20 Free Online Education Resources for Middle School Students

It seems like many of the educational sites around the web were created with either the elementary student or the college student in mind. But there are a number of sites that would be of interest to students in the middle school grades. Here are 20 to explore throughout the summer.

Shmoop - Shmoop offers an excellent collection of fun and lively study guides created by teachers and education experts. The site provides guides to literature, bestselling books, poetry, Shakespeare, U.S. history, civics, music, economics, and more.

BJ Pinchbeck Homework Helper - Created in the 1990s by nine-year-old BJ Pinchbeck, this small online reference has evolved into a comprehensive research site with hundreds of homework help links. Some of the topics covered on BJ Pinchbeck Homework Helper include art, computer science, English, foreign languages, health, math, music, science, and social studies.

Learn Out Loud - Learn Out Loud provides an extensive directory of free audio books, lectures, speeches, interviews, and other educational audio and video resources. All of the materials within the directory can be downloaded as mp3 files or streamed online.

Whyville - Whyville helps middle schoolers learn about art history, science, journalism, civics, and economics through exploration and communication. As Whyville citizens, students can play games, chat with friends, and much more.

FreeRice.com - This UN World Food Program site teaches civic responsibility while quizzing visitors on everything from English grammar and vocabulary to chemical symbols and pre-algebra. For every multiple choice trivia question that site visitors answer correctly, the UN donates ten grains of rice to help feed the hungry.

Book Adventure - Book Adventure is a free online reading program that welcomes children in grades K-8. The goal of the program is to get kids to read more and improve reading comprehension. Site visitors can use the site to create their own book lists, get reading recommendations, take quizzes on books they have read, and earn points and prizes for reading efforts.

Bookwink - Created for students in grades three through eight, Bookwink publishes short audio podcasts and videos designed to get kids excited about reading. The site offers book recommendations by subject, grade level, author, or title.

Read Print - Read Print is a free online library that contains thousands of novels, poems, plays, and stories in the public domain. Site visitors can search for books by author, title, or genre.

Book Builder - Middle schoolers who visit this site can create, publish, and share their own digital books online. They can also read free digital books created by other people.

WritingFix - Sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project, Writing Fix provides a place for young writers to improve their craft. Site resources include free prompts, lessons, articles, and other writing resources.

Math Playground - This site is intended for elementary and middle school students. Site visitors can play math games, solve logic problems, watch math videos, and much more.

Lure of the Labyrinth - Created specifically for middle school students, this free online math game guides students through a digital labyrinth of math-based puzzles. Players must solve pre-algebra problems to save their missing pet and win the game.

GeoEdu - GeoEdu is an atlas and an educational game that helps players learn geography. The game contains more than 100,000 questions and allows players to choose from multiple levels of play.

ARKive - ARKive is a lively science site devoted to the conservation of endangered species around the world. Educational resources include news, photos, videos, article, reference materials, and more.

Artopia - Designed for middle school students with an interest in visual and performing arts, this site displays important works of art and allows users to build their own portfolio of artwork. Artopia users can also critique art, watch movies, and view student art.

Stage'D - Stage'D is a free online tool that can be used to create animated comics. New backgrounds and animations are constantly being added.

iLike - iLike has combined music with social media to create an application that connects music fans with their favorite artists. iLike can also be used to share music and learn about new artists.

Glogster - Glogster makes it easy for middle school students to get creative and express themselves through posters. Site users can create their own online posters using text, images, music, and video.

Twrivia - Twrivia combines trivia with Twitter. A new trivia question is posted each day. Twitter users who answer the question correctly and quickly can earn a place on the site's leader board.

FreeDocumentaries.org - This site streams popular full-length documentaries and educational films. No download or registration is required.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about pharmacy technician training for PharmacyTechnicianCertification.com.

Loving the life you have . . .

I found out yesterday that a colleague passed away this past week-end. She was on a trip with family and they think that she had a heart attack.

It was a shock to everyone.

I've also talked to two different teachers this summer whose spouses are battling very serious illnesses.

It is circumstances such as these that make one reflect on your own life.

Last week, I had to cancel plans to attend a conference. I canceled my attendance to the conference because my husband managed to get the week off. He works for a small business and has to notify his boss weeks in advance that he needs time off. When things slow down or when the boss thinks he can handle not having my husband there, he lets him have the time off. It was literally the Friday before I was scheduled to leave that I found out he had the week off.

All week-end, I ruminated over my being gone for the week, knowing that my husband and kids would be here. I decided that I needed to take this time to be with my family.

After hearing about the death of my colleague, I'm glad I made this decision.

While we did nothing particularly special, it was just nice being together and enjoying each others' company. We did manage one day trip with the kids who all enjoyed themselves. It was great to see the three of them together, hanging out with each other and just having fun. I know that there will not be too many more of these special occasions as two of my three are young adults and within the next couple of years, more than likely, will have lives very independent of me.

We all have times where we get depressed and question where we are at in our lives. It's important to keep it all in perspective.

I'm healthy, my husband's healthy and so are my three kids. I love my life and am so very grateful for them.

Online Doctoral program

I'm thinking of getting my doctorate within the next year or so. Any suggestions on good online programs?

One of these days

Artist Girl will get her act together or at least, I hope she will.

The latest development in her life is that due to the constant drama and enrollment of kids at her cosmetology school, she has withdrawn from the program. This means for her that while she has a few hundred hours under her belt (which as I understand it, she can roll those hours into another program), she now will owe the school a couple thousand dollars.

She has told me that her new plan is to enroll in the local community college for their cosmetology program. This sounds good, but she has yet to even so much check into it to see if this is something she can do.

It's like I've said before, just when it seems she making strides moving forward in growing up, she makes even further giant steps backward. I'm at a loss. In the meantime, she still lives at home, sans job without a clue as to what it takes to be independent.

I can't help but feel resentful when she asks for money for gas for her car or a few dollars for face wash. I mean, seriously, she is halfway to being 22 years old and it seems is as far away from growing up as she was when she graduated from high school three years ago.

Thoughts on a verdict

The verdict has come in for Johannes Mehserle, the fomer BART cop. Many wanted Mehserle to be convicted of murder as they believed that Mehserle had intent to murder Oscar Grant. Mehserle is white & Grant was black. Mehserle has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, which means that he did not intend to murder anyone.

The fear that is now pervading the airwaves is that riots will occur.

It is my hope that what we witnessed in 1992 with the L.A. riots will not occur in Oakland.

I admit to being conflicted. On the one hand, probably the naive parts of me, being a middle-class white woman is to believe that Mehserle did not intend to murder Oscar Grant. I have a sense of wanting to trust police. My husband - not so much. This is because I have only once experienced mistreatment by the police - although I believe this had more to do with the officer's ineptness than with anything else.

I've not had to raise my sons' to fear the police because of the color of their skin. I worry more about my older son's temper when it comes to his interaction with police than the fact that color of his skin color alone may determine the outcome.

All of this being said, I have friends who are parents of young, black men and I have taught at a school that is composed of mostly African American and Hispanic students. In conversations with my friends and my students, they have or have been raised on how to act when police are involved. They are taught this at an early age as a matter of survival.

Oscar Grant is the victim in this horrific story. He may have used bad judgment when all of this started to go down. It does not excuse the fact that he was shot in the back by a police officer who was running high on adrenaline. I do not think Mehserle meant to shoot Oscar Grant and his actions will no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life.

Violence should not beget violence. I hope for peace in Oakland.