BGCA Summer Initiative: "Brain Gain"
Summary:
Each module will contain readings from BGCA publications and related kits (e.g. Reading is Fundamental); an overarching theme; a challenge; suggested materials; a mix of individual and small group or team activities; social-emotional or team-building exercises; arts, English Language Arts, writing, science and math-related activities; outdoor and field trip activities; a final product, show or culminating event to which the public and families will be invited, and suggestions for variation or extension of activities.
Each module will be designed to stand alone. However, occasional links can be suggested to previous modules or activities (especially in the last module, which serves as an active "review" but that can also stand on its own). Social-emotional themes such as trust, cooperation, fairness, responsibility and persistence will be developed in each module. High School Modules are under-development and will be released soon!
» Elementary School Modules
- Team Me
You've got a name, an eye color and even a shoe size, but who are you on the inside? Show us what you think and how you feel by expressing yourself through activities like playing games, doing artwork, writing, dancing, singing and reading. Show the world what YOU do best and discover that it's just perfect being you! - Dream Team From History
Create your own "dream team" with heroes from history and literature. Choose a challenge in your community and ask your dream team to help you and your friends solve it. Think like a President! Act like a movie star! Write scripts and make costumes. Learn from the past and re-imagine history. Finally, host a grand party where Harry Potter might meet Harriet Tubman. Introduce your s/heroes to family, friends, and invited guests. - Invention Convention
Grab a lab coat and use your inquiring mind to improve or invent something that will help others. Start by observing what's around you. Create a science lab and experiment with a partner. Build models, test materials and get ready to show and explain your results at an Invention Convention. Invite other inquiring minds, family and friends. - Stand Up and Be Counted!
You are special, one-of-a kind! Kids can make a difference, so stand up and be counted. Pick a problem that's close to home, like litter or dogs needing homes. Work with a team to come up with ways to solve your challenge. Give your team a name and create an identity to let people know what you are doing. It can be in the form of a flag, poster or public service announcement on your local news channel. Hold a public event and be counted as part of a helping culture! - You've Got to Move It, Move it!
Run, jump, hop, skip and maybe even slither through an obstacle course that you help to design. Challenge yourself to move faster, jump higher or slither longer by the end of the week. Investigate how food can make you go or make you slow. Come and join in the fun of getting fit with friends and feeling great this summer. - You Are What You Eat
Are you hungry for fun with food? Choose from a menu of tasty activities like slicing, dicing and cooking delicious, nutritious foods; visiting markets, farms or other places that sell or grow food in your community; or even designing and creating beautiful table settings. Add a little spice to the end of the week by planning and hosting a family potluck dinner or another food-related event. - Wacky Weather Watch
Mother Nature may control the weather, but you can be prepared. Why do hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes or other wacky weather events happen? Find out from research and real weather experts. Experiment and make your own weather instruments or weather in a bottle. Pick a weather-related challenge and design a solution, like waterproof clothing, a storm-proof house or an emergency kit. Host your own live weather show and share what you know. - Green Team
Show your community that it is actually easy to become a green machine. With your "green team," help your environment be as green and clean as can be. Make a sculpture garden using found objects. Plant flowers or start a recycling station near your home or building. Create greener "kitchen science" cleaning products. Hold a community event that can include plenty of fresh green foods! - Project Survive: Race to the Future
Find a clue or two and go on a fun scavenger hunt to a made-up planet. On the way, pick up what you will need to survive. Would you take freeze-dried food or get food from aliens on the planet? You decide. But before you head for the planets, use what you've learned all summer, like how to cooperate with others to meet a challenge. At a final "Project Survive" event, present your planetary solutions. Local experts will judge and choose winners in several categories. Will your team race to the top?
» Middle School Modules
- SuperMe
Have you ever been inspired by superheroes and how they help make the world a better place? This week, we'll think about our own identities, things we care about and even our own "secret superpowers." Using superheroes as a starting point, we will envision how we can become world-changers who can apply passion and creative thinking to help identify and solve problems in our world today. Using the theme of synthetic biology as a starting point, we'll also explore the science behind superheroes' powers, and develop some big dreams and ideas that could change the world as we know it! -
Sensory Innovations
The senses are the bridge between ourselves and the world around us. Both artists and scientists use their senses to make discoveries and create new innovations. They also allow us to explore what is going on inside: Does a smell remind us of a person or place? Does a color we see make us feel happy? Through multisensory explorations of synthetic biology, we'll taste, feel, see, hear and smell the world around us, and explore our inner world as well. Join us as we use our senses to communicate, discover and develop some creative ideas around sensory innovations the world has never seen before! - Connect the Dots!
What might you have in common with a fish? Chances are you have a lot in common with your best friend, but what about with your principal, a police officer or President Obama? Do you think you have anything in common with a tornado, or a banana or a hip-hop track? Our world is made up of millions of connections that will surprise you and make you think! This week we will investigate the field of synthetic biology and explore the common ground between ourselves and other people, between art and science and between the natural and man-made worlds. We will work together to develop an idea that encapsulates the amazing circuit board that connects you and me and everything we know! - Dead or Alive?!
Is a tree alive? OK, well what about a piece of wood? So, then, is a chair alive? And what about fire? Or germs? Or spiders? This week, we'll explore what it means for something to be "alive" through making art projects, building simple robots and doing experiments that question whether or not something is alive just because it moves, breathes or appears to think. We'll also think about how these questions relate to synthetic biology, and develop our own "blue-sky" innovations that push the boundaries of what it means to be dead or alive! - Remix Nation
This week we will have fun using our imaginations to explore how to get new ideas out of our heads and into our hands! The best innovations come from looking at things we see every day and experimenting with them in new and unexpected ways, and we'll do just that through lots of building, making, tinkering and creative thinking. Inspired by synthetic biology, we will fire up creative ideas and remix them with recycled materials to create prototypes, develop big ideas and explore what it means to be an innovator in today's world. Join us to create your part of the Remix Nation! - Transformers
Living things have been in a state of change for as long as life has existed – and that's a really long time! This week, we'll consider the amazing changes that take place within our own lives and the world around us by investigating mythic monsters, shape-shifting animals and even human transformers through hands-on activities in art, design and science. Building on our previous explorations of synthetic biology, we'll look into designing living organisms as well as transforming ourselves and making our mark on the world of tomorrow through our big, game-changing ideas.
To apply for the Summer Learning Initiative pilot program or to receive access to the curriculum modules, please complete this form.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Boyd
VP, Program and Youth Development Services
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
