Middle school is challenging in a variety of ways. If you take a poll of adults and ask them to reflect on their school years, many would answer that middle school was the most challenging period of their education. When I think back to my middle school years, I recall students who did not understand one another and, more importantly, did not understand themselves. Middle school pupils are wired differently and have distinct social-emotional and academic demands than elementary and high school students.
As students prepare for high school and beyond, they must leave behind the typical caring environment of the elementary school to face the reality of middle school. Today, online educational support, i.e. online academic websites, plays a critical role in shaping up the academics and personality of middle schoolers. We have put together a list of middle school websites that you can go through and decide based on your discretion.
1. Edpuzzle
Edpuzzle is one of the best free educational websites for middle school students. Edpuzzle is a web-based tool that allows you to alter online videos and add interactive information to meet specific learning goals.
Students can watch videos on their own or in "live mode," which allows teachers to display a video to a group of students. Teachers can upload their films, add URLs, or use the built-in content library to find what they're looking for (including YouTube videos and filters for Khan Academy, TED, National Geographic, and more).
Edpuzzle is a fantastic tool for changing video content that can be used in almost any classroom. Professors and students can customise online videos to encourage viewers to think critically, reflect, and reply.
Price: Free
2. Desmos
Desmos is a free math graphing and teaching application considered one of the most effective websites for middle school teachers. Students can learn about a range of arithmetic concepts through classroom activities in addition to charting equations. Desmos is a noteworthy graphing alternative for children with various arithmetic skills due to several features.
The ability to substitute sliders for unknown variables is beneficial to beginners. As they click & drag the variable up and down, they can see the graph move and change shape. The ability to graph tables and inequalities is a feature that may appeal to more skilled users.
Price: Free
3. Facing History and Ourselves
FHO is a free website offering to teach and combat hate and bigotry. Such an application qualifies as one of the most effective 6th-grade websites for early middle school education. Free lesson plans, units, resource collections, videos, and podcasts are available on the Internet, and the contents are both multidisciplinary and Common Core-aligned.
Facing History and Ourselves is a collection of engaging educational resources aimed at helping students grow into socially responsible people. According to studies, these resources have been demonstrated to be beneficial in eliminating prejudice, boosting tolerance, expanding knowledge, and improving academic skills.
Price: Free
4. Google CS First
Google CS First is an effective online platform for students in late elementary and middle school to create, manage, and teach the fundamentals of computer science topics. Video tutorials, Getting Started guides, scripted teaching resources, student instructions, example projects, digital materials (with solution guides), and more are included in each session.
The difficulty levels range from Introductory to Advanced, and a time estimate accompanies each exercise or theme. The site also contains detailed help guides on everything from preparing students for online learning to creating backup plans if technology fails. Children may design, collaborate, build on one another's creations, remix works, and learn by tinkering with Google CS First.
Price: Free
5. iCivics
iCivics prepares middle school students to become knowledgeable, engaged 21st century citizens by creating free and innovative educational materials. It provides educational online games and standards-aligned lesson plans to promote civics education and encourage students to become active citizens.
It also features Curriculum Units which are arranged by topic and can be used just like a chapter or unit of a textbook. iCivics also helps teachers keep track of student learning with assignment, tracking, and reporting tools.
iCivics helps children better understand and respect the United States government. Citizenship, rights, the justice system, governance, freedom of speech, and constitutional law are all covered in sixteen games. You can sort by topic or the amount of time required to complete a game.
Each game comes with a thorough instruction that is simple to follow but requires some reading. The sophistication of the games varies, but they all provide children with various interesting methods to learn about the United States government and legal system.
Price: Free
6. NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
The Program is a classroom adaption of the National Novel Writing Month programme for children and teenagers (or even at home). Young authors undertake the challenge of finishing a novel during November's formal NaNoWriMo month or other times throughout the year.
Turning the daunting chore of writing a book into a pleasant and achievable challenge is a winning strategy here. NaNoWriMo's creators are writers who understand the process and have elegantly broken it down for kids. As they work toward completing a novel, students not only learn writing skills and structure, but they also gain a natural flavour of what it's like to be a writer.
Price: Free
7. Ok Go Sandbox
A music video organises the items in OKGo Sandbox. Teachers must continue to explore the site to appreciate everything it has to offer fully. Teachers take the time to study each related material and create a strategy that works for their grade level. Physical science, math, and art standards are all addressed in the lessons. In the film "Upside Down & Inside Out," kids utilise parabolas to determine how the band attained zero gravity.
The flipbooks in the "One More Moment" film motivate students to create their flipbooks, emphasising creativity and innovation over substance. Students use phenomena to figure out music videos in OK Go Sandbox, which stimulates creativity and invention in math, science, and art.
Price: Free
8. PenPal Schools
PenPal Schools is a website that connects classes and students worldwide to collaborate on projects that are relevant to all subjects. The website claims to have connected over 250,000 students from 140 different countries. PenPal projects connect classrooms with peers of similar ages all across the world. When students interact with friends from other backgrounds, they can receive a helpful perspective on the curriculum and their own lives.
PenPal Schools' worldwide approach to learning is laudable, and it is arguably in line with where knowledge needs to go. Students' writing skills are aided by the project-based pen buddy model, promoting topic understanding and social and emotional learning.
Price: Free
9. The Concord Consortium
Hundreds of science exercises and computer simulations are available through The Concord Consortium, best suited for middle and high school pupils. Teachers can use the site to locate tasks connected with their standards, offer assignments to students, and track their progress. Teachers can observe written comments that students provide throughout an activity by giving a task to their class.
Concord Consortium supports the Next Generation Science Standards' emphasis on "phenomena first." The phenomenon of bottles crushing and ears popping, for example, teach children about gas laws. The Concord Consortium qualifies as one of the most helpful websites for middle school teachers.
Price: Free
10. Amaze
Amaze is a website that teaches children about sexual education, their growing bodies, and healthy relationships. The site, created by three health and sexual information advocacy organisations, is an online middle school resource for children aged 10 to 14. The professionals who made this content appear to have chosen their words carefully and deliberately:
Although the tone is light and breezy, the subject on Amaze is essential and always handled with care. It can be challenging to strike the same style as a health teacher, counsellor, or classroom teacher, so talk to your colleagues and administration about the best way to incorporate these quirky and touching content into your school's existing sex-ed programme.
Price: Free
Online middle school classes websites, unlike traditional brick-and-mortar schools, give parents more control over their children's learning environment. Note that the middle school websites are built by professionals who have carefully studied the behaviour of the students. Parents may be confident that their child is in a safe, secure environment that encourages teamwork and improves personality.
Furthermore, such websites transform into assistants for both the teachers and students, providing vast and relevant information about their area of interest. However, given the choices available, teachers should exercise caution about selecting a reliable website that offers genuine and verified information for the benefit of the students.
You may also like:
Best Websites for High School Students
Trending Topics