A Little Science Every Day - 6 Week FLEX Class

In this FLEX class, a science-based learning and discussion prompt will be posted every weekday (Monday - Friday) at 9 AM EST in the Outschool classroom. The daily posts will cover a wide range of scientific phenomena and interesting topics, and each will include pictures, videos, and links to additional learning (no login required). Expect to see a variety of logic puzzles and games, graphs and data tables, creative writing prompts, questions that are meant to spark debate, and, well, some that are just for fun! Interested in learning more? Here are a few weekly examples of some of our discussion topics (SPOILERS AHEAD!):
Week 1: 
~How would you survive a zombie apocalypse? (survival video + article from NatGeo kids)
~How do airplanes fly, and what improvements could be made to human flight? (video + printable templates for the BEST paper airplanes!)
Week 2: 
~What is clickbait? Can you create some sensationalized headlines for completely normal scientific events? (video)
~Phobias are extreme and often irrational fears of something. Can you identify some unique examples? (article + trivia game)
Week 3: 
~Can we envision the past 100 years on Earth without some of the most amazing inventions we use today? What would you consider the top 10 greatest inventions of all time? (video & survey)
Week 4: 
~How many species of living things do you think exist on Earth that have not yet been discovered? (video + online game)
Week 5: 
~What is forensic science? What kinds of careers are available in this field - and what are some that might be available in the future as technology advances? (video)
~Should people be allowed to own exotic pets? Why can't every animal be a pet? (video + article)
Week 6:
~A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that uses a series of complex chain reactions to complete a simple task. Can you create one at home and share it with the class? (video examples + at home challenge)
~What do you think are some of the most useless superhero powers? If everyone in your family had a superhero ability but you didn't what would you want them to be able to do? (video + personality quiz)

As with all FLEX classes, there are NO live meetings, and students will communicate with the teacher and each other in the Outschool classroom through the use of written replies, video responses, and the inclusion of any links or other relevant information that they would like to share for each prompt. Although the goal is to complete one prompt each day, I know that family schedules are forever changing so just know that it would benefit everyone if students could try to completed their personal responses to each week's posts by Sunday evening, before the next week begins. However, ongoing discussions about prior prompts and topics can continue for as long as the comments remain relevant to the topic! 

Students are expected to display proper online etiquette, including the use of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, participating in meaningful interactions, and making appropriate word and language choices when posting.

{Ideally, this FLEX class would run with a minimum of 3 students, I will contact parents to discuss options if the minimum isn't reached by the starting date!}