I remember seeing tons of memes last weekend about how this was going to be a crazy week because of the time change, full moon and Friday the 13th. But no one saw this coming…Schools across the country are announcing closures for the next 2-6 weeks! Teachers are scrambling to put together e-learning activities or packets for at-home learning.
I went into my teacher Facebook groups and I candidly asked teachers what I could do to help them. I can’t send toilet paper (we have a family of 7!), but I can pull together a collection of the best resources for at-home learning for your students.
Before I list these resources, I do want to give you a little food for thought…
Don’t go too crazy with the at-home learning assignments. Some of the older students have just become babysitters to their younger siblings, cousins or neighbors. Some families have four kids all fighting to get their academics done using one device. Some parents are having to work overtime. Some parents are scared that they might lose their job.
So, send something home, but be flexible. Life is crazy right now and we don’t always know what that looks like for our students’ families.
So here are some resources that we have created or resources that we have found and love. All of the resources are either free or very inexpensive.
Two Weeks of Writing Lessons Via Video
Teachers in my Facebook group asked for writing lessons that they could send to their students.
I have you covered.
I recorded myself teaching two weeks of opinion writing lessons. In the recording, I share a mentor text, teach a quick lesson and give students a task to complete. At the end of two weeks, your students will have a completed opinion essay!
These videos (and the corresponding anchor charts) are FREE for you and your students to use.
I hope this helps to take off some of the pressure! I had a blast being the guest teacher for your students. Thank you for sharing them with me.
If you love these videos, then you are also going to want to check out the two weeks of informational writing videos that I recorded!
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At-Home Learning Menus
I love having students do some fun activities around their house that naturally incorporate reading, writing and math!
I created five menus for you to share with your students. During the week, they can choose to complete different activities from the menu.
These menus are FREE!
Reading Response Menus
I think that it is really important to encourage students to read while they are out of school. The best way to do this is to allow them to read anything that they want.
I like to pair these reading menus with independent reading. Students get to choose any question that they want to respond to.
It’s one activity that gets students reading AND writing! WIN!
If your students do not have access to books, they may be able to use Epic or Audible to listen to books. Or how about recording yourself doing a read aloud each day! They would love it!
This resource can be printed or sent digitally to students.
Yes, this is a paid resource. However, it is very inexpensive and it can be used all year.
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Math Journals
We can certainly have students practice their math facts using websites like xTra Math, but I highly recommend including word problems, too.
I love this math journal because it gets students solving, drawing and writing about math. Plus, there are journal prompts for every standard that you teach!
This resource can be printed or sent digitally to students.
Again, this is a paid resource. However, the price is very low and you can use it over and over throughout the year.
Reading Activities for Google Classroom
We asked the teachers in our Facebook groups what they needed from us and many teachers said that they needed more resources to use in Google Classroom.
So we got to work…
We were able to take our Reading Test Prep Centers and create a set of review activities that are perfect for Google Classroom.
You can easily assign a passage with questions to your students.
Students can type their answers into the Google form and then you can see their work and grade them.
There are 24 different short passages that cover six different important reading skills.
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Free Educational Websites
Many education companies are offering free subscriptions due to school closings. We have compiled a list of some helpful websites for you to share with your students.
Starting Wednesday, March 18, Great Minds will be sharing free recorded daily lessons and printables in grades K-12 for Eureka Math. If you use Eureka or Engage. New. York, this. is a great way to continue your lessons! https://greatminds.org
Scholastic has put together 20+ days of learning and activities for free. Each day includes a passage, projects, and videos! https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html?promo_code=6294&eml=CM/smd/20200312//txtl/sm/ed
Epic! has thousands of kids’ books available online. This website is always free for educators. Epic! is currently offering students free remote access (anytime of the day) by teacher invitation through June 30. Send an email to each students’ family by clicking “Send Invite” on your “Roster”, so they access the website and directly link to your classroom. https://www.getepic.com/educators
Learning A-Z is giving free Raz-Kids and Headsprout subscriptions to K-6 teachers during the duration of the school year. In Raz-Kids you will find a digital library of leveled books and quizzes. Headsprout is an online reading program that adapts to your students’ individual needs. https://www.learninga-z.com/site/lp2/covid19
National Geographic Kids always has interesting articles, games, and videos available for free. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TsX2dnxOpWL5lVIuO8PHeIHikWGzBcC9NHipadi446sUF3aSJRWslHM0
BrainPOP is offering free and unlimited use to schools that have closed during the duration of their closure. https://educators.brainpop.com/2020/02/19/free-brainpop-access-for-schools-affected-by-the-corona-virus/?utm_source=organic&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=coronavirus&utm_content=free-access
Consider sending your students on a virtual field trip! Use this link to access over 30 free virtual field trips. https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/mobilebasic
IXL is offering a free 90 day classroom trial. Students can access online learning activities for math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. https://www.ixl.com/membership/teachers/trial/closure
If you are looking for other science and social studies resources, Studies Weekly is offering their resources for free as well. https://www.studiesweekly.com/?fbclid=IwAR2wmgdPf9VTW4NccMD-RR0wblbIgZVfX_LCmLqmJFsSyjYdwqs7qJKraRI
VocabularySpellingCity is offering free access to their site for the rest of the school year to affected schools. To take advantage of this offer, enter the code VSCFree90 when you register. https://www.spellingcity.com
Another opportunity for online reading is Newsela. 10 new texts are published every day and the content is provided at 5 reading levels. https://newsela.com/about/distance-learning/?fbclid=IwAR0knOqdmNngyG_6GCAuQzCz7CE8tajHKEqBU-6IDSVAq8SWyAIk–0e2kc
If you are interested in setting up specific times for students to go online and do a lesson with you, Zoom is currently free and a great opportunity for videoconferencing. https://zoom.us/docs/ent/school-verification.html?zcid=1231&_ga=2.228851412.995105639.1583699918-735451631.1546545079
Thank you for jumping in and planning activities to help your students. Times are crazy and your students are so lucky to have you.
Have a Not So Wimpy day,
Thank you so much, Jamie! This is so helpful!
Thank you so much for everything. You are an angel. All of the information is very helpful. Thank you again.
Thank you so much! I love all your stuff!
Will there be a narrative writing unit for distance learning? We are starting the year with distance learning and we usually begin with personal narrative.
I loved the opinion writing lessons.
Thank you so much. Don’t know why I am crying right now!
Thank you, Jaimi, to you and your team for putting these resources together for teachers all across the country. These are crazy and uncertain times. Many of us didn’t even get to say our “goodbyes” or encourage students that we would all work this out because we are in this together. As teachers in my district are scrambling to put together our remote learning lessons these resources have made things a lot easier.
Sincerely,
Mary Fusselman
Thank you! I emailed Epic on Friday to see if they would provide free service to families but your post was the first confirmation of this. Thank you and your team for working to locate all the other resources you noted as well. Bless you.
These are soo great! Thank you fir taking the time in helping support education with sharing these creative tools when spirits are at a low.
Thank you very much for the resources. I was feeling a little overwhelmed and knew I wanted to do something for my students. Like others have said we didn’t get to say goodbye and I want to let my students know I am still here as their teacher. These resources gave me a starting point and I feel confident.
Has anyone told you lately how amazing you are and how very grateful we are to have NSWT? Because we should…daily!! Thank you for all you do!
Thank you so much for these resources! They will be so helpful for our families and students while schools are closed. I just wanted to double check to make sure it’s okay to provide families with a link to the 2 weeks of writing lessons.
Thanks again!
Tracy
What a fantastic comprehensive set of great resources for teachers to send home to their students. Thank you!!!
This is amazing!! Thank you so much. Will you be creating more videos for at home writing learning? I would definitely purchase that!!
WOW – thank-you sooooooo much! So helpful!
Can you suggest resources for Reading comprehension passages in Spanish at the K-2 level. Mostly, I am interested in passages where my SPED ELL students can state the main idea and 3 supporting details with text evidence.
Just as important … do you teach writing SENTENCES ONLY, without the paragraph writing? I have students whose goal is just to write two, three, or four sentences only.
Lastly, how can a student upload one of your graphic organizers from your video lessons/ power points to the google classroom for me to grade it?
Thank you so much!!
I just found you! Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge and resources. I feel like I might have a fighting chance to make this year successful as I am a 1st year in the school 3rd grade teacher, recently returned from FullTime “Momming” teacher! So many changes and then remote learning from school to ScreentoScreen! All the joys and fun. We truly are in the business of find a way, make a way learning!