Thinking Series Super Pack: Terms 1-2

Purchase a full year (32 weeks) of thinking series classes for only $10/session! This includes:
 
An Introduction to Your Brain (6 weeks)
That relatively small amount of gray and white matter behind your forehead is expensive for your body to support, requiring as much as 25% of your body's resources.  Your brain in so many ways governs and reveals who you are and who you are becoming.  This class will help you become better acquainted with your brain—its structures, chemistry, and functioning.  Neuroscience is a relatively young field, enabled by sophisticated, new medical scanning hardware and software, employed today by some 40,000 researchers worldwide to look inside the brain in real time.  We will consider what this young science can show us about your brain during adolescence as you build the architecture that will support it for the rest of your life.
 
You are literally creating your adult brain as you learn, make decisions, take risks, and relate to others.  This is an exciting and unique time in your personal history and in human history to get to know the brain that you are building every day.  You will find the study of your brain helpful,  informative, inspiring, and amazing!

Geography: Where in the World?? (6 weeks)
Studying geography helps us to have an awareness of a place. All places and spaces have a unique history behind them, shaped by humans, earth, and climate. Studying geography gives meaning and awareness to places and spaces. It also helps students visualize history and increase their understanding of international affairs.
 
During this brief trip to the farthest corners (and smallest countries) of the world, students will learn to identify the states in the United States, as well as the countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Pinpoint the five oceans: Antarctic, Pacific, Arctic, Indian, and Southern. Is Egypt in Africa or Southern Europe? Which countries border the Black Sea? Is Colorado to the North or East of Utah? Where are the -stan countries? Ask no more!
 
Looking Through the Lens: Our World Through Film (4 weeks)
Bring your popcorn as we sit down to take a closer look at the odds and ends of film! For this section, we will be taking a look at the film industry as it began and progressed through the mid-century. The class will explore various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. Our film studies will help us look at film through a theoretical and critical lens. What did we like? What did we not? Asking questions is essential. Students will learn about the film industry, the history of film, the different genres in film, the lessons learned through film, and analyze each film in the broader context of society. Starting off with the original Charlie Chaplin film, “The Kid,” we will then watch a musical, a Jimmy Stewart classic, a Hitchcock mystery, and end with one of the biggest movies ever produced. Don’t forget the snacks!
 
The Kid (1921)
Available on Amazon Prime Video for free
 
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Available on Amazon Prime Video for $3.99
 
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 
Available on Amazon Prime Video for $2.99
 
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Available on Amazon Prime Video for free
 
Ben-Hur (1959)
Available on Amazon Prime Video for $3.99
 
Getting the Most from Your Brain (5 weeks)
This follows on the basic structure, chemistry, and functioning of your brain covered in last semester's class; but the previous class is not required to profit from this course.  Here, we will consider a kind of "user's guide" to your brain based on current research, including:
How to keep it physically healthy and sharp
How to keep yourself safe given the immaturity of some structures of the adolescent brain
Understanding the sensation-seeking, risk-taking, and importance of peer relationships
The role of parents and other adult guides to keep yourself between the lines on the road
How to improve your attention and why you cannot multi-task (no one can!)
The importance of emotion to learning and memory
How your brain forms memory
How good teachers use current brain research to improve student learning
 
Every Penny Counts (5 weeks)
We focus so much on developing our children—emotionally, socially, spiritually, and intellectually. And now the next level of development—financial responsibility. WIth Ms Emilie, students will learn about budgeting, credit cards, credit scores, interest rates, the stock market, investing, loans, and more. They will have the opportunity to create a mock stock portfolio and “play” the stock market and create their own personal life financial plan. After all, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. It is not too early for students to become financially wise; this class pays big dividends, and it’s lots of fun too!
 
The Creative Genius in You (6 weeks)
In our world today, creativity is easily squashed; it must be handled with care, like a living thing. So, how can you strengthen your creative side? Some answers may surprise you. For example, sleeping is a necessity, along with uninterrupted alone time, an element of artistic collaboration, and other powerful habits. Join us as we study the most creative minds of all time, study their habits, develop our own healthy habits, and discuss the science of creativity. Set yourself apart in the world; nourish your creative side and become a creative genius.
 
Day and Time: Thursdays, 12:45-1:45 PM ET
Bundle Duration: 32 Weeks
Dates: September 14, 2023 - May 30, 2024
Recommended for: Ages 11+ / Grades 6-7
Teacher: TTK Faculty
 
See more thinking series classes: thethinkingkid.org/the-thinking-series
See more classes for ages 11+ / grades 6-7: thethinkingkid.org/grades-6-7

Save even more with our Diploma Package! See here