Independence Academy Charter School

Middle School Resources

Below is a wealth of free resources to help encourage learning at home. Games, mini lessons, articles, virtual tours, and more - the list will only grow!

Literacy

Mesa County Library	One stop shop for library events, resources, and of course, finding the perfect books to borrow
Newsela	News following current events and special interest. All articles can change lexile, making it easier or more challenging to read. Students can also take a short comprehension quiz and answer a writing prompt.
ReadWriteThink	Interactive activities covering everything from learning about language to creating poems and prose. Can be separated into grade levels and topics.
Rocky Mountain PBS	Videos and interactive lessons all focused on ELA. Can be separated into grade levels.
Teaching Tolerance	A great resource full of lessons and articles to help students explore identity and diversity, recognize injustice and learn to take action.
Global Oneness Project	stories and lesson plans intent on bringing the world’s cultures alive in the classroom
Learning Network (NYT)	Resources for bringing the world into your classroom with the New York Times. Includes articles, videos, writing prompts, and contests.
Literacy Learning Activities (NYT)	Activities, games, writing prompts, student opinion pieces, and more, all brought by the New York Times.
TEDEd	videos based on current events, history, science, and more. Each video has the option for a quiz, discussion topics, and an option to dig deeper.
Online Writing Lab (OWL)	A great resource through Purdue University that helps with the entire writing process including the writing process, rhetoric and logic, essay genres, style and language, and citation.
Genre Wheel	Expand your student's reading genres with this genre wheel (pdf)
Comprehension questions	A great list of questions to help facilitate discussion and understanding of any book your student may be reading. (pdf)
Tracking Thinking Throughout a Text	A great list of discussion/writing starters for tracking your thinking throughout a text (pdf)

Math

Math is fun	mini lessons and explanations explaining different math concepts complete with practice problems with feedback.
Practice pages	A mix of games and printable pdfs separated by skill and grade. Comes with answer keys.
Arcademics	Full of fun games based on math skills
Youcubed	Creative resources and lessons for math enrichment
Math Manipulatives	Digital math manipulatives to help students solve math problems - includes fraction pieces, pieces for probability, place value, and more.
Polypad	An easy math manipulate for using different shapes. It also includes a digital protractor students can manipulate!

Social Studies

Museums of Western Colorado	Virtual exhibits and resources from the Museums of Western Colorado
iCivics	Full of interactive games to help students understand how their government works
Museum of Western Art	Resources focusing on the art of the West.
Money ideas to discuss with children	Resources for building up your child’s financial smarts, including ideas on saving, earning, planning, and more.
USA interactive geography games	interactive games on US geography
Virtual Tours around the world	An extensive list of virtual tours of museums, libraries, and live/360° cam views of zoos and aquariums.

Science

TEDEd	videos based on current events, history, science, and more. Each video has the option for a quiz, discussion topics, and an option to dig deeper.
PhET Simulations	Play and learn with interactive math and science simulations brought to you by the University of Colorado.
Nature Lab	Lessons and activities hosted by the Nature Conservancy. There are also links for self-guided ‘summer camps’.
Virtual Field Trips	Virtual field trips hosted through Discovery Education
Museum of Natural History	Virtual tours from the Museum of Natural History.

Health and Wellness

Secondary Brain Breaks	Over 100 pages of brain breaks with a focus on the secondary classroom (pdf)
Active Play Active Learning Brain Breaks	A list of General and subject-based brain breaks and how to play them. (download)
Yoga for Teens	A great 20 minute video yoga workout for teens.
Guided Meditation for Teens	Audio clips that guide you through meditations for mindfulness.
Choose my Plate	Activity sheets, videos and songs, and other resources focused on healthy eating habits.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation	A great website for overall health and nutrition ideas and resources. (free account)
Action For Healthy Kids	Ideas and resources on fostering mindfulness such as journaling, breathing exercises, and other social/emotional practices.
Kids Health	A great wealth of resources with sections for parents, kids, and teens.
HipHop Public Health	Music with a healthy message (nutrition, mindfulness, physical fitness and physical literacy)

Other

Typing	Typing games to help students hone their skills
Music Play	Games and online learning for music including resources by grade and lessons for ukulele, guitar, and recorder.