Summer Activities

WJPS Summer Activities to Help Reduce Summer Brain Drain (Recommendations from Teachers!)

Reading:

Summer at the NYC Public Library! EVENTS, PROGRAMS, READING RECOMMENDATIONS, and MORE!

BARNES and NOBLE Best YA Books of 2023

THE NEW YORK TIMES SUMMER READING CONTEST

Art Suggestions from Ms. Meneses:

Attached is a file with ideas of what to draw during the summer. I also included links on how to make/draw stuff over their summer break.

• How to make your own sketchbook - https://youtu.be/tn_Hq4nfOk8

• How to create designs using Canva - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRT1j1OS6cU (students can login to Canva by selecting Google and using their DOE email account and password)

• Explore Adobe Creative Cloud (log in through TeachHub)

• How to do tie-dye shirts - https://youtu.be/pH1j14QiGpU

• How to paint like Bob Ross (beginners) - https://youtu.be/LFqd-jj1lQ8

Students can log in from TeachHub or download the app, set it up with code NYCSCHOOLS and use their DOE email address and password. Students can also link their library card in SORA, for additional resources!

6th Grade ELA Ms. Szabo’s suggestions:

Explore titles featured in The Ultimate Middle School Reading List

Here are some Ms. Szabo suggests in addition to titles in the link above:

*Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson

*The Year I Flew Away Marie Arnold

*Front Desk Kelly Yang

*Turtle Boy M. Evan Wolkenstein

*Amina’s Voice Hena Kahn

*Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis

*I’m OK Patti Kim

*Paola Santiago and The River of Tears Tehlor Kay Mejia

*Tournament of Champions Phil Bildner

(* on SORA)

6th Grade Math:

Ms. Foley suggests these websites to help you master your multiplication skills by September:

https://www.mathsnacks.com/

https://www.mathsisfun.com/timestable.html

https://www.khanacademy.org/

7th Grade ELA suggestions from Ms. Devine:

The Clay Marble Mingfong Ho

Stand Tall Joan Bauer

Crater Homer Hickman

Letters From Rifka Karen Hesse

7th Grader Math (Ms. Ghori’s suggestion)

Practice adding and subtracting integers visually with counters.

Build on pattern building and understanding of sequences and patterns with Tower of Hanoi

Review your multiplication and division tables.

Grade 6 and 7 Social Studies (Ms. Fong’s suggestions)

Take day trips to historical places and write about them. Some ideas include in and around the city include:

• King Manor Museum

• Bayside Historical Society and Fort Totten

• Voelker Orth Museum in Flushing

• Old Quaker Meeting House in Flushing

• Bowne House in Flushing

• Fort Totten in Bayside

• Flushing Meadows Corona Park (site of two World's Fairs)

• Louis Armstrong House in Corona

8th Grade ELA Ms. Xanthopoulos's Suggestions:

Complete the Summer Reading Choice Board to keep track of your reading!

Students can use the following lists to find books they're interested in and for the film portion of the activity it can also be for any new film they're interested in watching.

https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/staff-picks/teens

8th Grade Social Studies suggestions from Mr. Mengani

Videos: Crash Course US History; Crash Course African American History; US History - Khan Academy (Units 5-9)

Historical Fiction Reading (suggestions by Mr. Mengani)

*Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane

*Chasing Lincoln’s Killer James Swanson

Out from This Place Joyce Hanson

Little House on the Prairie Series Laura Ingalls Wilder

*All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque

Dragonwings Laurence Yep

*Bud Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis

*Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Russell Freedman

*Farewell to Manzanar Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston

(*on Sora)

8th Grade Spanish:

A comprehensive list of short stories in Spanish with comprehension questions (Ms Naula’s suggestion)

https://lingua.com/es/espanol/lectura/

Podcasts of Interest to High School Students:

Astronomy Podcast : https://palebluepod.space/

Astronomy Podcast: https://startalkmedia.com/

Various Topics: https://stuffyoushouldknow.com/

Various Topics: https://www.sciencefriday.com/

Various Topics: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts.

Women and Girls in Science: https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/women-and-girls-science-podcast-series-1

Ecology: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/about/how-to-save-the-planet-a-friends-of-the-earth-podcast

Chemistry: https://chemforyourlife.com/

Chemistry: https://episodictable.com/archive/

Physics, Art & Math: https://radiopublic.com/turing-rabbit-holes-GOeApL

Design: https://99percentinvisible.org/

History: https://radiopublic.com/MissedInHistory

NYC Historical Podcast: https://radiopublic.com/MissedInHistory

Writing: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/

Learn about current, real-world issues (Ms. Mills’ suggestions).

Students can keep a journal of what they have learned.

Suggested resources include:

ALLSIDES

NEWSELA (log in from TeachHub)

The New York Times Replica Edition

TEDTALKS

READER'S DIGEST

10th Grade Social Studies (Mr. Thompson’s suggestions)

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@MrJCellini

This teacher does a great job explaining how to approach ALL PARTS of the Global Regents exam (the CRQ, Multiple-Choice, and Enduring Issue Essay). He has about 8 videos on these topics. Each video is about an hour or a half-hour.

11th Grade Preparation for Advanced Placement US History (Mr. Tesler’s suggestions)

APUSH SUMMER GOOGLE CLASSROOM Join Code: s6njkpk

• ACTIVITY 1

• ACTIVITY 2

• ACTIVITY 3

• EXTRA ACTIVITY

Preparation for 12th Grade Economics & Government (Mr. Mengani’ suggestions)

Podcasts: Planet Money; The Economics of Everyday Things (Economics); We The People (Government); Freakonomics Radio

Videos: St. Louis Fed Economic Lowdown Video Series; and Chairman Bernanke's College Lecture Series (Economics)

Khan Academy Courses:

Personal Finance - Life Skills - Khan Academy;

AP®︎/College Macroeconomics - Khan Academy;

Preparation for US Government and Civics

Books: Naked Economics; Undercover Economist; Freakonomics;

Government: Bill of Rights Institute - Landmark Cases

What are the 2023-24 Common App essay prompts