Engaging Hands-On Learning Ideas For Middle School
Hands-on learning is frequently the most effective way to learn. There are countless ideas for hands-on activities suitable for preschool and elementary-aged students.
Unfortunately, as children grow older, the options for hands-on projects tend to diminish, making way for more “serious” learning. We start to think that baking soda volcanoes and talking about fractions with kitchen recipes aren’t as valuable as learning from books or writing essays.
Even if we admit that hands-on learning is still one of the best ways to learn, it’s challenging to find engaging ideas that our middle school students can get excited about. To make it easier, we’ve pulled together all our favorites in one place.
Hands-on learning doesn’t have to stop after elementary school. Sometimes we just need a fresh new approach. These ideas will help you keep curiosity alive even in the most reluctant middle schoolers.
Why Hands-On Learning Matters in Middle School
Sometimes we forget that hands-on learning still matters in middle school. We get this idea that learning through play and getting our hands messy with fine motor skills practice is something for preschool and kindergarten, but definitely not after fifth grade.
What if I told you that hands-on learning is still important and valuable for middle schoolers?
Teenagers can learn just as much from hands-on activities as little ones. Remember, almost anything can be educational. Acting in a play, babysitting, meal planning, cutting the grass, making cupcakes, and creating art can all be examples of hands-on learning in middle school.
We started making a list of our favorite ideas for hands-on learning in middle school. Now, we’re sharing them with you, including our favorite ideas for science, history, math, and language arts.
Hands-On Options For Science
If baking soda and vinegar no longer get the reaction you’d like from your middle schoolers, don’t worry. There are still tons of hands-on options for science in your homeschool. We are excited to share our favorites with you to get you started.
Who Would Win? Mini Unit Studies
Unit Studies are definitely one of our favorite ways to learn with middle schoolers. We love how they tie together different subjects and allow us to dive deep into topics Emily is curious about or interested in. Who Would Win? is a book series that challenges your mind by comparing and contrasting two animals to answer the question “Who would win?”
If your kids love animals, debates, and hands-on learning, they’ll find it in these mini unit studies. Sure, these units are based on books, but they include tons of hands-on learning for middle schoolers.
Each Who Would Win mini unit study holds your child’s attention with games, projects, and hands-on activities that take the pressure off and encourage interest-led learning. Plus, there’s an Add-On Game Pack with animal pictionary, bingo, and more.
Gameschooling Science
Speaking of games, gameschooling is our favorite way to practice hands-on learning for middle school. Discover the best science games for your homeschool. Board games and card games are so much fun for the whole family, especially middle schoolers.
There are tons of great games you can use to teach physical sciences and life sciences. Some of our favorites include Match a Track (wildlife and conservation), Wildcraft (ecology and natural resources), and Professor Noggin’s science trivia games.
Study of Science
The Study of Science is a comprehensive unit study covering multiple branches of science, like biology, chemistry, and physics. In this study, you’ll find engaging science experiments and custom games that make it easy to add hands-on learning ideas for middle school to every lesson.
Middle schoolers can have fun creating habitat shoebox dioramas, sandwich cookie moon phases, marble runs, popsicle stick bridges, and chemical rainbows as they learn about each branch of science, famous scientists, and more.
Hands-On Science Kits
One of our favorite ways to study science in middle school is with MEL Science Kits. These kits take the guesswork out for us. They ensure learning while having fun together, creating and building things like hydraulic lifts, infinity cubes, 3D goggles, metal trees, and iodine crystals.
We have also enjoyed National Geographic Kids Science Kits. These hands-on experiments incorporate short, meaningful lessons and lots of learning through play to discover things like geodes, sky rockets, and fossils. They’re an easy addition to any middle school science lesson.’
Learn more about the hands-on science kits we’re using in our article How to Teach Homeschool Science Without a Curriculum. It’s filled with hands-on learning ideas for middle school and helpful tips for parents trying to encourage reluctant teens to get engaged.
Hands-On Learning in History and Social Studies
If your middle schooler thinks history is just about memorizing names and dates, it’s time to change that perspective. Social studies can be more engaging through field trips to national parks, board games that spark discussion, and interest-led unit studies that explore the past.
Hands-on activities make learning meaningful by helping middle schoolers connect the past to the world we live in today. Here are a few of our favorite ways to make it happen:
Field Trips
Nothing brings history to life quite like a field trip. We love the way field trips encourage hands-on learning that gets the whole family involved. Reading about historic sites is one thing, visiting them is way more fun!
One of the benefits of homeschooling is a more flexible schedule. That flexibility can make it easier to plan trips to local historic sites and museums, many of which are free or inexpensive to visit. Some even offer special days with discounts for homeschooling families.
Each year, we try to visit a few national parks. Did you know there are 63 national parks in the United States? They are spread across 27 different states and filled with learning opportunities for middle schoolers. You can take that learning to the next level with our Traveling the Parks Unit Study. Plus, you’ll get more hands-on activity ideas in the study that you can do at home.
Gameschooling History and Geography
Our Traveling the Parks Unit Study incorporates games, too. Gameschooling history and geography is one of the easiest ways to bring the past to life and explore amazing places all over the world with your family.
Travel into the past with Ticket to Ride or learn about the 50 states with Scrambled States of America. Discover more of the best geography and history games for your homeschool in our comprehensive list. It’s an easy way to add learning fun to family game night this week.
Traveling the States and the World
We believe that history doesn’t have to be about memorizing important dates and geography doesn’t have to be about memorizing capital cities. Instead, we can explore these places, time periods, and important events through hands-on learning.
If you’re reading to step away from social studies textbooks and embrace hands-on learning ideas for middle school, don’t miss our fascinating unit studies. Whether you want to learn more about the United States or travel the world from your living room, we’ve got you covered!
In Traveling the States, you’ll use Eat Your Way Through the USA, a regional cookbook, to learn interesting facts about every state with fun recipes you can make together from each place. We had so much fun making Kentucky Hot Browns together!
When you’re finished exploring the states, craft your own “passport” with the hands-on activity in Traveling the World and go on an adventure to fascinating places all over the globe. This hands-on unit study is so much fun that we created Traveling the World II to explore even more amazing locations and landmarks.
Hands-On Learning For Middle School Math
When we think about hands-on learning ideas, we probably think about science and social studies first. Science experiments and history museums make thinking of ways to practice hands-on learning in these subjects so much simpler. But what about math?
Yes, you can practice hands-on learning in middle school math. Even if your kids have graduated past making muffins to talk about measurement and practicing fractions with slices of pizza. If you’re ready to explore hands-on learning for middle school math, check out our guide.
Mathematics for Everyday Learning is a real-world guide to learning math for kids of all ages, including middle and high school. It’s filled with exciting ideas for teens to learn things like geometry, algebra, and financial literacy.
Hands-On Learning In Literature and Language Arts
Learning about literature and language arts extends beyond reading books and writing essays. Middle schoolers can learn while having fun with hands-on activities and ideas. Real-world activities like journaling and letter writing make language arts a part of everyday life.
Novel unit studies give teens the chance to dive into their favorite books to learn about things like story elements, alliteration, metaphor, and symbolism. Exploring characters and plots through hands-on projects gives middle schoolers the chance to build a deeper understanding.
Everyday Language Arts Guide
Just as we did with math, we’ve put together a helpful guide filled with tips for getting started and hands-on learning ideas for kids of all ages. This Language Arts for Everyday Learning Guide encourages teens to learn as they practice writing, read great books, and play games.
All the ideas in this guide will help your middle schoolers build confidence, keep pressure low, and encourage them to engage in writing, develop vocabulary, and explore grammar.
Books, games, and hands-on projects make learning things like spelling, grammar, and composition engaging for even the most kinesthetic middle school learners. They’ll have fun writing letters to pen pals, crafting recipes, editing their very own newsletters, and more!
Novel Unit Studies
Novel unit studies transform reading into an exciting experience for middle school learners. Instead of reading a selection from a dry anthology and answering multiple-choice questions, kids get to engage with the characters, setting, and themes of the book with creative projects, writing exercises, and games.
Whether you’re building a diorama for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Novel Study or singing carols as you complete A Christmas Carol Novel Study, these novel studies help teens make connections between the story and real life.
Boost critical thinking skills as you create and explore to gain a deeper understanding of literature and a love of storytelling with your middle schoolers. You can do these novel studies together as you read aloud, or have kids deep dive into the books independently.
Simple Hands-On Learning For Middle School
Whether you’re thinking of games, unit studies, or field trips you can add to your middle school experience this year, I want to caution you not to overthink it. Simple hands-on learning for middle school is possible. Every day life and real-world practice is more than enough.
Learning can happen when we least expect it. Engaging our middle schoolers in hands-on learning isn’t as complicated as we make it out to be. Sometimes it’s as easy as embracing life and letting interest-led learning take the lead as our kids become more independent.
How are you going to embrace hands-on learning in your middle school this year? Do you have a favorite tip or activity to share? We would love to read about it in the comments!