Winter Learning Lab - Gifted Resource Council

Winter 2010 Learning Lab Classes

Download and print the Learning Lab application (PDF)
Download the Winter Learning Lab Brochure
Note: PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader and Plug-In for viewing and printing)

9:30 - 11:00

Crazy about Clifford - Instructor: Betty Arendes: Ages: 3-4
Join us as Clifford the big red dog leads us through adventures and learning activities! Make a flipbook and practice sequencing skills while reading Clifford's Puppy Days. Can you estimate how many bones are in Clifford's doghouse? We'll figure it out after reading Count on Clifford. What humorous events will occur at Clifford's Birthday Party? Follow the verbal directions and find out. Then practice shapes and patterning as we celebrate Clifford’s First Valentine's Day. Count on Clifford for fun and new friends!
Math Mania - Instructor: Kathie Eckelkamp: Ages: 4-5
Move, march, meander and simply make math matter, as we explore patterns in nature and our imagination, measure objects like our arms, legs, and books in the classroom, graph and tally our favorite foods and colors, skip count with songs, and use money to count and compare. We’ll also work with shapes, classify objects, and add and subtract using story problems we create! Painting, matching numbers 0-20, estimating how many items are in a container. Whew! Math is mind-blowing fun!
Money Matters - Instructor: Jen Ventimiglia: Grades: K-1
You have one dime, two nickels and five pennies. Your friend only has three dimes. Who has more money? Figure out coin values and equivalencies (one dime equals 10 pennies), make a graph of coin values, and count coins for coin rolls. Compare and contrast money from around the world and even use 'money' to go 'shopping' in our own 'store'. Make a "piggy" bank as we explore what to do with money that we save. Consider jobs you can do as we connect earnings with savings and spending. Realize the full value of your worth as we check our savings, look at ads, and determine purchases. Can you make change?
A Third of This, a Fourth of That… It’s a Chemical Concoction! - Instructor: Kristina White: Grades: 1-2
Scientific inquiry, mathematical calculations, and lots of stuff add up to crazy concoctions that will instruct us while it entertains! Apply measurement skills, work with fractions, and observe chemical reactions as we create things like Gooey Gunk, Oobleck, crystals and more! Can you define Oobleck as a solid or a liquid? We'll study it and find out.
Searching Outer Space - Instructor: Abby Lombardo: Grades: 1-2
An out-of-this-world adventure! Explore the planets in our solar system and measure the relative distances using basketballs, beans and grapefruit! Learn about our sun and moon by making moon craters out of items found in your kitchen. Step into the shoes of an astronaut and figure out how they eat and make repairs to their ships when there is no gravity. Discover the many wonders of the night sky such as constellations, shooting stars and asteroids. Make space food and constellations, measure and compare, all through the eyes of a space explorer!
Checkmate! - Instructor: Stephen E. Randoll: Grades: 1-4
A formal introduction to chess for the novice or the amateur player. Learn how the pieces move and how to record your games, as well as how the pieces work together to produce checkmate. Learn basic principles of the game. More advanced students will be accommodated within the classroom.
It's Your Style: Creative Writing Your Way - Instructor: Megan Mills: Grades: 2-3
Get your creative juices flowing exploring writing styles from classic to quirky. Find inspiration from Mark Twain award winners past and present, such as Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief", Jerry Spinelli's "Maniac Magee" and Roland Smith's "Zach's Lie". Can you take an ordinary activity, like doing homework, and turn it into a zany story or poem? How do poets like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein do it all the time? Hands-on exercises will help bring your writing to life, and you’ll translate your own ideas to paper. Amaze yourself as your thoughts take shape in an actual book to take home and share!
Math & Much More - Instructor: Denice Smith: Grades: 2-3
Move beyond mere memorization of math facts in the mach-speed march through matrix logic problems, secret numbers, algebraic equations, and classic brain teasers. Whew! Is there any logic to tongue twisters? Can you solve this problem? A bag holds 50 coins that add up to exactly $1.00. How many coins of each value are in the bag? With the right clues and your advanced thinking skills, you'll be solving problems a lot tougher than this one in our class!
The PE of Chemistry - Instructors: Laura McDonald and Jennifer Kloeppel: Grades: 3-4
What happens to your body when you run track? What chemicals are produced? How does lactic acid help you exercise? What type of physical activity increases adrenaline? Explore the circulatory, respiratory – all body systems – as they relate to your physical activity. Build a lung and determine lung capacity. Measure your reaction time as we explore the nervous system. How does the body produce chemicals to break down the food we eat? We'll even build a brain!
"Little House on the Prairie" Revisited - Instructor: Phyllis Richter: Grades: 3-4
Take a new look at the life and times of Laura Ingalls Wilder… pioneering on the prairie. 'Live' it with Laura and her family, as we explore many of the day-to-day activities in the 1800s Midwest, including candle dipping, soap making and stitchery. Try the games, crafts, and foods of the period. Could you make it as a pioneer? What would it be like to travel in a covered wagon to places unknown, uncharted, and even unlit?
The Vampire, the Wolf & the Monster - Instructor: Art Koenig: Grades: 4-5
Vampire stories are popular in 21st-century America. What are their origins and how far back do they go? And what about other monsters? Explore the scary corners of mythic history. Uncover the truth and myth found in the tales and legends of our major monsters. Is Frankenstein’s monster a sad attempt at genetic regeneration or only a story reaching into the depths of our fears? Delve into the creative world of vampires, werewolves and monsters with hands-on crafts, music, and the power of your imaginations!
NXT Generation Robotics - Instructor: Lisa Hummel: Grades: 4-5
NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers have put robots in the limelight through their exploration of Mars; lasting long beyond their design lifetime, they’ve carried out geological investigations under harsh environmental conditions for almost four years. Learn what it takes to make robots work as we design and build our own rovers using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kit, then program our rovers to navigate, respond to their environment, and pick up objects! Experienced students can be accommodated within the structure of the class.
Biomimicry and the Incredible Bio-man and Bio-woman - Instructor: Kathy Hilgeman: Grades: 5-6
African termites construct mounds that are a constant 86 degrees inside, the perfect temperature for them. The rhinoceros beetle can support 850 times its own weight. Bumps on the back of the nambib desert beetle collect fog and turn it into water that rolls into the beetle's mouth. What can we learn from these creatures? Biomimicry is the science of learning from nature. Discover the fabulous things that animals can do. Create a 'super hero' using 12 of those traits. During the last two class sessions, our bio-people will engage in a super bio-competition!
Art Potpourri - Instructor: Chandria Howard: Grades: 6-8
Do you love to dabble in paint? Experiment with color combinations? Then explore with us the genre of watercolor blended with the 3-D effect of objects from nature. How do you enhance the delicacy of, say, watercolor pastels on paper with the intricacies of real pine needles? Draw from the plethora of potpourri from nature to create different moods and effects with each painting that you produce. Can you represent the beauty and emotion of nature through your art?
Cracking the DNA Code - Advanced - Instructor: Donna Scott: Grades: 6-8
Have you ever seen DNA cut into pieces with restriction enzymes? Experiment with DNA through electrophoresis, as we work with gels, stains, and micropipettes. We'll see electricity pulling/pushing DNA through a gel and look at bands to see which "suspect" should be called in for further questioning. Read the genetic code to create a model of DNA. Consider the DNA sequence of genes and identify alleles as homozygous dominant, homozygous recessive, and heterozygous. Then see how a change in the DNA code can cause cancer.
Special Fee: $5
Here Comes the Judge – Supreme Style! - Instructor: Tom Knecht: Grades: 6-8
The Supreme Court is the rudder on the great ship called America. The Court's job is to hold the boat on as steady a course as possible as we travel new and 40unfamiliar waters. This monumental job is performed by nine judges. Who are these people? Who says they get to decide? How do they make decisions? What if they disagree? Experience the power and complexity of the Supreme Court. Begin with Congressional hearings to confirm new justices. Navigate through mock cases, conduct court sessions, and issue judgments. This is the class for students who love to think, argue, debate, reason and judge!

11:10 - 12:40

Math Mania - Instructor: Kathie Eckelkamp: Ages: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Crazy about Clifford - Instructor: Betty Arendes: Ages: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Money Matters - Instructor: Jen Ventimiglia: Ages: 5-6
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Searching Outer Space - Instructor: Abby Lombardo: Grades: K-1
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
A Third of This, a Fourth of That… It's a Chemical Concoction! - Instructor: Kristina White: Grades: 1-2
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Science Why?s = Science Wise - Instructors: Dennis & Barbara Grzenczyk: Grades: 1-2
Why? How? Simple questions lead us down the road to scientific inquiry and discovery. How does thermal energy change matter from one state to another? The answer will help us change the volume of a gas and send 'Eggbert', our brave scientific volunteer, on a ride. What is the dual nature of light? If we mix the different electromagnetic waves forming colors, why – and how – do we create new colors? Why – and how – do Newton's laws of motion and Einstein's theories of relativity help us plan the flight of objects as we attempt to shoot balls into cups and send balloon cars whizzing around the room? Finally, why do we dress for mess? Because in this class, science is never neat and tidy.
"Little House on the Prairie" Revisited - Instructor: Phyllis Richter: Grades: 1-2
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Biomimicry and the Incredible Bio-man and Bio-woman - Instructor: Kathy Hilgeman: Grades: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Math & Much More - Instructor: Denice Smith: Grades: 3-4
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Art Potpourri - Instructor: Chandria Howard: Grades: 3-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Cracking the DNA Code - Instructor: Donna Scott: Grades: 4-5
Take your knowledge of DNA beyond your own personal code determining your hair color, height, shoe size, etc. Explore your genetic inheritance, and look at dominance, recessiveness, incomplete dominance, and codominant inheritance. Identify alleles as homozygous dominant, homozygous recessive, and heterozygous. Read the genetic code to create a model of DNA and then see how a change in the DNA code can cause cancer. Create your own stiartians and reebobs to see how offspring get their traits from their parents and how dominant and recessive traits play out.
Here Comes the Judge – Supreme Style! - Instructor: Tom Knecht: Grades: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
It's Your Style: Creative Writing Your Way - Instructor: Megan Mills: Grades: 4-5
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
The PE of Chemistry - Instructors: Laura McDonald and Jennifer Kloeppel: Grades: 5-6
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
Checkmate! - Instructor: Stephen E. Randoll: Grades: 5-8
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
The Vampire, the Wolf & the Monster - Instructor: Art Koenig: Grades: 6-8
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description
NXT Generation Robotics - Instructor: Lisa Hummel: Grades: 6-8
See 9:30 - 11:00 for description

For more information regarding any of these events, please call the GRC office at 314-962-5920.