Keeping Up with Middle School Math During the Summer
During student-led conferences I’m asked by many parents, “what can my student do over breaks or the weekends?” I find especially that many parents are concerned about their child losing knowledge during the summer, especially in math. Here are some free, online resources I always recommend:
Khan Academy - My favorite and most recommended website. Khan Academy not only has videos to teach students, but they also have quizzes and practices aligned to the work with descriptions of why an answer is correct or incorrect. Content can be selected based on grade level and students can select what domain and specific learning targets they want to work on without having to complete prior work, making it a great resource for students who need to maintain mastery.
Prodigy - An engaging and fun website that students often ask me to work on during free time. Students work at their own pace and level up to move through content with a mix of games and activities, and can earn online rewards to spend on games. While a student favorite, Prodigy does not allow you to select the learning targets you want, meaning students have to complete all prior work before moving on to a subject they need to practice.
Xtra Math - A simple resource for daily fluency practice. This site only lets students practice once a day, making it easy to implement into a quick routine. Student work on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing facts against a ‘teacher’ - the goal being to get the answer before the teacher. This resource is perfect for kids who need to brush up on their operations.
My favorite part about these sites is that they are all free! Students can use their school email to login to all the sites, making it easy and efficient.
