changes, like one time you
Might be very happy, but other times very sad. You could even change like a person and won’t be able
to solve problems in class,” said Miss Frizzle. “What will Ralphie wake up to be someone else, will
remember us?” asked Tim. “Don’t worry Tim the cerebral cortex in Ralphie is fine. He is going to be
the same Ralphie we know,” said Miss Frizzle.

“Why is this part divided into 2 parts and what is that thing in the Middle?” asked Carlos. “Carlos, the brain is
divided into two parts in our two sides of the brain and that thing connecting it is like a glue called corpus callosum,
you can call it CC,” said Miss Frizzle. “Wait we have two brains?” asked Carlos. “Our brain is divided into two, right
and left. People who use more of their right brain are creative and like art, but those who use the left side more
are logical and like subjects similar to math,” said Miss Frizzle. “I use more of my right brain because I love art!” said
Tim. “Correct Tim, and you what sends the messages from one side to the other, the CC!” said Miss Frizzle. “Then the
CC is like a bridge?” said Tim. “Right Tim and if the CC doesn’t work, then the messages from one side of the brain
won’t go to the other side, and your body won’t know what to do,” said Miss Frizzle. All the students were very
happy to find out that Ralphie was going to be the same, so with only one part of the brain left to see, they went
to the front of the brain to go check out the frontal lobe.

Everyone looked at the front, of the brain. “What are these gigantic things in
front of our brain Miss Frizzle?” asked Tim. “Everyone we are in the frontal lobe.
We use it for planning and solving problems!” said Miss Frizzle. “We use this
part in math a lot, right Miss Frizzle?” asked Kessha. “Correct, and if this part is
broken we can no longer solve math problems,” said Miss Frizzle. “Hurray then,
because I don’t like math anyway,” said Carlos as he laughed. “Yea, but Ralphie
likes math,” said Tim, sadly. “Tim, why don’t you look outside and see if Ralphie’s
frontal lobe is fine? said Miss Frizzle. Tim and Liz looked outside and said
together, “It is fine. HURRAY!”

“We still have to check the other lobes of the brain. So hold on everyone” said Miss Frizzle. Everyone went to the
Parietal lobe. “Students look outside we are at the parietal lobe or the language lobe. This part of the brain controls
our language and touch, “ said Miss Frizzle. “Miss Frizzle, if I have a bigger language lobe does it mean I can speak
more languages?” asked Keesha. “No Keesha, but all your language memory is stored here,” said Miss Frizzle. “Miss
Frizzle, if this part is damaged does it mean Ralphie will not understand what we say to him or he can not sense
what he touches, even if it is too hot?” asked Tim. “Correct Tim, but look every neuron is working in his language
lobe,” said Miss Frizzle. “Now can we go check the occipital lobe. I saw it in our science class. It’s so cool” said Carlos.
“Yes let’s go!” said Miss Frizzle.

The bus went towards the back of the brain. “Carlos do you want to tell us what the occipital (o-cci-pi-tal) lobe
or the eye lobe does?” asked Miss Frizzle. Everyone looked at Carlos. “This part of the brain controls our sight
and if it is damaged we will not be able to see,” said Carlos. “Correct Carlos. Well done,” said Miss Frizzle.
Everyone started to panic thinking that Ralphie will not be able to see again. “Everyone calm down look outside
the window, Ralphie’s eye lobe is fine,” said Miss Frizzle. “Hurray!” shouted everyone.

“Now let’s go to the last
stop of the day, the
temporal (temp-o-ral) lobe
or the school lobe,” said
Miss Frizzle. The bus went
towards the middle of the
brain. “What does this
part of the student lobe
do Miss Frizzle?” asked
Keesha. “Keesha this part
of the brain controls what
we hear, learn, and our
feeling. If we are sad or
angry. If this gets
damaged we can feel all
sorts of feelings, like be
very sad or very happy.
We might not even be
able to hear. But, everyone
looks Ralphie’s student
lobe is fine.” said Miss
Frizzle. “Miss Frizzle, does
this mean Ralph's brain is
fine?” asked Tim. “Yes Tim,
Ralphie is fine. He can
jump, jog, talk, see, listen,
and more,” said Miss
Frizzle.

Everyone left Ralphie’s brain. They woke
Ralphie up. Since Ralphie was fine, everyone
came out of Ralphie’s brain. They all played
soccer happily ever after.

Websites Used (Works Cited
(APA Format)):

● Human Brain Parts And Their
Functions. (2017, May 30). Retrieved
from
https://humananatomyly.com/human-b
rain-parts-and-their-functions/

● Rathus, S. A. (2010). Holt McDougal
psychology: Principles in practice. Holt
McDougal.

The End