For School-Sponsored Programs

An Exciting After School Enrichment Program For Kids

Is your after school program or school district looking for a fun and motivating way to offer your students academic enrichment? Brain Chase offers a comprehensive solution to strengthening  academic skills in the after school environment. Our Club Brain Chase program leads young adventurers through a memorable journey of online learning and treasure hunting during the traditional school year. By partnering with premiere online curriculum partners like Khan Academy and Rosetta Stone, students get access to the best resources while unlocking an original animated adventure containing the clues to a real life buried treasure. Competing with other groups around the world, students have the chance to be the first to pinpoint the treasure’s location and take a trip to dig it up!

Interested in learning more about Brain Chase for your after school program? Email clubs@brainchase.com or download this brochure to get started.

Sally forth, Adventurers!

How Brain Chase Works:

Brain Chase offers a unique motivation to students to do supplemental academic work online: participation in a massive treasure hunt for a trophy, cash prize and trip to dig them up. Through personalized Student Dashboards, students link to some of the best online curriculum providers available today and track their academic work on those partner sites. When they’ve completed the required work each week, they unlock an original animated adventure series full of clues to the location of the real-life buried treasure. The first team to decipher the clues and pinpoint the location of the treasure will get a $20,000 travel budget to travel to dig up the treasure themselves.

How does Club Brain Chase work in the after school environment?

Club Brain Chase is a fun and effective way to introduce students to online learning skills and resources, while having fun and working as a team on a unique challenge: a real treasure hunt.

Students in after school programs are required to complete about 1.5 hours of online academic work each week (although a program can increase this work requirement by working directly with Brain Chase), including work on the Bonus Challenge and Treasure Hunt. Students work at their after school center using the center’s technology (laptop, desktop or tablet).

Students Choose 3 Electives:

• Math: Earn 5,000 energy points per week on Khan Academy (30 minutes)
• Writing: Complete one journal entry each week to be reviewed by a live, credentialed Brain Chase teacher (30 minutes)
• Rosetta Stone: Complete 30 minutes of language lessons (in one of 30 language selections) through Rosetta Stone each week
• Google Books: Complete 30 minutes of reading through Google Books each week
• Engineering: Complete a weekly Engineering project through The Leonardo Science & Engineering Museum online curriculum (30 minutes)
• Art: Complete a weekly Art assignment to be reviewed by a live, credentialed Brain Chase teacher (30 minutes)

Students Complete As A Team:

• Bonus Challenge: Complete a weekly bonus challenge in history, geography, science or other discipline provided by Brain Chase (30 minutes)
• Treasure Hunt: Watch weekly animated episodes of the Brain Chase adventure series and decipher the clues contained in the animations to pinpoint the location of the real-life buried treasure (30 minutes)

Students at after school programs will be organized into teams, and the program is required to assign at least one adult mentor, or “guide,” to each team to oversee the students’ work. Brain Chase recommends no more than 15 students under one Guide, although a program may host several Brain Chase teams. The Guide will lead weekly discussions to help the students solve the weekly Bonus Challenges and decipher the clues in the treasure hunt. These are both rich sources of additional conversation and learning, and Brain Chase will provide the guide with a Discussion Guide each week to help direct the learning and discovery.

Who is Club Brain Chase for?

Brain Chase is for students in 2^nd through 8^th grade. Because students do independent academic work through curriculum partners, work can be individually tailored to the student’s needs. Brain Chase offers supplemental academic enrichment, so it is particularly suited to students who need out-of-school-time reinforcement of things they are already learning in their classrooms, or students who want to go above and beyond what they are already getting in their classroom. All of the academic work can be tailored to the skill level of the individual participant.

The Bonus Challenges and treasure hunt are consistent across all age groups, but these can worked on as a group during the weekly meetings. Club Brain Chase teams will compete against other teams from around the country and even in some other countries to be the first to pinpoint the location of the treasure.

When does Club Brain Chase run?

The Spring 2016 semester of Brain Chase kicks off on Monday, February 8, 2016. On any day that week, your after school program can host its first meeting and access the Student Dashboard, videos and first week’s Bonus Challenge. The semester runs 10 weeks, including a floating week’s break for Spring Break and an additional week for completing the academic work and treasure hunt at the end. A detailed schedule will be available in January.

 

What does a Club do in weekly meetings?

Brain Chase recommends that Clubs meet once a week for 3 hours or twice a week for 1.5 hours. The Guide is free to structure these weekly meetings as he/she feels best for the Club. Brain Chase suggests:

Option 1 (academic work done during meeting time):

• Meet once a week for 3 hours
• Use a portion of the time (about 1.5 hours) to have students do their online academic work on their individual Student Dashboards using school computers
• Spend part of the remaining time (about 30 minutes) completing the weekly Bonus Challenges as a group
• Spend part of the remaining time (about 30 minutes) watching the animated episodes, gathering and analyzing clues, and discussing the treasure hunt using discussion guides provided by Brain Chase or the Guide’s own discussion plan

Option 2 (academic work done during meeting time):

• Meet twice a week for 1.5 hours
• Begin each meeting with students doing 1 hour of individual online academic work
• Use remaining 30 minutes to work as a group on either the Bonus Challenge OR the Treasure Hunt

Option 3 (academic work done during meeting time):

• Meet twice a week for 1.5 hours
• Dedicate week’s first meeting to completing the individual online academic work
• Dedicate the week’s second meeting to group work on the Bonus Challenge and Treasure Hunt

Option 4 (academic work done OUTSIDE of meeting time):

• Meet once a week for 1.5 hours
• Participants are required to complete their academic work on their own devices on their own time
• Use meeting time to work as a group on the Bonus Challenge and Treasure Hunt

How much academic work is required?

Brain Chase partners with premiere online curriculum providers and the Student Dashboard keeps track of the amount of time a student spends on each.

Students Choose 3 Electives:

• Math: Earn 5,000 energy points per week on Khan Academy (30 minutes)
• Writing: Complete one journal entry each week to be reviewed by a live, credentialed Brain Chase teacher (30 minutes)
• Rosetta Stone: Complete 30 minutes of language lessons (in one of 30 language selections) through Rosetta Stone each week
• Google Books: Complete 30 minutes of reading through Google Books each week
• Engineering: Complete a weekly Engineering project through The Leonardo Science & Engineering Museum online curriculum (30 minutes)
• Art: Complete a weekly Art assignment to be reviewed by a live, credentialed Brain Chase teacher (30 minutes)

Individual academic work totals about 1.5 hours a week. Students can complete the required weekly work during Club meetings each week or on their own at home, but there is no limit to how much additional work students can do on their own. Students can log into their personal Student Dashboards whenever and wherever to access the Brain Chase curriculum partners. Weekly Bonus Challenges are done in a Club group each week, and the treasure hunt is also worked on in the group setting. Remember that to be the winner, all Club participants must have completed all of the academic work in addition to pinpointing the treasure’s location.

What are the responsibilities of the Guide?

As the Guide of a Club Brain Chase team, the Guide is responsible for:

• Securing computers for all participating students and high-speed internet access
• Coordinating with the after school program administration to secure a location to hold weekly meetings
• Attend one 45 minute training session with Brain Chase in late January or early February
• Lead weekly Club meetings to solve Bonus Challenges and discuss treasure hunt clues, with help of Brain Chase discussion guides

What is the treasure we’re looking for?

For the Spring 2016 semester, adventurers will be looking for the Globe of Magellan. Originally used by the Portuguese explorer Magellan to circumnavigate the earth, the Globe is said to be skillfully constructed of precious metals, with continents plated in pure gold. Intrepid members of the Grayson Academy of Antiquities – Mae Merriweather and her brother Max, friend Sean Drake and nemesis Savannah Bryce – are looking for the Globe in the Brain Chase animated adventure series, but the treasure is real: the Globe is really buried somewhere in the ground! Be the first to pinpoint its location and you will be awarded a $20,000 travel stipend to dig it up!

How much does Club Brain Chase cost?

For after school programs and school districts (i.e. institutional sponsors), Brain Chase costs $99/student per semester.

This includes the following materials:

• Personalized Student Dashboard to track academic work
• Single login access to curriculum partners for 9 weeks (February 8, 2016 through April 8, 2016)
• Three adventure tools for each student (mailed to the after school center), to be used on Bonus Challenges
• Personalized responses to writing submissions by live, credentialed teachers hired by Brain Chase
• Access to an original animated adventure series featuring characters from the Grayson Academy of Antiquities
• Access to all clues leading to a real-life buried treasure and cash prize

Guides will receive:

• Personalized training by Brain Chase via conference calls and direct access to a Brain Chase trainer
• Access to a Guide’s Dashboard where you can see how each of your students is progressing on their academic work
• Weekly discussion outlines for the Guide to foster lively class collaboration on the treasure hunt. For example, one week’s clues may require deciphering Morse Code, and Brain Chase will provide additional materials and tips to help a Guide lead the Club in learning about Morse Code.

It looks like there is a grant awarded to Guides. Does that apply to after school programs?

Because after school programs receive a reduced registration rate per student, Guides in institutionally-sponsored teams to not receive a grant from Brain Chase.

What are the other differences between an institutional after school program team and a privately organized team?

Please see this chart for a breakdown of our two Club programs: institutionally-sponsored teams and independently-sponsored teams.

How much training is required for Guides?

We want Club Brain Chase Guides to always feel that they can reach out to Brain Chase with any questions or concerns, and Guides will always have access to the Brain Chase team. Each Guide will be required to attend one 45 minute training session via conference call before the start of the program in February (There will be several of these scheduled at different times to meet your scheduling needs.) In these training sessions, Guides will learn about the Student Dashboard and the Guide’s Dashboard, how to help with basic technical troubleshooting, how the treasure hunt works, etc.

How does a Club win?

A team wins Brain Chase by being the first group to successfully pinpoint the location of the real buried treasure on the Brain Chase Google Map. This is done by studying the clues revealed in each week’s animated episodes, and deciphering the riddle they create. While students are responsible for doing their own academic work, a Club can spend their weekly meeting working together (with the direction of the Guide) on deciphering the clues and delving into the history, geography, codes or science they refer to. In order for a Club to win, it must not only be the first to pinpoint the treasure’s location, but the Club’s participants must have all completed the required academic work.

What happens if my Club wins?

If your Club is the first to complete all of the required academic work and pinpoint the location of the real-life buried treasure on our Google Map, Brain Chase will provide your team with a $20,000 travel stipend to pay for your Club members to fly to the treasure’s location and dig it up. All travel plans and logistics are the responsibility of the Club and its Guide; Brain Chase provides the flat travel stipend and tools for digging up the trophy. If the winning Club decides it wants to use more than the provided stipend on the trip, it is the Club’s responsibility to raise the money from the school, parents or fundraising events.

What if my Club doesn’t win?

Even if your Club isn’t the first to solve the treasure hunt, the rewards of Club Brain Chase include increased familiarity with premier online resources and an unforgettable adventure in deciphering and riddle-solving. If Guides would like to provide rewards to their students who complete Brain Chase, they are free to determine their own prizes. Brain Chase sells branded t-shirts, backpacks and iron on patches that can be purchased at additional cost as awards for these students. Alternatively, a teacher or school could determine a completely different prize, or give parents the option of rewarding their student.

Club Brain Chase Rules:

• A Club may be comprised of students from the same school, students from different schools, students organized into teams by an after school program or school district, students from homeschooling networks, or simply individuals who choose to form a team
• A Club must have at least 5 participating students
• All participants must be between the ages of 6-16, but Clubs can include students of different ages
• A Guide may lead more than one club team, but a participant may not be on more than one team
• The prize is awarded to the winning Club, but in order to be eligible, all Club members must have completed their academic work
• All academic work must be completed individually by the participating student, with the exception of the weekly Bonus Challenges which can be solved communally by the Club
• Each Club Brain Chase Guide who independently organizes his/her team will receive a teacher grant worth $30 for each participating student. Guides assigned by after school programs or school districts will not receive a grant.

Ready to get started? Email clubs@brainchase.com.