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Middle School Content

Gates Middle School Learning Opportunities

ELA

Reading

  • Pick a book you haven’t read. Read it. Enjoy!
  • If you finish quickly, repeat.

 Writing

  • Argumentative: Do you think the district’s response to COVID-19 has been appropriate? Why or why not? Write a response in which you weigh both sides and explain why your opinion is the correct one.
  • Explanatory: What do you want to know about _______? Or, what should people know about _______? Fill in the blank with something that interests or excites you. Write a response in which you explain the most important parts about this topic. 
  • Narrative: Write a short story, poem, or short play about any topic you like. Get creative, and have fun!
  • Publishing: If you’d like, submit your work to the Scituate Kids’ Community Newsletter, a website that will post work every few days. It’s run by a teacher and graphic designer who lives in Scituate.

 Language

  • Grammar: No Red Ink is a good resource for practice with grammar, and it’s pretty intuitive. In light of all the school closures, many of their premium options are now available for free. 
  • Vocabulary: There are many word-of-the-day programs available online. Sign up for one of those, or just grab a dictionary and learn a word a day.

 Speaking & Listening

  • Interview (via phone, Facetime, Skype, etc.) an older family member, family friend, teacher, or neighbor. Ask that person about her/his/their thoughts about everything that’s going on. Does it remind her/him/them of anything else? 

 Testing

  • MCAS: We’re still waiting on guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about this. If you’re eager to practice and prepare for MCAS, here’s a link to practice tests. 

 

Math

Below are recommendations for resources that students can use. These are not required, will not be graded and should be accessible for free and with little to no assistance. Stay well and enjoy some math!

Khan Academy- Khan Academy math practice. Depending on level, one of the following courses are likely appropriate: One practice the site has seen teachers and students use to great effect is to start, regardless of age, start at least two grade levels below your current grade.

Course challenges and unit tests can be used to accelerate through material. If you don’t have too many gaps, you should be able to get through a previous year’s content in 1-3 hours. If you do have gaps, it may take a bit longer, but that is good!  This is your chance to fill in those gaps that might otherwise hold you back in the future.

 

Enrichment

Programming- enrichment to explore programming in a fun way!

Additional Work

  • Teachers may recommend or suggest that students complete additional, course-specific work.
  • Due to state guidelines, however, teachers cannot require any additional work.

 

Grading

  • Due to state guidelines about equity of access, neither the general Learning Enrichment Opportunities described here nor any additional work recommended by teachers can be used as part of a course grade or as extra credit.

Testing

  • MCAS: We’re still waiting on guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about this. If you’re eager to practice and prepare for MCAS, here’s a link to practice tests.

Science

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Grades 6-12 science, technology, and engineering learning enrichment opportunities

 

  • Choose a phenomenon from Phenomena for NGSS.  Write an explanation for the phenomenon based on evidence. Evidence may come from content knowledge and/or information from supplemental resources (e.g., reliable Internet resources, textbooks, nonfiction texts). 

     

     

    For middle school students:

     

  • Choose from the following:

Run the PhET Density simulated investigation. Identify the variables within the investigation. (Simulation requires Adobe Flash Player.)

Extend this activity by explaining the role of density as the mechanism of tectonic plate movement.

On a large calendar, glue a picture of the daily moon phase and height of high tide; write about these observations and the relationship between the two factors.

Extend this activity by determining when spring and neap tides occur using a yearlong percent illuminated table of moon phases (e.g., Astronomy Know How).

Get creative and design a bird; explain how its anatomical features allow it to survive (e.g., beak, wing, feet structures); identify the environment where the bird can survive.

Extend this activity by identifying an environmental pressure that the bird must face (e.g., fire, flood); explain how the organism may adapt to survive.

Watch Habitat Earth; use background knowledge and information from the video to create an illustration of how carbon flows between the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and how human activity can contribute to climate change.

Extend this activity by creating a role play that models the carbon cycle.

While cooking, determine which changes to food are physical and which changes are chemical.

Extend this activity by listing examples of physical and chemical changes that happen in nature.

Make a list of energy transfers that happen during the action within a favorite video game or activity; draw a model of one of these energy transfers (A model is a picture that shows a process. [A ball suspended in mid-air dropping to the floor.] The model should be labeled.)

Extend this activity by finding the same energy transfer occurring at home.

Use Stop Motion Animation to create a video that shows the relationships among kinetic energy, mass, and speed of an object.

Stop motion animation apps exist. For example, Stop Motion Studio is often used for LEGO movie making.

Design and build a cooler that will keep an ice cube frozen for 30 minutes.

Extend this activity by determining if this same device can keep an object hotter longer.

Social Studies

Social Studies Enrichment grades 6-12. 

(Your teacher might have other suggestions that fit what you are currently learning.)

Watch a documentary on a web site or program like The History Channel, PBS, or National Geographic. Choose something that connects with the history course you are taking, or just something that interests you.

    • Reflect after you watch by writing about what was interesting or how the show helped you understand the saying “History repeats itself.”
  • Go back over material you have studied and to make sense of things in a different way by creating one of these products.
    • A one page 6-box comic that tells the story of an important decision or individual
    • An annotated map that tells a story of what happened in a time and place
    • A timeline that includes causes and effects of an important event
  • Telephone a grandparent or family friend and ask them questions about how things were different when they were your age, and if they have strong memories of any historical events. Write a letter or make a card comparing your life to theirs, or sharing what you learned. They will love to get the mail!
  • Explore the news.Pick a story, and read or look at a couple different sources. Write down a question, then answer it in a couple of sentences. Do 3 or 4 on the same topic.
  • Identify a community need or a group of people who are facing hardship because of our efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
    • How are local organizations helping people affected by coronavirus shutdowns?
    • What actions are individuals taking to help?
    • Communicate with friends or family members about what you learned.

World Language

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xh-GnC_dyI_lPKQWe3CdsGKQ09ZjC77Etz8X-lvfPm8/edit?usp=sharing

Fine Arts

Gates Art:

  • Create artwork! (Sketching, painting…)

 

Gates Drama:

 

Gates Music:

  • Band:Practice your instrument daily
  • Choir:Vocal warmups daily, practice choral music
  • https://www.bandlab.com/
  • https://www.noteflight.com/  Great for all music classes.

     

  • Free Performances to Watch Online
  • Several major performing groups are setting up streaming concerts for people to enjoy at home!  I have included a few links below:
  • The Metropolitan Opera will be streaming a free opera performance every night! If you want to have any idea about what Ms. Kieran studied in music school, this is it! 
  • Performances will be available for 20 hours.
  • https://www.metopera.org/
  • The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the world’s finest, is making their digital concert hall free to everyone.  There is a wealth of great performances here!
  • https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/20192020/digital-concert-hall/
  • Fun Ways to Practice
  • Websites like Smart Music and Sight Reading Factory are offering free subscriptions to students affected by school closures.  Sight Reading Factory is a ton of fun and it is a great way to practice your sight reading skills at home
  • Links are included below:
  • https://www.smartmusic.com/
  • https://www.sightreadingfactory.com/

 

PE, Health, Wellness

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Physical Education, Health and Wellness Enrichment Opportunities

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QMewHTHCmZ4LVi3nwYT6pFFgciwHGjiTczv-jjH2KLw/edit

 

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