*RESOURCES FOR FREE LEARNING ACTIVITIES / GAMES (ONLINE OR FOR DOWNLOAD/PRINTING) https://sites.google.com/site/gameonlearning/la-middle-school-games Description: These games will help middle school students explore writing and word meanings as well as encourage critical thinking in reading. https://www.khanacademy.org/ Description: Khan Academy offers free practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. They tackle math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. Their math missions guide learners from kindergarten to calculus using state-of-the-art, adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps. They have also partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content. http://www.neok12.com/ Description: Designated a “Great Site for Kids” by the American Library Association, this site provides educational videos, lessons, quizzes and educational games for K-12 students in various subject areas, such as science, math, health, social studies and English. http://www.funbrain.com Description: Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of Brewster Rocket. Parents can trust Funbrain to deliver a fun and safe experience for even the youngest children. The Playground helps parents introduce their preschoolers to the Internet and teaches them how to manipulate the mouse and keyboard. Funbrain is committed to providing a safe gaming environment that bridges learning and entertainment. Funbrain never collects personally identifiable information from kids. http://www.aaamath.com/ Description: AAA Math features a comprehensive set of interactive arithmetic lessons. There is no cost or registration required to practice your math on the AAAMath.com site. Unlimited practice is available on each topic that allows thorough mastery of the concepts. A wide range of lessons (Kindergarten through Eighth grade level) enables learning or review to occur at each individual’s current level. Immediate feedback prevents practicing and learning incorrect methods, which is a common result of traditional homework and worksheets. Practice can continue as long as desired in a non-threatening format that helps build self-esteem and confidence. Note: Due to heavy traffic a page may not load properly. The same content is available at: AAAKnow.com, AAAStudy.com, 321Know.com and AAAMath.com http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/ Description: This site offers hundreds of free, online, educational games for kids. There are many topics and recommendations are given for which games are appropriate for which age levels. For middle school through high school aged students, the following are recommended: *Chemistry Games (periodic table games) https://www.ixl.com Description: IXL provides hundreds of high quality on-line practice questions (organized by grade level) in four different subjects: math, language arts, science and social studies. Users have free access to one set of questions in one subject per day. For those wanting greater access, a subscription is required. Many schools currently maintain an organizational subscription, and students can access the program at home at no additional charge. Otherwise, parents can subscribe for $9.99 per month or $79.00 for a full year.
*RESOURCES FOR FREE BOOKS (E-BOOKS ONLINE): 7TH-8TH GRADES http://www.childrenslibrary.org Description: The International Children’s Digital Library Foundation’s (ICDL Foundation) mission is to support the world’s children in becoming effective members of the global community – who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas — by making the best in children’s literature available online free of charge. The ICDL Foundation is a non-profit corporation. (Books are available in multiple languages.) Books are grouped by fiction and non-fiction and also by age (3-5, 6-9, and 10-13 years.) http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library-advanced.htm Description: Children’s Books Online–the Rosetta Project–include thousands of illustrated books and is a volunteer-driven project. It has grown slowly since 1996 from the work of a single man and a handful of books, to a vibrant volunteer-driven organization publishing new books and translations every week. The group claims to have one of the largest online library of antique books. This library is made possible by a grant from the John and Frances Beck Foundation. Many books are available in multiple languages. http://read.gov/teens/ Description: This site is sponsored by, “ The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress”. Categories of books include the Classics and Books That Shaped America. There is also a service for providing free access to books for disabled individuals through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). http://www.tarheelreader.org Description: Tar Heel Reader is the result of the collaborative efforts of Karen Erickson, director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, and Gary Bishop, a professor of computer science, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Karen wanted to create an online community of books that teachers could share with children (and adults!) with disabilities who might not be physically able to handle books and/or who needed more reading opportunities at the appropriate level that were age respectful. The books may be downloaded as slideshows in PowerPoint or onto an iPad to be opened in iBooks. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. It has been around since 2008. As of 2015, 10,001 different authors have written 41,125 books in 24 languages. https://www.bookshare.org Description: Bookshare can help if you cannot read traditional print books because of a visual impairment, physical disability or severe learning disability, The books are “accessible,” which means you can read books many different ways. Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles. As a result, people of all ages, as well as schools and many organizations around the globe can access the books they need for school.
*RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOOKS: 7TH-8TH GRADES http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/ages-11-13 Description: Book lists and recommended reading for ages 11-13 years. This list is provided by Scholastic and Parent and Child magazine. http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb Description: According to the ALSC Notable Children’s Books Committee manual, these categories loosely represent the following: Younger Readers – Preschool-grade 2 (age 7), including easy-to-read books |