Home Educational Resources

 

 

 

Internet Service Providers



  • (You must live within their service area. Please check with these home Internet service providers to see if you qualify.

 

  • Comcast / Xfinity - Low-income families can sign up for their Affordable Internet at Home program. Normally, this service is $9.95 per month. For now, new customers who qualify will receive two months of free service (https://www.internetessentials.com).


  • Spectrum - There are reports that Spectrum will provide some level of free access to low-income customers in their area. Although we have no official word from Spectrum, please contact them to see if your address qualifies for this free service (https://www.spectrum.com/browse/content/spectrum-internet-assist).




    Wireless Carriers



  • Sprint

    Customers with metered data plans will receive unlimited data per month for 60 days (a minimum of two bill cycles) at no extra cost.

    We will provide customers with an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot data per month for 60 days (a minimum of two bill cycles) at no extra cost.


  • Verizon Wireless

    Tripling all customers data allowance

    https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizons-covid-19-relief-efforts


  • T-Mobile

    ALL T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers on our current plans with limited data with data will automatically have unlimited smartphone data for the next 60 days (excluding roaming). No action required.

    T-Mobile postpaid and Metro customers on smartphone plans with mobile hotspot data can add 10GB of Smartphone Mobile HotSpot each month for the next two (20GB total) – coming soon.

    https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/ongoing-updates-covid-19


  • AT&T Wireless

    At this point, we have not found any specifics on how AT&T may support customers in general and low-income families in particular. If you are an AT&T customer, please reach out to them

    https://www.att.com/help/covid-19/



 

Learning activities to support kids learning from home

 

 


English Language Arts


Online resources to support remote English Language Arts/literacy and reading instruction, including lesson ideas and mobile apps for students and teachers.


  • Curriculum Associates Free Downloadable Reading Packets Printable at-home activity packs that are designed to provide students with valuable self-directed exercises and practice during extended absences from school. Each pack is designed to reinforce key concepts for a given grade. i-Ready’s engaging online lessons can support at-home learning.
  • Myon a student-centered, personalized literacy environment that gives students access to more than 6,000 enhanced digital books.
  • Starfall Reading a free public service to teach children to read. It includes language arts and mathematics for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade. Starfall emphasizes phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity.
  • StoryKit is a simple storybook creation app, with a private online sharing tool. It caters to students in grades 1-4 and above, and allows them opportunities to create stories, add pictures, and infuse recordings of their own voices.
  • Core Knowledge provides open access to an exemplary curriculum for preschool through eighth grade.
  • Open Culture allows visitors to download hundreds of free audio books, mostly classics, to your MP3 player or computer. Below, you'll find great works of fiction (http://www.openculture.com/audio_books_fiction), poetry (http://www.openculture.com/audio_books_poetry), and non-fiction (http://www.openculture.com/audio_books_non-fiction), by such authors as Twain, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Orwell, Vonnegut, Nietzsche, Austen, Shakespeare, Asimov, HG Wells & more.
  • Librivox - Free Public Domain Audiobooks features recordings of books in the public domain (https://librivox.org/pages/public-domain/) read by volunteers from around the world.
  • CommonLit - Free reading passages in all literacy and nonfiction genres for grades 3-12.
  • ReadWriteThink Free Mobile Apps helps students engage in literacy learning using tablet devices. No internet connection is required once the apps are downloaded. Offers resources for grade levels K-12.
  • ReadWorks, driven by cognitive science research, ReadWorks aims to create world-class content, teacher guidance, and integrated tools that improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. They leverage cognitive-science research to create high-impact instructional materials and tools that are designed for immediate use within the practical realities of current U.S. classrooms.


Mathematics


Online and digital resources for math instruction, assessment, and independent practice, including tutorials and videos.



Writing


Online and digital resources to promote student engagement though creative writing and writing prompts. This list also includes resources for students working on sustained academic writing, including research.


  • Scholastic Story Starters is a creative writing prompt generator for children in grades K-6.
  • Independent Reading Response Ideas is a 2-page document with Independent Reading Response Questions.
  • The Learning Network (New York Times) Each week the Learning Network offers new ways for students to practice reading, writing, and thinking using Times journalism – at no charge. Daily writing prompts for students to respond to are provided, as well as other activities for students, as well as resources for teachers.
  • StoryBird is a storytelling platform to help students develop their writing.
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab provides guidance for students writing academic papers, including guides for formatting, citations, analysis, and revising work.


Science


Online and digital resources for science instruction, including tutorials, videos, and online labs.


  • PhET Simulations support math and science learning.
  • Legends of Learning provides educational games for grades 3–8. These resources have been made available for free due to school closures.
  • National Science Teaching Association contains resources from NSTA to help you support your child's learning in science at home and at school.
  • California Science Teachers Association Resources is a collection of resources for educators curated by CSTA.
  • MysteryScience has made their resources free in response to the Coronavirus.
  • NASA Education Resources (searchable by topic) provides informative educational materials that engage student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
  • Teach Engineering - This collection aligns with state and/or national science, mathematics and technology educational standards, and uses engineering as the vehicle to integrate science and mathematics concepts for K-12 students.
  • US Department of Energy Education Resources is a partnership between the US Department of Energy partnered with the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to create free energy education resources for classroom and educational use.
  • The Physics Classroom is a collection of online tutorials, concept builders, and interactive lessons for students.
  • Edutopia: Ten Websites for Science Teachers offers summaries and links to ten websites covering topics such as the process of science, field research journals, evolution, PhET simulations, Earth exploration, EdHead interactives, plants, chemistry, scientists, and more.
  • California Academy of Sciences Educator Resources provides lesson plans, science videos, and distance learning programs.
  • Bill Nye The Science Guy offers a collection of episode guides and videos as well as directions for home demos that can be found under the “Learn” section and cover topics such as life science, physical science, and planetary science.
  • Discovery Education is an online K-12 learning platform. It provides multimedia, virtual activities and hands-on labs with model lessons in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
  • Switcheroo Zoo helps kids learn about animals by playing games.


Physical Education


Resources to promote and maintain physical education curricula in distance-learning environments. Many of these resources are designed for students who are homeschooled but could be used or adapted for use in a distance-learning environment.



History and Social Science


Digital and online resources for teachers to develop lessons, locate primary and secondary source materials, and connect students with resources for research and inquiry-based lessons.


  • Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.
  • The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching.
  • The Stanford History Education Group is an award-winning research and development group that seeks to improve education by conducting research, working with school districts, and reaching directly into classrooms with free materials for teachers and students. Their current work focuses on how young people evaluate online content. Their Civic Online Reasoning curriculum to help students develop the skills needed to navigate our current digital landscape.
  • The Smithsonian
  • Many museums, cultural sites, and historical sites offer virtual tours and livestreaming. Here are a few, but an internet search will reveal many others:
  • The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms across the country. They aim to equip students with the analytical tools to make sense of and improve the world today. Their website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme (https://www.zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/explore-by-theme), time period (https://www.zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/explore-by-time-period), and grade level. The teaching materials emphasize the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history: https://www.zinnedproject.org/
  • World History For Us All is a national collaboration of K-12 teachers, collegiate instructors, and educational technology specialists. This is a great site for middle and high school teachers to locate powerful, innovative model curriculum. World History for Us All helps students understand the past by connecting specific subject matter to larger historical patterns, and draws on up-to-date historical research.
  • Teaching California offers free online instructional materials to support the California History-Social Science Framework, with an emphasis on primary sources.
  • The Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship (CLIC) Project offers resources for educators to take an inquiry-based approach to learning about various topics including Armenian Genocide, the Bracero Program, Environmental Literacy, and approaches to civic learning (Check with regional leads for additional resources available for online learning).
  • California History-Social Science Project provides professional learning and free resources such as The History Blueprint and The Source. See links to regional sites for additional information and support.
  • BBC Bitesize History Bitesize is the BBC's free online study support resource for school-age students in the United Kingdom. It is designed to aid students in both schoolwork and, for older students, exams.
  • The Stanford History Education Group provides free History and Civic materials including lessons, curriculum, and assessments accessible to teachers and students.
  • CrashCourse History Channel on YouTube Crash Course believes that high quality educational videos should be available to everyone for free. The Crash Course team has produced more than 15 courses to date, and these videos accompany high school and college level classes ranging from the humanities to the sciences. Crash Course transforms the traditional textbook model by presenting information in a fast-paced format, enhancing the learning experience. With hundreds of millions of views on our YouTube channel, Crash Course has a worldwide audience in and out of classrooms. While the show is an immensely helpful tool for students and teachers, it also has a large viewership of casual learners who seek out online educational content independently. It has changed attitudes towards education by creating a community of learners who are looking for more than just help passing a test.
  • Oyez is a resource for teaching Supreme Court Cases that includes the case history, relevant precedent, arguments, and the Supreme Court Decision and applicable dissents.
  • The National Archives features a website that is easy to navigate and includes lots of teacher resources. They feature a daily historical document relating to an event from that day in history. The online catalog can be searched using keywords, and 100 "milestone" documents are identified as significant to American history.
  • National Archives: Elementary School Distance Learning Programs Free, interactive programs that feature primary sources from the Distance Learning Programs. Each program aligns with National Social Studies Standards and Common Core State Standards. It also provides teacher guides with pre- and post-program lessons.
  • DocsTeach is full of activities for educators. The documents are organized by different periods in American history. If you're teaching "Civil War and Reconstruction" or "Revolution and the New Nation," just click on the topic to find hundreds of primary source documents. DocsTeach provides audio, video, charts, graphs, maps and more.
  • Spartacus Educational is a resource for global history. It contains free encyclopedia entries that directly connect to primary source documents, making it a useful tool for educators looking to give students a starting point in their research.
  • Fordham University is another resource for global history. It organizes primary sources into periods of American history, from the "Reformation" to "Post-World War II Religious Thought." Teachers can find full texts available from Fordham or similar institutions appropriate for the middle school and high school classroom.
  • Broken down by time period then listed in alphabetical order, the Avalon Project at Yale University offers primary sources for global history teachers. This database starts with ancient and medieval documents and moves into present times. In addition to categories that address specific historical periods, the Avalon Project includes links to human rights documents as part of Project Diana.
  • USHistory.org Free Online Textbooks provides high school courses for students, teachers, home-schoolers, and history lovers.
  • Google and Life Magazine have a search engine that lets users search millions of images from the Life Magazine Photo Archive. Users can type in key terms to guide their searches, look through images organized by decade (1860s through 1970s), or significant people, places, events or sports topics.


Electives: The Arts, Music, and Language


Online resources to support remote instruction for electives and enrichment.



7. Pre-K Learning, Games, and Activities


Free and open-source resources and guidance for fostering early childhood/pre-k learning at home.



8. Current Events and News Outlets for Students


Digital and online resources that provide student-friendly access to current events. Some of these resources also provide reading guides, quizzes, and activities to support student learning.



9. Free Educational Resources for Distance Learning


Below is a non-comprehensive list of publishers offering free distance learning resources. At the URL listed, users can learn about the specific resources available as publishers continue to expand their offerings. In this list below, educators and parents/guardians may discover the individual resources they want for a particular need.


Amplify
Access resources for using Amplify programs remotely.


Applied Educational Systems
Interactive lessons, ready to use projects, and automatically graded assessments.


Discovery Education
Access to Discovery Education Experience.


Capstone Publishing
Resources available during school closures; user Name = Engaged; Password = Learning


Center for Math and Teaching
Math Resources


Core Knowledge
Online Core Knowledge Foundation Resources


Davis Art
Access to digital resources


Explore Learning
Access and information about all three of our online resources.


Great Minds
Recorded daily lessons of Eureka Math, Wit & Wisdom, and PhD Science.


Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Information and resources to help continue teaching and learning during school closures.


Impact Science
Lessons During School Closures


Kendall Hunt
Open Educational Resources for Illustrative Mathematics and OpenSciEd


Lifeliqe
Science Curricula


Lincoln Learning
Videos, games, and samples.


Mystery Science
K-5 NGSS science resources


Opus You
Cinematic broadcast of musical works, lesson plans, and interactive online courses.


Pearson Education
Readiness Resources


Renaissance
Digital solutions to assist students and families learning from home


Scholastic
20 days’ worth of exciting learning journeys.


Singapore Math
Instructional lesson videos for students to access at home.


Social Studies School Services
Digital platforms through the end of the school year.


Start Me
Gettingstudents organized with access to all their educational resources


Studies Weekly
This online platform includes all student editions, Teacher Editions, lesson plans, ELA integrations, and assessments.


Teacher Created Materials
Resources for at-home learning.


TCI
Resources for teachers to provide distance learning.


Twig Education
Students can access thousands of videos (in English/Spanish), lessons, activities, and visuals wherever they are.


Wayside Publishing
Language Learning Programs


Wilson Language Training
Recommendations for Fundations®, Just Words®, and Wilson Reading System® use


10. Online Learning Resources and Tools


A list of open source resources to support remote teaching and learning.



Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.