As schools all across the country continue to shut their doors amidst growing concerns of COVID-19, I’ve been encouraged to see so many individuals and companies provide virtual opportunities for kids to continue their learning experience even when they aren’t in the classroom.
I thought it would be helpful to share a landing space here that would provide both parents & teachers with free resources that can be accessed while your students/children are at home. If you’d like to add any additional resources in the comments, please feel free to do so as well. I hope this helps make things a little easier for us all.
Before sharing those resources, I’d like to highlight the suggestions provided on the NESCA website for creating and maintaining a productive environment for kids while they’re unable to be in the classroom. This is a great article that’s definitely worth the read.
30 FREE VIRTUAL LEARNING RESOURCES
Even when schools are closed, you can keep the learning going with these special cross-curricular journeys. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin!
-The Editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.
KUHT TV 8 and PBS have curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for teachers like you.
“Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners.”
4. Epic!
Epic is a digital library for kids 12 & under offering instant access to over 35,000 of the best books, learning videos, quizzes, and more! You can access this site for free at home with a 30-day trial period.
5. VOOKS
Vooks is a kid-safe ad free streaming library of read-aloud, animated storybooks.
6. LightSail
“LightSail is a cross-curricular, digital literacy platform that provides “Just Right”books to students from a 6000+ text library. We are currently providing licenses to schools and families impacted by COVID-19 closings.”
7. Phonics Hero
“26 levels systematically teach your child to read and spell. With unlimited play, your child can play at home or school on a computer, iPad or Android tablet. Phonics Hero is currently offering access FREE for 30 days.”
8. StarFall
Starfall is a free platform that creates experiences whereby children can successfully learn through exploration. On the Starfall website and in Starfall classrooms, children have fun while learning in an environment of collaboration, wonderment, and play. We teach through positive reinforcement to ensure children become confident, intrinsically motivated, and successful.
9. Learning A-Z
Learning A-Z subscriptions give your students full access to literacy resources from home, or any place with an Internet connection. In addition, we are also offering free access to Raz-Kids and Headsprout to those schools that don’t have these products today.* Educators, please register for a FREE subscription to Raz-Kids and/or Headsprout, valid through the end of the school year.
10. ABCYA
ABCya provides over 400 fun and educational games for grades PreK through 6. Our activities are designed by parents and educators, who understand that children learn better if they are having fun. Play all ABCya games for FREE on desktop computers, or subscribe to a premium membership in order to access games on mobile devices
11. FunBrain
“Created for kids in grades Pre-K through 8, Funbrain.com has been the leader in free educational games for kids since 1997. Funbrain offers hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving and literacy.”
12. Highlights Kids
“Highlights Kids is a great digital platform for extending learning beyond the classroom.”
13. BrainPop
“BrainPop provides engaging learning games, animated movies, and activities that are designed with relevance, depth, and humor to encourage & challenge students to reflect, make connections, & engage in deeper, curiosity driven learning. If your school is closed due to the COVID-19 virus, please fill out this form to receive free, unlimited use of the full BrainPOP suite during the period of closure“
14. Book Creator
“Book Creator is a platform that gives kids the opportunity to create, read, and publish their own books. Book Creator is currently offering a 90 day free use of this tool.”
15. Study Ladder
“Mathematics, English, Science and more! A comprehensive program of online educational activities for students aged 4 to 12, mapped to the curriculum. Studyladder has thousands of engaging learning resources for children; including games, video tutorials and printable activity sheets.”
16. DreamScape
“At Squiggle Park, we take video games seriously. Our bite-sized games are effective in building mastery of foundational reading skills through practice and play. For the first time, a learning game for students that is so much fun they chose to play. This engagement means kids practice their reading skills independently and while being challenged ultimately making the skills they need to be strong readers automatic.”
“Our playful heroes teach students how to form their letters through captivating stories, hilarious animations, and catchy songs. The format is simple, and the pace is fast!”
18. Mystery Science
“Mystery Science is the creator of the most popular science lessons in U.S. schools. We’ve curated this starter set of science lessons that you can use remotely or share with parents. To help educators during this time of coronavirus, we have pulled our most popular science lessons and are offering them for anyone to use for free. No account or login is needed“
19. PebbleGo
“PebbleGo is a curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students. Packed with informational articles, ready-made activities, and literacy supports for students of all abilities, it boosts engagement and fosters independent learning in core subject areas. Your students will love exploring PebbleGo time and time again. If you find your school or district in a situation where you will need to rely on remote technology to continue teaching and learning, we’re here to support you. Complete this form to request free access to both PebbleGo and Capstone Interactive eBooks while your school is closed.”
20. Kids Discover
“KidsDiscover provides a cross-curricular experience for the modern classroom. It packs science, social studies, and ELA into one easy to use, online reading platform for grades 3-8! Fill out the form for free access”
21. Wonderopolis
“Welcome to Wonderopolis®, a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. Each day, we pose an intriguing question—the Wonder of the Day®—and explore it in a variety of ways.”
22. Purple Mash
“Purple Mash is an award-winning website for K-5 students.It enables children to explore and enhance their knowledge in a fun and creative way.”
23. Accessibyte
“Accessibyte makes fun, funky, fully accessible apps for users who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, dyslexic, or have other reading difficulties. We just want kids (and adults) to have fun options when it comes to assistive technology”
24. Prodigy
“Prodigy is a curriculum-aligned math game loved by over 50 million children in Grades 1‑8 and used by over 1.5 million teachers”
25. IXL
“Organized by grade level, IXL helps students gain fluency and confidence in math! IXL helps students master essential skills at their own pace through fun and interactive questions, built in support, and motivating awards.”
26. Math Celebrity
“Instant math tutoring from 2nd grade – college!”
27. Bedtime Math
“Bedtime Math is striving to help families introduce math as a fun part of their daily routine, as common and beloved as the bedtime story. We make it easy to roll math into the day, whether at bedtime, bathtime, or snacktime”
28. ESL Library
“No single textbook offers everything your students need to build a solid language foundation or achieve fluency. Here at ESL Library, we create academic, functional, and conversational materials for all ages, levels, and needs. We are continually modifying and improving our materials based on research and teacher feedback.”
29. Centervention
“Centervention provides social and emotional learning activities. You will find free resources – lessons, activities, and printables – in the following skill areas: Communication, Cooperation, Emotion Regulation, Empathy, Impulse Control, and Social Initiation.”
30. LOOM
Loom would be best used by teachers who wish to teach their students via eLearning. “It’s our mission to empower everyone at work to communicate more effectively wherever they are. While Loom is used daily by all kinds of people and teams, not just the remote and distributed kind, our product is particularly useful to people who, for whatever reason, can’t be in the same room. “
Simplify Your Teaching
Join our community for tips, tricks, and resources to help you simplify your teaching!
There are a couple of websites that I use in my classroom all of the time that need to be included in this list.