Middle School Online Learning Resources

Check out this suggested schedule to help you structure your day!

Be the Kind Kid

In a time when being kind can go a long way, consider completing one of these activities to brighten someone’s day.

• 100 Acts of Kindness for Kids
• 7 Random Acts of Kindness for Kids

English

In preparation for reading The Diary of Anne Frank, all 8th grade students could read background information about Anne Frank and take a virtual tour of The Secret Annex.

Independent reading - All students should have an independent or assigned novel at home. Students can read 20 minutes or more a day. In addition, the app, Libby, allows students to check out ebooks from the local library if someone in the household has a library card. Though this app can’t be loaded on students’ iPads, it is available on personal devices.

Great sites for reading recommendations

• Brightly: Raise Kids Who Love to Read
• Mind Joggle
• Electric Literature
• Real Simple
• Looking for a reading challenge? The College Board's 101 Books for the College Bound Reader

Khan Academy has online learning modules (videos and practice) for grammar concepts ranging from parts of speech to elements of syntax and style.

World Language

• Duolingo App - continue your world language study by completing activities and earning XP on Duolingo. There are over 25 languages to learn on this app. Students can access this app on their iPad or by visiting duolingo.com on any device.
• Tiny Cards - practice vocabulary and expressions in over two dozen languages with this interactive flashcard website. Visit tinycards.duolingo.com.
• Virtual tours of museums

Math

• Khan Academy - Math Tutorial for all math related assistance and instruction.
• Just Math Tutorial - Video tutorials of everything math.
• Big Ideas Math has game closets that review the core essential concepts of math across all grade levels. You can access these games through the following link or by logging in to your Big Ideas Math account.
• Introduction and practice in coding
• Xtra Math
• Articles
  • Scholastic Math: Are Monsters Real? Scientists are on the hunt for the true identity of mysterious beasts
  • Scholastic Math: Searching for Sloths Meet a scientist who is studying the world’s slowest mammals
  • Scholastic Math: The Rise of Roblox Millions are playing and creating their own games on the free online game site
  • Scholastic Math: The Perfect Ice Meet an ice master that makes the perfect ice for each winter sport

Science

• Commonsense - a list of free science websites and activities
• Wardsworld - videos and activities for science exploration
• Virtual Field Trips
• NOVA - short videos and full episodes
• Articles & videos for middle level science
• Cincinnati Zoo - offering a Facebook Live session everyday with a different animal and scientist. The sessions are then archived and can be found on Youtube.

Social Studies

• Enjoy a virtual trip to ancient Greece. Using the Expedition app on your iPad, search for Greece. The first destination offers four scenes and is presented by Houghton Mifflin. Download and click on the first view option. National Geographic will take you on a beautiful historic tour of several ancient Greek archaeological sites. Explore all four scenes and enjoy the amazing ruins and scenery of Greece. After you complete your virtual tour, consider watching this Ted Ed video, The Myth of Hercules to complete your ancient Greece experience!
• Virtual Field Trips
• Try this interactive experience that allows students to explore colonial America in 1770s Boston, just prior to the Revolutionary War. The game is narrated with snippets of animation, and kids are often able to click on and explore the environment. On the right hand side there are links to even more “missions” from U.S. History!
• Try these civics-based games and simulations!

FCS

• Check out some FCS activities for the students to explore while at home

BCIT

• Touch Typing Practice and Games
  • EduTyping
  • Typing Club
  • Free Typing Game
  • Nitro Type
  • Typing.com
  • Learning Games for Kids
  • Typing Games Zone
  • Typing Test
• Digital Citizenship Lessons - This website has lessons that address timely topics and prepares students to take ownership of their digital lives.
• Economic and Personal Finance Resource - This site has a variety of lessons available covering a range of topics related to economics and personal finance.
• Financial Literacy Games (Ages 11 & Up)
  • Financial Soccer - Put your financial skills to the test with Visa’s World Cup-themed Financial Soccer multiple-choice question game. It tests players' knowledge of financial management skills as they advance down the field and try to score.
  • Financial Football - Visa and the National Football League have teamed up to create Financial Football, a fast-paced, interactive game that engages students while teaching them personal finance skills.

Art

• Digital Drawing Apps (iPad)
  • Create art using your iPad, you all have Sketches School available to you in your self-service.
  • Try these free apps
    • Adobe Illustrator
    • ArtRage
    • Artflow
    • Ibis Paint
• Lessons and Resources
  • Explore ideas and lessons at Haring Kids
  • Find tons of activities and lessons from the National Gallery of Art
  • Create your own Picasso inspire portrait
  • Explore art from all over the world from the comfort of your home using Google's Art and Culture
  • Learn more about Pittsburgh based artist Andy Warhol
• Stop Motion Animation Resources
  • iMotion - App for iPad (Video Introduction|App Store)
  • iMotion Step-By-Step Tutorial - Part 1|Part 2
  • Top 6 Types of Stop Motion Animation
  • What is Stop Motion Animation and How Does It Work?(YouTube, Mashable)
  • LEGO - Build Your Own Snow Day Stop Motion (YouTube)
  • Examples - “Western Spaghetti” | “Candy” | “Object” | “Rubik’s Cube” | “Change” | “Art Attack”
  • The Making of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (YouTube Documentary)
• Virtual Museum Visits
  • Museum of the World (British Museum)
  • National Gallery of Art Online Exhibits - Online Galleries (Google Arts & Culture)
  • The Louvre (Paris, France) - Online Virtual Tours
  • J. Paul Getty Museum - Online Galleries and Google Street View Tour (Scroll to bottom of page for gallery tour)
  • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam - Google Street View Virtual Tour of Museum Galleries
  • Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam - Online Galleries and Google Street View Tour (Scroll to bottom of page for tours of each floor of museum)
  • Uffizi Gallery, Florence - Online Galleries and Google Street View Tour (Scroll to bottom for gallery tour)
  • MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York - Online Galleries (Google Arts & Culture)
  • The Met 360° Project - The Metropolitan Museum, New York
  • Explore the Carnegie Museum of Art's collection virtually

Music

Band

• Practice your instrument
• Warm-Ups John McAllister Free Resources (Elementary – High School)
• Sight-Reading Work John McAllister Free Resources (Elementary – High School
• Scales & Technique John McAllister Free Resources (Middle – High School)
• Cinematic Long Tones with Accompaniment (Middle – High School)
• Brass Videos
• Woodwind Videos
• Percussion Videos
• Percussion Students: Concert and Set Drumming Lessons
• Instructional Jazz Ensemble Videos
• Jamey Aebersold Free Jazz
• Jazz Resources
• Various Streaming Instructional Videos (Used to supplement both concert and jazz resources – including live performances of top ensembles)
• Elementary and Middle School Winds Tutorials
• All Instruments - Learn music using only note names
• Listening List

Choir

• Please keep singing!
• Vocal Mastercasses
• You are a vocal athlete
• You can start with some vocal warm-ups:
  • https://youtu.be/4Yu5uJ-1oIM
  • YAWN-SIGH TECHNIQUE-For this quick vocal exercise, simply yawn (take in air) with your mouth closed. Then, exhale through your nose as if you are sighing. This will help relax your voice and improve its range.
  • HUMMING WARM-UPS-Humming is one of the best vocal warm-ups because it doesn’t put a lot of strain on your vocal cords. Place the tip of your tongue behind your bottom front teeth and hum up and down the major scale while keeping your mouth closed. Each note should sound like “hmmm” — including the “h” sound is less taxing on your voice.
  • VOCAL STRAW EXERCISE-To perform the vocal straw exercise (also known as straw phonation), take a straw and hum through it. Start at the bottom of your range and slide up to the top slowly and evenly. Then, hum your favorite song through the straw. You can also place the straw in a partially full glass of liquid and blow controlled bubbles in the glass.
  • LIP BUZZ VOCAL WARM-UP-As far as vocal warm-ups go, lip buzz (or lip trill, as it is sometimes called) is very simple. The goal is to make a motorboat sound by making your lips vibrate as you blow air through your mouth and nose. You can incorporate pitch slides as well.
  • TONGUE TRILL EXERCISE-The tongue trill vocal exercise is difficult for some singers. It involves curling your tongue and rolling your R’s as you go through your range from low to high.
  • JAW LOOSENING EXERCISES-When singing, you want to drop your jaw lower than when you are just talking. With your finger, trace back along your jawline from your chin to your ear. That curved space between your jaw and your ear is where you want to drop your jaw. Pretend you are yawning with your mouth closed and feel where your jaw drops. Avoid just dropping your chin.
  • TWO-OCTAVE PITCH GLIDE WARM-UP-For this easy vocal warm-up, make an “eeee” or “ohhhh” sound and gradually glide through the chromatic notes of a two-octave range. Glide up and then back down. This will transition from your chest voice to your head voice.
  • VOCAL SIRENS EXERCISE-Much like the pitch glide, the siren exercise takes an “oooo” sound and gradually goes from the lowest note of your range to the highest and back down, like a siren for an emergency vehicle. The sound is continuous and covers the tones between the notes.
  • VOCAL SLIDES TECHNIQUE-This technique is also known as a portamento, which is Italian for “the act of carrying.” Much like the siren exercise, you slide from one note to the next in your range, but you don’t sing the in-between notes.

Orchestra

• Practice your instrument
• Listening List
• The Strad Masterclasses
• Orchestra Classroom

All Music Students

• Adam Neeley
• ¡Yo Soy Artista!
• Gamelike music creation
• Online music creation
• Online music creation
• Looping music creation
• Online sequencer
• Online music creation
• Modular Synthesis
• Free Music Resources
• Virtual Eurorack
• Make music with self-playing machines
• Websynth
• Learning Modular Synthesis
• Music Theory Lessons
• Music Theory Exercises
• Jazz
• Free Ivy Classes
• First Nights - Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Program Music in the 19th Century
• Music and Social Action
• Introduction to Classical Music

HPE

Outside options

• North Park Trail Maps: We have a tremendous resource right in our backyard, try to get out and hike some of the beautiful trails throughout North Pak or any of the Allegheny County Parks.
• Geocaching: Geocaching is like a game of hide and go seek, there are thousands of Geocaches hidden around our area that can be found using your cell phone and a free app. Click has some great tutorial videos to better explain.
• AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and Running | AllTrails: The Alltrails App is a great resource to locate hiking trails in our own backyard or around the globe. Trails are rated by difficulty and provide reliable descriptions.
• Strava: In addition to being a top-notch running and cycling tracker, Strava Running and Cycling adds some pretty neat competitive and gamified features to the usual run-tracking recipe. The app records your running speed, distance traveled, time and course taken, but also combines it with leaderboards, achievements and challenges.

Indoor options

• Yoga with Adriene: Yoga With Adriene Adriene offers almost every type of yoga routine imaginable with routines and programs for beginners on up all for free.
• FitnessBlender.com: Free fitness workouts to meet many individual goals.
• Just Dance: Search this topic on YouTube and you can be entertained for hours while trying to keep up with the on screen characters.

Nutrition

• Dr. Gregor: Eat More To Weight Less, Food As Medicine
• Power Foods for the Brain, Neal Barnard | TEDxBismarck: Are you looking to make some healthy changes to your diet? Check out this 15 minute video and let me know through the worksheet what changes you are going to try.

Social and Emotional Learning

• How to talk to your child about COVID19
• Supporting Social & Emotional Development in Middle Schoolers: Conversation Starters
• Daily meditation app: Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.
• Brainpop has a Social Emotional Learning collection of creative activities, movies and games:
• Help your students become socially savvy through these lessons from Scholastic on attitudes, boundaries, and more.