January Intensives

This past week, lower grades students at Brooklyn Collaborative participated in 17 different intensive courses. They were out on fieldwork, meeting with experts, drawing, painting, writing, and creating. Below are the descriptions of each intensive and a few photos of the week.

Shout out to all the lower grades teachers for organizing such great learning opportunities for the students!

Is there a writer living inside of you just itching to break free? Do you have lots to say and can never find the perfect audience to share it with? If your creative mind is looking for an outlet, this is the right intensive for you. Join Laura and Candice to create our very own magazine. We will brainstorm, share ideas, write and publish a magazine filled with your work.Bring in any magazines you have around the house on the first day!

Did you like our math mosaic project where we found the connection between math and art? Are you crafty? Do you like origami? Then you should choose MARTH! (Math + Art). If you look around, there are connections between math and art all around us! In MARTH, we will explore the different ways that math and art are connected through a series of art projects including string art, octo-mandalas, hexaflexagons, and Sonobe cubes just to name a few!

Have you ever wondered why the buildings of New York City are covered in spray paint? Are you curious as to who painted the walls, why they left their mark, or what the piece stands for? Over the next few days we will be answering those questions by researching the question “Graffiti of NYC: Vandalism or Street Art?”. As an intensive group we will be walking neighborhoods, reading articles, meeting professional graffiti artists and watching documentaries to help us answer this question! You will even walk away with a piece of your own art.

In this intensive, we will travel back in time to Ancient Rome. We will investigate how Rome came to be and the downfall of Pompeii. We will look at artifacts and images to uncover what archaeologists know about the hours leading up to, during, and after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE.

You will have an opportunity to explore the differences between Potential and Kinetic Energy. Each student will complete a scientific investigation including following a multi-step procedure, taking measurements, and performing technical tasks. We will determine how chemical reactions affect two fixed objects through carefully planned science experiments.

Slam your opponents to win a spoken word debate!

Learn how to effectively use the power words to convey your message and win the crowd. When spoken word is done right, it almost forces the audience to feel and understand your side.

Using only THREE colors you will create a painting of Pop Art. Pop Art is characterized by techniques and themes drawn from popular mass culture like comic books, advertising, and mundane cultural objects . You will learn the history of the pop art culture and create your own masterpiece !

Did fake news help to elect our current president? "A new study from Stanford University shows that the majority of students in America cannot distinguish between fake, and real news on social media. Researchers called the results “dismaying” and “a threat to democracy." So how can we tell if we are being lied to? In this intensive, students will be taught to think critically in order to distinguish between what is fake, and what is real. The future is in our hands!

Do you love writing? Do you have a story you’ve always wanted to tell? Whether it’s true life or it comes just from your imagination, stories matter! In this intensive, you’ll learn about the basics of storytelling and how to write strong stories. By the end of this Intensive you will have a published short story! We’ll work in coffee shops and get to live like professional writers for a few days! Maybe you’ll be the person who writes the next great book, movie, play, or TV show!

Do you want to crush kingdoms and save your people? Do you like to be in rooms full of brilliance, focus, and determination? Are you someone who likes to learn new things - or - improve your strengths? Get ready to put all of this to practice when you pull up to the board and jump into the world of CHESS!

Down with the King is designed for both brand new players and experts in the game. We will learn all about the game of chess including strategies, cracking “monster puzzles”, and playing the great game in school and out of the building in popular New York City gaming areas!

Have you ever wondered how the stories were written or created? Have you ever asked yourself if you can believe everything in movies? In this Intensive we will study the history of film, from its humble beginnings as flip books and stop motion to the movies we know and love today. Looking at the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” We will focus on all processes in filmmaking, but primarily the story telling and perspectives that are shown in film, as well as how film impacts our society and culture today.

Do you like riddles and puzzles? Like puzzle-problem Friday? In this Intensive we are going to spend our time solving lots of different math-y riddles/puzzles/games/and WEIRD problems.

This class is for those of you who care deeply about issues such as identity and discrimination. We will explore this topic while practicing important ELA skills, such as doing a close reading of a variety of texts and making connections between texts and issues in the world. We may also use additional mediums such as documentaries, film and art to gain a deeper understanding. This work will culminate in you creating an original book in which you will teach others about this topic with words, symbols, and artwork.

In this intensive we will use fun strategies to tackle complex math problems. We will use table of values, equations and graphs to justify our answers.

Are you creative? An inventor? A scientist? Have you ever wanted to invent something to make school more engaging? Or more fun? Select this intensive and you will be using “Makey Makey” technology tools to design and build a control pad computer project that will help the BCS educational community. FYI a “Makey Makey” is 21st century invention kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads and combines them with the Internet. You will learn how to code using “Scratch”, Makey Makey kits, and your imagination to create something awesome!

Are you hungry? Well, this is the intensive for you!! This class will be run in conjunction with the Small Bites Cooking School. You will get a 3-day crash course on preparing quick, healthy meals in that are both nutritious and delicious.

Are you a film buff who loves to watch movies and discuss them? In this intensive, we will trace the American Dream through film clips and a full movie to examine the diverse perspectives of those who dream of succeeding in America. We will answer the questions: If people work hard, are they bound to succeed? Do some have more opportunities or privileges than others, based on their background, race, or upbringing? As we view films, we will also examine the nature of “Hollywood” representations of struggle by discussing if they are true to life or unrealistic.