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The Science of Monsters: Summer Literacy Boost!
This is a four week course that combines science, history, lore, and a smidge of gore to create excitement and build literacy skills during summer break.
Class Experience
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
In this class students will read about the history and science behind some our favorite movie monsters! These include: Merlin/Frankenstein and the science of fear: * What is fear and how did Merlin overcome fear and use science to outsmart the ruler Vortigern? * What happens to your brain when you are afraid? * The early electrical experiments of Luigi Galvani and Giovanni Aldini * Mount Tambora and the friendly writing challenge that inspired Mary Shelly to create Frankenstein. * Could...
4 lessons//4 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1The Magic of Science: Merlin and FrankensteinStudents will learn about the myths and history behind Merlin as well as the current, cultural and scientific events that were happening at the time of Mary Shelly's creation of her literary juggernaut, Frankenstein. These icons of will serve as a vehicle to learn new vocabulary, themes and central ideas in nonfiction and fiction reading. Vocabulary, themes, central ideas, implicit and explicit ideas in reading will be taught and built upon with each lesson.Week 2Lesson 2Dracula and the Biology of BloodStudents will continue to build their non-fiction and content area vocabulary and reading skills as they learn and review strategies to identify themes, central ideas, implicit and explicit ideas in text, through the exploration of the various histories and literary adaptations of Dracula (one of them was a thinly veiled skewering of a particularly demanding boss!). We will then move onto the study of what blood actually is: what it is composed of, its volume, arteries, and veins!Week 3Lesson 3Zombies and the Science of VirusesWhere did the whole idea of zombies come from anyway? Would it surprise you if I told you a fish?! In these lessons we will read about the various lore behind zombies, which usually starts with a virus, how viruses actually work and if why Hollywood gets the whole zombie virus cycle wrong. And of course, just for fun, if there really was a zombie apocalypse, it really wouldn't be that hard to survive it with our ultimate survival kit because understanding science is stronger than fear!Week 4Lesson 4Werewolves: Just Like Us But With Better Hair?!Are werewolves really all that scary? Learn about how centuries ago, the very real fear that came from wolf attacks transformed into the belief that there was such a thing as lycanthropy-the mystical ability to turn into a werewolf! We will also learn about the very real condition called hypertrichosis, that does NOT make you a werewolf, and how ultimately humans and "werewolves" may just have a few things in common like a coccyx and some very real reasons to stay away from wolfsbane.
- Besides learning all kinds of cool facts, students will build their vocabulary, identify key concepts, themes, and tips and tricks to help navigate nonfiction and/or content area reading.
I am currently an 8th grade History and ELA teacher in a public school who loves helping students engage in all kind of reading. I have 20 years of teaching experiences and was honored last year with my country's Middle School Teacher of the Year award.
Assessment
Frequency: includedDetails: Assessments will serve as a vehicle to reinforce concepts and as an opportunity for feedback. These will be presented at the end of the lesson. Students may complete some or all offered assessments as they choose. Assessments will be in the form of Google form quizzes with both multiple choice questions and writing prompts. There will be quizlets for practicing vocabulary and Gimkits for practicing vocab and content. These are optional and flexible.
I will provide scanned segments from the book Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science behind Your Favorite Monsters. These will be available digitally, but you may print them out if you wish. Paper and a pen or pencil will be helpful to have on hand for note taking during the lesson.
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Some content may be scary to learners if they are not familiar with traditional presentations of Frankenstein, Dracula, werewolves and zombies. It is presented a manner that is appropriate for middle school, but you know what is best for your learner. I recommend previewing the movie clips and Carlyn Beccia's book Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science behind Your Favorite Monsters. I will be reading segments from the sections of her book based on the above "monsters".
We will read sections of Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science behind Your Favorite Monsters by Carlyn Beccia. 1931 movie trailer from Frankenstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSbwiKP3mo I will reference two books when I am demonstrating how to synthesize and think critically across texts. Those book are: Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson and Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin
Joined January, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
Hello Parents and Students! My name is Laura VanGemert and I am a certified teacher with over 20 years of experience. I have worked with students ranging from pre-school aged to high school! I currently teach American History and Language Arts...
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Self-Paced Class
$20
weekly or $80 for all content4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks of teacher support
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1 year of access to the content
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Ages: 11-14
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