Oh No! Disaster! What Was Series, Every Other Week Book Club (Stem Activities)

Does your child enjoy learning about the past? Are they intrigued by natural and man-made disasters? If so, this is the class for them!! To say that I am excited about this class is a major understatement. This is amazing! Through this class I hope to share my enthusiasm about learning history and science while encouraging children to read and socialize with a group of their peers. 

We will every other week to discuss a different Where is? book. Classes will include comprehension checks, discussion time, and a hands-on activity. Many of the activities will require materials, but I will try to keep them simple items that most of us have around the house- water colors, craft sticks, construction paper, etc. Materials will be posted in the classroom each week. Why every other week? Simple, as much as we all love our Outschool world, truth is, we have other things going on as well. I feel an every other weekly format will give parents enough time to get the book and supplies and enough time for learners to enjoy reading the book while not feeling rushed to finish for class. We've all been in that spot of "Hurry up and finish! You have class tomorrow.". Well, I'd like to avoid that for our learners by offering them more time to prepare for each class. While we may be reading small sections of the text in class, to share, say our favorite parts, students should come to class having already read the text. Due to copyright regulations, we are unable to read the entire text during class. 

The What Was? series of books does an amazing job of explaining historical events in a meaningful way for children. Come explore with us!

***This class will meet 8 times. We'll discuss a different book each class period.***

Week 1 (week of Sept. 3)- What Was Hurricane Katrina?- We'll learn all about hurricane preparedness and safety and work on engineering a building that will withstand hurricane force winds (aka a hairdryer!).  Students will need Play Doh, craft sticks, tape and index cards or paper. 

Week 2 (week of Sept. 17)- What Was the Great Chicago Fire?- We'll learn all about fire safety, work on word search, design a personal escape room and design 3D model of our home showing our escape plan. Learners will need tape, index cards, construction paper and scissors.

Week 3 (week of Oct. 1)- What Was the Titanic?- We'll learn all about boating safety and PFD's before trying our hand at a buoyancy foil boat challenge. Learners will need aluminum foil, 50+ pennies or small items, and a bin filled with water.

Week 4 (week of Oct. 15)-  What was the Hindenburg? We'll explore principles of flight and design our very own flying machine. This may be simple paper airplanes, hot air balloons, balloon rockets, etc. Learners will have the opportunity to decide what they want to build. Supplies will include a variety of objects. I suggest balloons, paper, string and straws, learners may use whatever they wish.

Week 5 (week of Oct. 29)- What was Pompeii? How can we read about Pompeii without learning more about volcanoes and making our own? Warning: This class may be mess! Learners will need baking soda, vinegar, a plastic cup, aluminum foil a paper plate and a large container (to hold the mess). 

Week 6 (week of Nov. 12)- What was the San Francisco Earthquake? Let's dig deeper into the science behind earthquakes by exploring the Ring of Fire, learning about the Richter Scale, mapping the locations of other earthquakes and modeling faults with graham crackers. Learners will need graham crackers, frosting or cool whip, water, plate and a butter knife. 

Week 7 (week of Nov. 26)- What was the Holocaust? This time we'll be graphing and mapping events from the Holocaust and creating anti-propaganda posters. Learners will need basic art supplies- construction paper, crayons, markers and/or colored pencils. Possibly scissors and glue, depending on what they decide to create for the anti-propaganda poster.

Week 8 (week of Dec. 10)- What Was the Great Depression. Let's talk about money or lack thereof. We'll talk about being frugal, participate in a Great Depression simulation and play a math budgeting game. Learners will need papers from the classroom, a pencil, scratch paper and possibly a calculator. 

Parent Caution- It is highly recommended that your preview these books prior to registering your learner. Disasters, both natural and man-made can bring up unsettling questions for kids that you will want to make sure that your learner is ready to address.

Please note that this class will be offered again in the fall of 2023.