Virtual Learning Resources
Virtual Learning Resources
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Susan C. Yearwood4-H Youth County Extension Coordinator syear@uga.edu706-779-5501
Friends Magazines
4-H is a partner in education and during this time of social distancing, your 4-H'er can still learn and have fun at the same time with the Georgia 4-H Friends Magazines. The 4-H Friends Magazines contain informative information on a variety of topics with fun activities. Also, the material in the magazines is correlated to Common Core GA Performance Standards and GA Performance Standards. Each week, we are sharing a Georgia 4-H Friends Magazine along with an online interactive crossword (also available in a printable) that reviews terms from the magazine. Check out the magazines we’ve shared so far below!
Be a "Zoonotic" Disease Detective
Farm to Fork
8 STEM Activities with Toilet Paper Tubes
While you are at home social distancing, put those toilet paper and paper towel rolls to great use! Here are some really creative and fun hands-on science activities to make out of your cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tubes.
- “Let’s Play Ball” -Sports Equipment: Use cardboard tubes (taped together if you need them longer) to make sports equipment like golf clubs or baseball bats — and then head outside to try them out!
- Build a Paper Airplane Launcher: See how high you can fly a paper airplane using toilet paper tubes! Using toilet paper tubes and a rubber band, build an airplane launcher.
- Race Cars: On your mark, get set, go! Using cardboard tubes to design and build a racecar.
- Make a Cotton Ball or Mini Marshmallow Launcher: Use a cardboard tube, a balloon, duct tape, scissors, to make a fun launcher. Take a cardboard toilet paper tube, next take the balloon, tie a knot at the end of the balloon, and snip off the other end with scissors. Then stretch the balloon onto one end of the toilet paper tube and secure with duct tape. Load the tube with marshmallows or cotton balls, and pull back on the knotted end of the balloon.
- Music Makers: Use a cardboard tube to experiment with sound using a homemade kazoo. Take a toilet paper roll, decorate with craft paint of stickers. Then cut a square of wax paper and wrap it over one end of the toilet paper roll and secure with a rubber band. Time to make the music by humming or singing into the roll!
- Make a flower or Butterfly: Get a pair of scissors and cut your toilet paper roll into fourths. You should have 4 rounds. If desired, use craft paint and paint the rolls in your favorite spring colors and allow to dry. Lay out the painted rolls into the desired shape of a flower or butterfly and a low-temperature hot glue the touching sides of the rolls. Finally, embellish your flower or butterfly with pipe cleaners.
- “Baby Shark” Doo Doo Doo Doo: Grab a toilet paper roll, some gray paint and a paintbrush, googly eyes, black marker, and a low-temperature glue gun. First, cut out a triangle on one end of the tube- this will be the mouth. Save the left over triangle pieces for the fin and tail of the shark. Paint your tube and triangle pieces using craft paint and let dry. While the tube is drying cut out some teeth from plain white paper. Now it is time to assemble the shark- glue the teeth to the inside of the mouth (triangle cut out end), next glue a triangle piece (the fin) on top of the tube, and glue a triangle piece on the back for the tail. Lastly, glue the googly eye on the shark and make a few black lines on the side of the shark.
- Star Constellation Gazer: Print out some star constellations. choose which constellation you want to make, cut out the circle and glue it to some black paper. Next, poke out the holes for the constellation with a tack or pin, and place it on the end of the tube with a rubber band. You can decorate the star constellation gazer tube with stars and stickers.
Other Resources
Computer gaming programs can have numerous cognitive benefits including improving coordination, problem-solving skills, attention, and concentration, enhancing memory and multi-tasking skills, and provide stimulating learning challenges. As with any technology, limiting the amount of screen time is important.
4-H'ers, ask a parent or guardian before clicking any of the following resources. While children younger than 13 years old can engage in these games, Georgia 4-H encourages parents and youth to comply with all website terms and conditions, including the minimum age to create user accounts.
Below are different computer games and other resources that teach various subject matter content to youth.
Local Resources
Digital learning and additional resources offered by Stephens County High School
Math Resources
Dragonbox Games offers a variety of games covering math concepts where students manipulate numbers and obtain a conceptual understanding of addition, subtraction, pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry.
Recommended Grades: K-9
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: Yes
Yogome offers more than 2,00 mini-games for students to develop a variety of skills.
Recommended Grades: PK-5
Fee Associated: Free & Paid Versions
Teacher Resources: Yes
Mangahigh offers a collection of games for students to compete in their math skills, earning badges and medals.
Recommended Grades: K-10
Fee Associated: Free & Paid Versions
Teacher Resources: Yes
Lure of Labyrinth offers students an opportunity to solve problems, using pre-algebra, to save their pet and the world from monsters.
Recommended Grades: 6-8
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: Yes
Civic Engagement & History Resources
4-H civic engagement programs empower young people to be well-informed citizens who are actively engaged in their communities and the world.
Features over 100 free activities that you can use in any year (not just census years) to enhance and invigorate learning in many subjects. (grades pre-K through 12)
The Kids in the House website’s mission is to provide educational and entertaining information about the legislative branch of the United States Government to students of all ages.
From the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Annenberg Classroom’s free resources include over 65 videos on constitutional concepts and Supreme Court cases, as well as games, lesson plans, downloadable books, a glossary, and a Constitution guide.
The official website of the U.S. National Archives can be used by students to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government. Time will fly as you view historical photos, lookup service records of family members, or view our nation’s founding documents.
A free website with lesson plans for exploring and fostering modern civic engagement, the site's five modules (Participate, Investigate, Dialogue, Voice, and Action) help students to identify issues that matter to them and to find ways to become active participants in the political process.
Linked sites, videos, and more to help you explore the history of 4-H and Extension, especially as it pertains to Georgia. Test your knowledge by taking the Georgia 4-H History Quiz with State 4-H Leader Arch Smith.
iCivics is a suite of games founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to help students engage in civics and US Government.
Recommended Grades: 6-12
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: Yes
Political Animals is an election campaign simulation game set within a world populated by corrupt crocodiles and meritocratic mice.
Recommended Grades: 8-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: No
Test your World War 2 history with Attentat 1942 as it tells the story of Nazi occupation through the eyes of the survivors. The game is built on personal memories, interactive comics, and authentic footage.
Recommended Grades: 9-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: Yes
Science Resources
Since 2008, National 4-H Council encourages youth to complete the National Youth Science Day challenge each fall. Past challenges including supply lists, instructions, and youth and facilitator guides are available for download. Depending on the challenge, some supplies are easy to obtain, while others may be more difficult.
NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Observer program allows participants to contribute data to civic science projects about clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees. After downloading the free app, participants observe natural settings and share their findings with NASA scientists.
Scientific American is the oldest continually published magazine in the US. In addition to videos, podcasts, and blogs, the “Bring Science Home” online section contains science activities for youth ages 6-12 that require few supplies and be completed in 30 minutes.
Extreme Event is a role-playing game that teaches about community resilience during natural disasters (flood, hurricane, or earthquake). The kits were developed by the National Academy of Sciences’ Koshland Science Museum (now called LabX).
Design Squad Global by PBS Kids is an online program for middle school students to solve problems by using the engineering design process. Each week, the website is updated with challenges, videos, and activities.
Algodoo is a way to create, share, and remix interactives, virtual experiments, lessons, and demos that build conceptual understanding of physics.
Recommended Grades: 4-12
Fee Associated: Free on Mac/Windows (fee associated with iPad version)
Teacher Resources: No
Tyto online is platform allowing students to learn about concepts tied to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) such as cells, genetics, and ecology.
Recommended Grades: 6-8
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: Yes
WolfQuest allows players to become a gray wolf in Yellowstone as they obtain a conceptual understanding of ecology.
Recommended Grades: 6-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: Yes
Solve puzzles based on real protein folding that crowdsources scientific research and have led to breakthroughs.
Recommended Grades: 9-12
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: No
Coding Resources
Set in the animated world of Foosville, where the character of the Glitch is wreaking havoc, the game offers scenes where players need to help the inhabitants achieve or solve something.
Recommended Grades: K-5
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: Yes
Human Resource Machine gives office workers the tasks of completing computer coding assignments given to them by their supervisors. As each task gets completed, the employee gets promoted and has more tasks that can be accomplished.
Recommended Grades: 6-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: No
Construct 3 is a 2-D game engine that can be used to design and create your own games, such as puzzles, platformers, role-playing games, shooters, racing games, and even storybooks.
Recommended Grades: 6-8
Fee Associated: Free & Paid Versions
Teacher Resources: No
Healthy Living Resources
Download the 4-H Healthy Living Activity Guide for 30 hands-on, educational activities to help your child live a happy, healthy life.
MyPlate Kid’s Place includes games, videos, songs, and activity sheets to help kids learn about food, nutrition, and physical activity.
Penn State University offers a list of easy, hands-on activities to help kids learn about Food Science.
FoodTalk includes simple recipes, as well as many quick and easy instructional videos. Get the whole family involved in cooking with foodtalk.org.
FoodHero, from Oregon State University, offers kid-approved recipes, cooking videos, activity sheets, and coloring pages.
The Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Fight BAC!® for Kids section includes ideas and fun activities for kids that teach them about the basics of safe food handling.
Global Perspective Resources
Cloud Chasers - A Journey of Hope allows players to guide a small family through five deadly deserts to reach the gateway to the world above the clouds as the conceptual understanding of migration and decision making.
Recommended Grades: 5-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: No
Players take on the roles of a young Inupiat girl named Nuna and her arctic fox companion as they set out to find the source of an endless blizzard that threatens the survival of everything she has ever known. Players will gain a conceptual understanding of culture.
Recommended Grades: 8-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: No
Ayiti challenges its players to manage a rural family of five in Haiti over four years. Players will gain a conceptual understanding of culture and global awareness.
Recommended Grades: 6-8
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: Yes
Cooking With Children at Home Resources
The Home Baking Association also has some lesson plans and other resources posted for Classroom, Afterschool & Clubs work with youth. These provide good examples of teaching along with baking -- special food needs, measuring, roles of ingredients like fats, flour, etc. They also have information about food safety when baking.
Other Resources
Zoo U practices skills like empathy, managing feelings, self-control, and more.
Recommended Grades: 2-4
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: Yes
Epistory helps master your typing skills as you are immersed in a story where everything is to be written, ride a giant fox and fight insectile corruption in a beautiful origami world.
Recommended Grades: 3-12
Fee Associated: Yes
Teacher Resources: No
Fake It to Make It allows students to interact as a news “troll” and earn money by creating and planting fake news.
Recommended Grades: 6-12
Fee Associated: No
Teacher Resources: No
