Office Hours

Help is always available during office hours. The library and counselor office hours are a great place to get general help and participate in activities.

Links to Zoom sessions with meeting ID and passwords were sent as a document to parent's email addresses.

The daily schedule of which classes are meeting by Zoom is here: Office Hours Schedule.

Online Behavior and Etiquette

As we move forward to online learning, please review the following documents:

Digital Learning Parent Letter - Secondary (PDF)

Best Practices for Parents to Support Online Learning (PDF)

Mears' Online Expectations (video)

Student Etiquette on Zoom (PDF)

Tips for Success in Online Learning (Google slides)

Techology Help Resources

APEX Parent Coach

Canvas Parent Observer

Canvas Walk Through - how to access, how to find APEX, how to progress through a module

How to set up Zoom - an YouTube video for parents to help download and setup the Zoom app.

Zoom Directions for Students - from TechieTeacher, how to set up and use Zoom on different kinds of devices.

Update Contact Information in Parent Connect - a step by step guide for parents

ASD Help Center - create a digital ticket to have an IT specialist get back to you.

Email ASD for tech help at: help@asdk12.org

Call ASD for tech help at: 907-742-HELP (4357)

Internet Vendor Offers

Reading and Entertainment

Looking for a book to read or listen to? How about some music or tv shows to stream or download? You could always learn something new. Try these pages for opportunities to all three with resources from your school library, public library, and state library.

GOT BOOKS!

OTHER RESOURCES!

Do you need your Library ID number? Fill out this Library ID form, then watch for a Google doc to appear in your Shared with Google drive. The title of the Google doc will be: Library ID - your last name.  You can also email Mrs. Fleming at: fleming_heather@asdk12.org.

Mrs. Demoss suggests: Timed Soduku!, Mazes, and Logic puzzles. Math 7 intensified students try ALEKS.  Math 7 students use Khan Academy.

Math Challenges for Families:  https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html

Real-life Math videos and Activities:  https://alaskapublic.pbslearningmedia.org/grades/middle-school/?selected_facet=subject:1184

Fact Fluency – Brief Daily Practice: https://xtramath.org/#/home/index

Mathematicians, Topics and Units:  https://www.brainpop.com/math/

Practice Math through Wizard Battles (select Sign up with Google option):  https://www.prodigygame.com/

“How to Learn Math: For Students”: series of 6 short episodes featuring Jo Boaler of Youcubed.com:  https://www.edx.org/course/how-to-learn-math-for-students-2

Scholastic Learn at Home: Go to https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome/grades-6-12.html

Complete one day at a time! Click on the links, read the articles, and complete the activities at the bottom of the page.

Newsela: April is National Poetry Month! Go to https://newsela.com/ and complete one of the assigned poetry-related articles and activities per day. You may also freely explore and read other articles of your choice! Instructions on signing up for your student account are located in Google Language Arts Enrichment. Click on the file for your grade level.

Nitro Type: Practice your keyboarding skills! Go to https://www.nitrotype.com/

Practice for at least 20-minutes a day. You may race as a guest, or you may sign up for free!

7th Grade Science Enrichment Activities for the week of March 23, 2020

Try as many as you like!

1.TEACH YOUR FAMILY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS:

https://www.brainpop.com/health/diseasesinjuriesandconditions/coronavirus/

If you are in Alaska it should recognize your IP address but iIf you are asked to login call the password hotline: (800) 440-2919

Brain Pop Search: Coronavirus

1. -watch the movie

2. -take the (ungraded quiz)

3. -fill out the graphic organizer & worksheet online

4. -read both of the related readings

5. -Game: time zone x-viruses

6. Want a challenge?  Try the make-a-map or make-a-movie

2. SCIENTIFIC METHOD USING  BUBBLE GUM LAB:

https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/mnstep/activities/27600.html

3. CODING PRACTICE:

1. Go to the Hour of Code activities webpage-- https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

2. Try one or two of the activities that you haven’t already tried before.

4.  OBSERVATION PRACTICE:

1. Go outside (if you can’t go outside, find a picture from a newspaper or magazine with lots going on).

2. Pick an object.

3. Carefully observe it using at least three of your senses (NOT taste, please).

4. Include at least 2 quantitative observations where you measure or count something about the object

5. Record your observations on a piece of paper as a diagram showing the details you noticed and using descriptive writing to emphasize things that aren't obvious in your diagram.

6. Share with a family member!

5.  CELLS:

Review the parts of a cell

1. Go to https://www.cellsalive.com/

2. Complete the matching, jigsaw, and crossword puzzles to review what you learned

3. Review the parts of the plant, animal, and bacteria cells using the interactive models

4. Explore the other interactive activities like “How Big Is..,” “Genetics Alive,” , “Microscopy,” “Immune Response”, & "Cell Function Memory Game" https://www.cellsalive.com/puzzles/matchOrganelle/index.htm

8th Grade Science Enrichment Activities for the week of March 23, 2020

1. Rube's Density Activity  - 
   Rube's Density.docx
2. Superposition Walk Activity - 
   
   Superposition Walk.docx

Mrs. Wilder's classes: there are enrichment activities in your Google Classroom.

• Ms. Klueber's Links
• Ms. Roberts' Links
• CNN 10 News
• Google Earth Voyager
• World Geography Games
• Free Rice

Classzone: Classzone.com has great enrichment activities for not only S.S. but all subjects. It will ask you to submit subject, grade, state and then it will have you find your textbook. The prompts are very user friendly, and the activities among other things contain interactive, animated maps. 

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/elessons/history-and-civics-resources-for-your-blended-online-classes/

https://www.icivics.org/games

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/revolutionary-war-animated-map

Ms. Perkin's classes:

This is a 30 day fitness challenge. Every day do all the exercises listed for that day. Please remember do complete the cool down stretches shown at the bottom of the Exercise Pictorial. A new set of challenges will be added every week.

Mr. Sorenson's classes: the following enrichment activity is located in Google Classroom.

Mr. Bennice and Mr. Osowski have a packet of worksheets. DO NOT COMPLETE ALL WORKSHEETS AT ONCE! Pick one day.

Skill building worksheets

ZENTANGLES! Drawing is FUNdamental. Be creative and have fun with this meditative art form. Your drawings can look completely different than the zentangle examples provided. If you have a sharpie or fine tipped marker, that would be great. But any marker, or even a pencil, can work. Pause the videos as you draw, if you find that helpful. - Mrs. Yackel

Start with this video on Zentangle patterns to try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2o50oZP9EE

Next, try a little bird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVvgysF8a7s

And an owl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F3AGTRHrLY

Computer Technology/Video Production

- https://www.edutyping.com/ login just like at school

- https://www.typing.com/ Students have an option to create a free account or they can type without creating an account, but the program will not save their progress if they quit their browser without an account.

- https://www.nitrotype.com/ A game that is best for students who are able to type using the entire keyboard. Students can log in with an account or "race as a guest" without an account. Mrs. Arend's personal favorite keyboarding game!

Animation/Video Production

- https://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat Animated short films: Simon's Cat (Very short videos which are helpful for brainstorming storylines for your own frame-by-frame animations). 

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5-sux2wZlYRT5rUTIPFrA Mears Middle School YouTube Channel: (Watch Mears student videos to help with ideas for your own videos. Script with other students using Google Docs. Film with your cell phone--remember to hold it in "landscape mode" or horizontally so that it is oriented the same way a computer screen is).

- https://sites.google.com/asdk12.net/mrsarendswebsite/home Mrs. Arend's website has more ideas.

Hello, Mears creative writers.

I miss all of you and sincerely hope you and your families are coping with these unexpected disruptions. Like all of you, I would rather be in the classroom, but for now, we’ll meet here for our mental exercise.

With our school routine (and many other routines) interrupted, it’s normal to experience anxiety, boredom, and restlessness at times throughout the day. Fortunately for us, we are writers, and writing can be done anywhere! Additionally, writing can be therapeutic, giving us an avenue to express our feelings and to transport us out of the moment and into world we create in our imaginations.

This week, I’m providing a writing prompt for each day of the week. I encourage each of you to perform a fast write in Googledocs in which you spend 30 minutes of uninterrupted time writing on the topic provided. Let your imaginations go as you write. Remember to apply techniques for developing characters, setting, and conflict that we focused on before spring break.

Step 1: Create a new document in your ASD Googledocs account. Title the document: FastwritesMarch23-27. Remember to click on the blue Share button in the upper right corner and share with pease_thomas.

Step 2: Title the first entry in the document with that day’s date (example: Monday, March 23rd). Repeat this step with each new day’s entry.

Step 3: Begin each writing session by unloading what’s on your mind. Sometimes we call this stream-of-consciousness writing. It might include hopes, discoveries, observations, celebrations, fears…whatever is on your mind. Do not worry about punctuation, spelling, etc. The goal is to write continuously for five minutes.

Step 4: Daily Prompts. Listed below is a prompt for each day of the week. Again, try to write on that day’s prompt for 30 minutes without interruption. Obviously, if you feel inspired or have more to say, keep writing, or return to your entry for a second or third writing session. Sometimes fast writes lead to dead ends, but sometimes they blossom into stories that lead down unexpected paths. Most of all, have fun with it.

Note: I look forward to reading what you write, so remember to share with me!

Monday, March 23rd

Five minute writing download. Write what’s on your mind.

Prompt: A mannequin in a mall window takes on an eery resemblance to you. Something strange is happening…

Tuesday, March 24th

Five minute writing download. Write what’s on your mind.

Prompt: Write about animals in a zoo that devise a plan to break out of their pens. Write from the animals’ viewpoints and use anthropomorphism, a technique in which the animals are the main characters and are assigned thoughts, feelings, dialogue, etc.

Wednesday, March 25th

Five minute writing download. Write what’s on your mind.

Prompt: Describe how experiencing disappointment can have a positive side. What you write can be fiction or nonfiction, but be specific in showing how unexpected challenges or disappointments transform into a positive experience. (This is a perfect opportunity to practice character transformation. Remember to show the changes, the discoveries, or the lessons learned rather than simply telling about them.)

Thursday, March 26th

Five minute writing download. Write what’s on your mind.

Prompt: The English language changes as fast as Alaska’s weather. Three weeks ago, we’d never heard the terms: social distancing, self-isolate, and flatten the curve. Suddenly, we’ve all heard of these terms and probably know what most of them mean.

Write a short story (no more than 500 words) in which you include at least two of these terms. However, use each of these terms in a new and different way. For instance, social distancing might describe a friendship gone bad, or flattening the curve could relate to a baseball pitch or a new weight loss program. Be creative, be wild, be you!

Friday, March 27th

Five minute writing download. Write what’s on your mind.

Prompt: Self-reflection in two parts.

Part 1: Answer at the start of your day.

1. Describe an activity that you spend too much time on and that you consider unproductive. Explain why you feel this way.

2. Describe a more meaningful activity you will do today in place of the activity you described in question 1. Explain how you think this new activity might benefit you more.

3. List three outdoor activities you could include in your day today. Decide on at least one of the three activities listed and circle it.

Part 2: Answer at the end of the day.

1. In what ways was today better than previous days this week? What contributed to making it better?

2. Based on your answer to number 1, what might you plan to do tomorrow and the next day to bring meaning and energy to your day?

School Business Partnership

Family Consumer Science

Ms. Wilder's classes: enrichment activities are available in your Google Classroom.

Mr. MacDonald suggests exploring MyPlate.gov and learning about Cornovirus. Below are videos about Cornovirus. Just do a couple of sections of MyPlate every day and one video.

Coronavirus Explained

 Here's a quick video resource to explain coronavirus to students. This video is appropriate for use with elementary students.
https://www.brainpop.com/health/diseasesinjuriesandconditions/coronavirus/

 This link is to a video that describes the coronavirus, how it functions in the body/cell, the immune response, and more. This video is appropriate for use with secondary students.

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/videos/what-actually-happens-if-you-get-coronavirus-331164#.XlUMW_ZxNiY.facebook

 A map produced by researchers at Johns Hopkins University tracks and visualizes reports about the outbreak using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, China's CDC, and other sources with geographic-information-system mapping.

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-online-dashboard-tracks-the-global-spread-of-the-wuhan-coronavirus-in-real-time

 Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Spread of the Outbreak

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html

Mr. O'Connor has enrichment activities for orchestra students available on his Orchestra Website.

Mr. Campbell has activities for concert band students in Google Classroom.

Mrs. McCubrey has activities for choir students in Google.

Mrs. McLaughlin has online and offline activities available on this Google doc.

World Languages have put together a document of ideas.

World Language Enrichment