Summer Learning Resources
for Secondary Students
As students are looking for opportunities to supplement their learning, please consider some of these free online resources. The purpose of this document is to provide families with free and optional resources to enrich or review previously learned content during the summer months.
Math
- Follow IXL’s week-by-week skill plan. Once you are on the skill plan page, choose the appropriate grade level or course under IXL Spring Spotlight. Or, if you have an account, login and practice skills or work in the Diagnostic (circus tent with three flags on top).
- Utilize Study Island for Home. Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate the pink heading that says, “Please follow these steps…” The directions will guide you through the free registration.
- Participate in math activities as a family -- play a board game like Life or Monopoly, cook a meal together or bake a dessert, tackle a home improvement project. This is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how math is used in daily life.
- Challenge yourself with a virtual Breakout. BreakoutEDU has provided a collection of virtual Breakouts that are available for free. There are grade level bands and multiple subjects. Regardless of the subject, they all develop problem solving and critical thinking skills!
- Code.org has assembled a variety of resources for those at all levels of coding experience.
- PBS Math Club (Grades 6-9)
- Open Middle Math
- Khan Academy also has great course-specific resources:
Science
- Utilize the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization websites for up-to-date and accurate information on COVID-19. Understanding what viruses are, how they infect, how they spread and prevention are historically and currently important to all of our lives.
- Utilize Study Island for Home. Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate the pink heading that says, “Please follow these steps…” The directions will guide you through the free registration.
- Participate in science activities as a family --fix something that is broken, cook a meal together or bake a dessert, take a walk and observe/identify the sights and sounds of wildlife. This is the perfect opportunity to see science in daily life.
- Challenge yourself with a virtual Breakout Room. BreakoutEDU has provided a collection of virtual Breakouts that are available for free. There are grade level bands for science and are great to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills!
- PhET Simulations- for a variety of science areas.
- Physics Classroom
- Chemmy Bear- Chemistry tutorials, animations etc.
- Bozeman science- various science subject areas!
- Professor Dave Explains (YouTube channel)
- Crash Course and Crash Course Kids (YouTube channels)
- Amoeba Sisters (YouTube channel): great for life sciences and biology
- SciShow and SciShow Kids- (YouTube channels)
- Learn Genetics
- CK-12- lessons on science!
- Khan Academy has great content-specific resources for enrichment or extra practice on many science courses. Some include:
English Language Arts
- READ! Use your iPad or cellphone to connect to Sora App to choose a book. If you have a library card from the local public library, there are lots of ebooks to check out, as well. Read to younger siblings or call a loved one and read to them.
- World Digital Library- Free Access to thousands of books, documents, and photos from around the world
- CommonLit- choose an area of interest to read and practice skills
- Utilize Study Island for Home. Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate the pink heading that says, “Please follow these steps…” The directions will guide you through the free registration.
- Use IXL to practice skills. If your teacher uses IXL and diagnostic assessment with your class, continue with your personalized learning plan. You may also choose from topics for your grade level.
- NYT Lesson of the Day- New York times lesson of the day- Choose the lesson for the day. When you are finished, try one of the older lessons, as well.
- Neal Shusterman, author of many young adult novels like Challenger Deep and The Arc of the Scythe Series reads from his short story collections. Check back daily to hear new stories read. Respond in a Google Doc or journal.
- Keep a journal. You are living through an unprecedented event in history. Keep a daily journal to write what you are thinking, feeling, and doing. Try using different styles in your journal entries- poetry, visual notebooking, story-telling, changing the point of view, etc.
- Free Rice- practice vocabulary while helping to feed the hungry through the United Nations World Food Programme
- Some possibilities for daily writing:
- Capture how this virus has disrupted your school year—including sporting events, concerts, assemblies, dances.
- Discuss how your daily life has been disrupted.
- Share the effect it has had on your friends and family.
- As we go into more social isolation, you might write reviews of movies, television shows, podcasts, video games to share with your classmates.
- Respond to any seed about the crisis you find interesting. A “seed” can be an article, a broadcast, a Tedtalk, a tweet, a photograph, a podcast, a film, an Instagram (or another online) post, a TikTok video, a political cartoon—anything that spurs some thinking about the crisis.
Other Subject Areas
- AP Art History: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history
- Guided Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZYxc6VcRGA
- Yoga Exercises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7xsYgTeM2Q
- PE:https://openphysed.org/
- Dance Exercises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RefJ2QOsVLo
- National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/index.htm
- Music: https://www.musictheory.net/
- PBS Learning (Multiple Subject Areas): https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/
- National Geographic (Multiple Subject Areas): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
- Smithsonian Institute (Multiple Subject Areas): https://www.si.edu/
- Hour of Code: https://code.org/hourofcode/overview
- Social & Emotional Learning
Social Studies
- Read and watch the news! Be sure to use a variety of sources and compare the ways in which they cover similar topics.
- Document your daily experiences, thoughts, etc. while we are away from school. We are living in a time period of drastic change that will be talked about for decades. Create a primary source for others to use now so that your recollections and details are as accurate as possible. You can document this in a journal, vlog, series of photos, collections of memes, etc.
- Take the time to reach out to relatives who might be self-isolating and potentially lonely, especially those who are older. Ask them to share their experiences with historic events that they might have lived through from your Social Studies classes or that connect to current events.
- Engage in conversations with friends and family about current events and societal issues.
- Visit this site from the National Museum of African American History and Culture examining race
- Khan Academy has great content-specific resources for enrichment or extra practice:
- Resources for several different AP Courses or Fiveable
- Watch Crash Course Videos
- Visit LancasterHistory’s Website to learn about local history or conduct research with their various digital collections
- LancasterHistory has been doing a WONDERFUL job posting coloring pages, digital collections, and excellent video clips sharing different components of their physical collections and aspects of Wheatland. Many of their videos can be found on their Facebook Page or their YouTube Channel.
- Create 2020 Electoral College projections with 270 To Win
- Play government games at iCivics
- Explore the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution
- Learn about the Supreme Court and listen to oral arguments for decades of cases @ oyez.org
- Visit the National Geographic Society | National Geographic Society
- Visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Visit the Smithsonian’s History Explorer
- Explore the treasure trove of resources at the National Archives
- View Online Exhibitions from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Learn about WWII at the National WWII Museum’s site
- Learn about John F. Kennedy and his administration
- Virtual Field Trips
- Google Expeditions!-This app has TONS of options for field trips, immersive learning, etc.
- Sistine Chapel
- Louvre
- National Parks
- Variety of Famous Global Locations
- Ford’s Theatre
- Google Arts & Culture (Many tours and other visual resources)
- Virtual Tour of Yellowstone National Park
- Listen to podcasts (some department favorites are listed below)
- FiveThirtyEight Politics on Apple Podcasts
- The NPR Politics Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- POLITICO's Nerdcast on Apple Podcasts
- Stuff You Missed in History Class on Apple Podcasts
- American History Tellers on Apple Podcasts
- BackStory on Apple Podcasts
- Throughline on Apple Podcasts
- Presidential on Apple Podcasts
Keeping Students Connected - Discovery Education
- Students can log into these sites using their MTWP Google account.
- Learning at Home – explore interests while sharpening skills and having fun
- Virtual Field Trips – visit some of the world’s most iconic locations
- Museum Access and One Minute in a Museum– get an insider view of museums and artistic masterpieces from around the world
- Audiobooks and Podcasts – spark imagination and ignite curiosity with engaging stories