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Online Learning Tools and Resources for At-Home Study *updated Dec 2020
With the school disruptions of the past year, it is essential to find ways to continue to provide learning opportunities and critical services to our students. Below we offer a selection of online learning resources that may prove useful in your efforts to support your child’s learning at home. Please note our top ten resources have been highlighted to supplement our RISE at Home programming!
* original post April 2020; updated December 2020
Click here to explore the BC curriculum by your child’s grade-level and subject.
RISE-AT SOFTWARE SUITE
LDS is offering the following programs to our students and families free of charge thanks to our generous AT sponsors. To learn more about these products, or to receive your free copy, please contact AT@ldsociety.ca.
Website and mobile app offering simple and effective tools for organizing ideas, brainstorming, taking notes and more in the form of mind maps.
Toolbar available on many platforms offering simple and effective literacy support tools like text to speech, dictionaries, highlighters, and focus aids.
A program available on many platforms that offers advanced digital writing assistance to improve spelling, grammar, tone, and wording.
A browser extension that uses a simple cognitive trick — an eye-guiding color gradient — to make reading on-screen easier, faster, and more enjoyable
A Vancouver-based company offering kids, schools and families online learning about the natural world that takes them from sea to space. Offerings include live broadcasts, expert Q&A, and fun activities that encourage kids of all ages to get away from the screen and in-touch with the world around them.
MULTIPLE SUBJECTS
2Simple
Online curriculum resource for early years – 11 years old. Subjects include: math, science, english, design, and history.
ALBERT
Practice questions, assignments, and tests for math, science, and english language arts grade 5 – 12.
Arcademics
Boost student engagement & fact fluency with this free multiplayer educational games, math games, language arts games, and more. Designed for grades 1 – 6.
BrainPop
Animated Educational Site for Kids – Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology. BrainPOP aligns all topics to the standards.
Breakout Edu
An immersive learning games platform to support learning in math, sciences, and language arts. Organized by grade and topic, there are a wide range of games to choose from.
CK-12 Foundation
Each lesson has a reading passage, videos, optional review questions, and self-graded practice questions. The lessons can be assigned to Google Classroom. Free School closure webinar: How to teach online and learn from home with CK-12.
Classroom Secrets
Digital learning tools in all subjects for grades K-6 including spelling, history, math, and reading.
Century
The folks over at Century are allowing parents to access all their resources for free over the next few weeks. Designed for students of all ages, kids can brush up on their math, science, and reading skills.
Digital Learning Academy
An online learning platform with 32 STE(A)M courses that come with lesson plans, instructions, online materials, quizzes, worksheets, and more. Educators will receive full access to all of these courses at no cost during the coronavirus crisis.
Discovery K12
Discovery K12 provides a complete online curriculum for pre-k to 12th grade. All main subjects are covered, plus extra curriculum courses. Curriculum is free to use and available worldwide.
Edmentum
Edmentum is offering schools and districts subscriptions to its online academy and subscriptions to its online practice program. Email info@edmentum.com and watch the recorded webinar to learn more.
Edu-Together
Edu-Together will be providing selected services including online courses, staff training and tech assistance “at cost” to any schools or students who are unable to attend school due to the Coronavirus. This website has online courses for high school students in math, history, science, and languages.
Emile
Free full access to Emile games-based learning resources for reading and math. Designed for early learners and primary grades.
Fluency & Fitness
Fluency & Fitness® helps students review essential literacy and math skills, while getting in some exercise. Find over 900 videos to help your child keep learning at home and burn off some extra energy. The company is offering its subscription website free for parents to use at home during the school closures.
i-Ready
Free printable K-8 math and reading packets for students.
IXL
IXL is built on four key components: comprehensive K-12 curriculum, a Continuous Diagnostic, personalized guidance, and real-time analytics. Free IXL access for 90 days is offered in addition to a free webinar series with strategies for at-home learning, plus implementation resources and videos to help plan for school closures.
PBS Learning Media
Videos, games, lesson plans and supplemental materials can be searched by grade level, subject area, keyword and standard. PBS Learning Media’s Google Classroom integration makes it easy to share resources.
Khan Academy
You can learn anything. Expert-created content and resources for every course and level. Always free.
Khan Academy Kids
Khan Academy Kids is a free online education program for children ages 2 – 7. the mobile app was designed by child development experts at Stanford University and engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills. Always free, no ads, no subscriptions, with an offline version available for when internet access is difficult.
Scholastic
The classroom magazines team has created a free “Learning at Home” hub for teachers and families which presents 21 days of engaging, knowledge-building learning journeys for different grade levels that can be accessed at home by kids on any device, even phones.
Starfall
Online game-based learning for students in grades K – 3. Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers. Starfall activities are research-based and align with Individual and Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Studyladder
This site provides ELA, Math, Science and other areas of study for children through 6th grade. Free unlimited access.
Walkabouts: The Active Learning Platform
Walkabouts are on-demand adventures that transform math and language content into short, movement-rich activities for Pre-K through Second Grade students.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Age of Learning
Age of Learning provides schools closed due to the coronavirus with free home access for all affected families to digital education programs ABCmouse, Adventure Academy, and ReadingIQ. Programs serve students in preschool / pre-k, elementary school, and middle school. Access to a digital library and online educational games for learning reading skills. Designed for early learners.
Book Creator
Parents can help their school-age kids make their own books using Book Creator’s 90-day free tutorial, which lets kids write and illustrate their own creations.
Classroom Cereal
Grammar practice in free, printable short stories.
CommonLit
Browse our free collection of reading passages in all literary and nonfiction genres for grades 3-12.
Dyslexia Academy
Dyslexia-Academy is an online dyslexia school of support for Parents, Teachers and Pupils.
Ecree
Ecree provides real-time feedback on the elements of foundational academy writing: argumentation, organization and analysis. Due to COVID-19 school closings, Ecree is offering all students free access to its interactive writing assistant software until May 31, 2020.
Handwriting Heroes
Handwriting Heroes is a multisensory handwriting curriculum that teaches children how to form their letters through animations, stories and song. iPad app is being offered free of charge. Letter formation videos – always free.
HOMER
Early learning reading program for ages 2-8 that is personalized to your child’s interests to help them fall in love with learning.
Libby App
Free Overdrive app for digital books and audio books. Access through libraries.
Newsela
High-interest, cross-curricular texts with accompanied lesson plans. Reading level of the articles can be adjusted. Free access to Newsela’s entire product suite for the rest of the 2019/2020 school year.
Phonics Hero
Phonics Hero teaches school-aged children to read and spell with systematic phonics. Using a step-by-step approach, the 850 games teach children the 44 sounds, the reading and spelling of words, and how to conquer sentences. Available on tablets and computers. 30 days full free access.
Pinna
Screen-free, ad-free audio streaming service for kids 3-12, featuring podcasts, audiobooks and music. Use the promo code PINNA4KIDS. To activate, create an account and enter the code in step 2 of the sign up process. Two months for free.
ReadWorks
ReadWorks is an online resource of research-based reading passages and lesson plans for students of all levels K-12. Always free.
Storyline Online
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creative illustrations. Always free.
Wonderopolis.org
Short videos and readings that answers various intriguing questions for students. There are vocabulary challenges and comprehension questions to test knowledge. Good for building vocabulary, comprehension, and reading skills for elementary and middle school students.
Writing Legends
Free writing program for students. Guides through the writing process, and promotes independence. Includes over 200 writing activities.
Vooks
Vooks brings children’s books to life with animated illustrations, read-a-long text and narrated story. The ad-free platform features a variety of titles.
MATH
Asecend Math
Ascend Math offers K12 math instruction providing an individual study plan for each student. Free service is offered from now until the end of April for schools new to Ascend Math.
Bedtime Math/ Cabin Fever Math
Bedtime Math helps families introduce math as a fun part of their daily routine, like a beloved bedtime story. Also, this resource contains ideas for hands-on activities that students can do at home to better understand math concepts.
CheckMath
Boost your math understanding by getting instant feedback on your work.
Data Classroom
DataClassroom is a web app that allows students in grades 6-12 to make graphs (line, bar, box plots, dot plots, etc.) and do basic statistical analysis. This activity uses data from the 1918 influenza pandemic to illustrate why schools are closing in an attempt to flatten the curve. Start a free 90-day trial to create classes with student accounts. Company CEO Aaron Reedy says that teachers can email him directly to extend a trial longer than 90-days.
MathCelebrity.com
Automated online math tutor, like a Google for math. Enter your math problem or search term, press the button, and it shows you the step-by-step work and answer instantly. 2nd grade through college.
Phet
Free science and math simulations for teaching STEM topics, including physics, chemistry, biology, and math, from University of Colorado Boulder.
Prodigy
Join more than million students, teachers, parents and school leaders using our zero cost math learning platform for grades 1–8.
ST Math
It’s a PreK-8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain’s innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems.
Zearn
K-5 curriculum aims to build deep understanding and a love of learning math for all students. Always free.
XtraMath
Free math facts fluency website.
SCIENCE
Alchemie
Develops apps for learning chemistry concepts.
American Chemistry Society
Free articles for high school students to learn about chemistry topics such as chemical reactions, acids/bases, etc.
Defined Learning
Hands-on projects are based on situations in STEM careers to help learners discover their passions and choose a pathway to a promising future.
ExploreLearning Science4Us
Science4Us covers Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science and Earth & Space Science with lessons designed for K-2 students. 1000’s of online and offline activities teach students using videos, interaction, poems, songs, and digital notebooks. Free 30-day trial.
NASA Kids’ Club
NASA Kids’ Club helps children in pre-K through fourth grade learn the ins and outs of NASA’s missions using hands-on educational games. There’s also a “Now in Space” slideshow that introduces budding astronauts to the crew currently orbiting Earth on the International Space Station.
National Geographic Kids has put together a site full of free educational videos, games, and activities that center on wildlife and preservation for kids of all ages.
SEPUP
Free science simulations, scientist profiles, and other digital resources for middle school science and high school biology. No login required. Always free.
Tyto Online
Next Generation Science video game focused on middle school students. Free 60-day trial offered with the possibility of extension for schools affected by COVID-19/coronavirus closures.
HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Active History
British educator Russell Tarr offers tools and resources for teaching history including interactive simulations, quizzes, and games. A one-month free trial is available on request due to school closures.
Big History Project
Big History Project is a free, online social studies course that emphasizes skill development such as writing and critical thinking, as students draw connections between past, present and future.
LANGUAGE
Conjugemos
Conjuguemos makes learning verb conjugations in Spanish, French (+ 7 other languages) easy with drill practices and fun multi-player games.
ESL Library
Offering Plus subscriptions to all Standard users, and its printable lessons on Pandemics and the coronavirus are also currently free for non-members.
TECHNOLOGY
BeeLine Reader
BeeLine Reader helps students read on screen more effectively. It is used both by skilled readers (including high school and college students) and readers with dyslexia, ADHD and autism. The technology is backed by educational research and has won social impact awards from the United Nations and Stanford University. Free access to the BeeLine Reader Browser plugin for Chrome has been added.
CMU CS Academy
Online, interactive high school computer science curriculum that is entirely free.
Minecraft: Education Edition
A game-based learning platform that aims to promote creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment.
Typing Club
Always free. Master touch typing using this game / educational program.
Youth Code Jam
Free bilingual, hands-on coding activities for K-8 that can be used in school or at home, teaching basic computational thinking and computer science concepts. Adventure Mode helps drive student-centered learning.
Vidcode
Offering Vidcode’s full computer science curriculum and coding platform at no cost during COVID-19/coronavirus closures.
ARTS
Digital Theatre Plus
Three million students, at over 2,000 academic institutions, in 80+ countries have unlimited access to some of the world’s finest productions, unique backstage insights, practitioner interviews and written analysis. Free during this time.
Mark Kistler
Offering free access to free, virtual, live webcasts for art/drawing lessons for students needing to work from home during this period.
COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS
CiscoWebex
Cisco Webex is the leading enterprise solution for video conferencing, online meetings, screen share, and webinars.
ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a free tool for parent communication, sharing information, and portfolios, provide a platform for teachers to assign and students to complete and submit work online.
EdConnect
EdConnect is a video messaging tool that brings the classroom environment online.
Zoom
Online app for video conferences. Has features to project desktop screen, and a whiteboard.
ViewSonic
From creating digital content and capturing lessons with video, to organizing digital assignments, our myViewBoard education solutions help deliver classroom interaction in digital learning.
STUDY TOOLS
Quizlet
Quizlet makes simple learning tools that let you study anything. Start learning today with flashcards, games and learning tools — all for free.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS
Centervention
Game-based interventions that focus on improving social and emotional skills in K-8 students. Educators can get a free 30-day trial and have as many students as they’d like to play the programs at school or at home. Free SEL lessons/activities and printables.
