GATE: Gifted and Talented EducationTrack B-1 Descriptions
Dragons and Zombies and Chupacabras, OH MY!: Writing about Marvelous Monsters
Dragons and zombies and chupacabras and krakens! Whether we love them or love to hate them, monsters are memorable! This class will encourage you to learn more about the mythological creatures that interest you. And it will help you imagine a marvelous monster of your own. Each student will leave class with a monster sculpture, a plot outline, and at least one scene from a new story featuring a monster.
Monday: Monsters in mythology
Tuesday: Writing Studio
Wednesday: Creating monsters for our own stories
Thursday: Writing Studio
Friday: Sharing our Stories
Mighty Multiplication Miracles
Multiplication is nothing more than a shortcut to addition. Let’s say you have five baskets with apples, and each basket contains seven apples. If all you know is addition, you will have to do the following problem: 7+7+7+7+7. Or, if you know how to multiply, you can just do 7 X 5. Either way, you will get the same number of apples, right? Improve your multiplication skills by playing fun and interactive games, learning how to use your fingers, multiplication boxes, and learning all about positive and negative numbers.
Mon: Multiplying on your fingers. How to multiply 9 by any digit.
Tue: Five in a Row: Improve your multiplication skills by playing Five in a Row!
Wed: Russian Peasant Multiplication-a very interesting technique for learning how to multiply!
Thur: Practice ChisenBop-an ancient method of doing basic math on your fingers.
Fri: How to multiply positive and negative numbers; multiplication boxes.
Let's Learn Java
Java is a battle tested enterprise juggernaut. It can be used to make applications for PCs, Macs, Android, and the web. In this class we will be exploring the fundamentals of Java and learning to create, debug, and run applications.
Classes will be half interactivity exploring the syntax and features of Java and half applying these concepts to small projects that students will complete.
Day #1: Brief history of Java and how/why it’s used, learning our IDE.
Day #2: Variables and control statements.
Day #3: Looping (FOR, WHILE, etc).
Day #4: Object oriented programing fundamentals.
Day #5: Advanced topics (Polymorphism, interfaces, abstraction)