Classroom teachers around the country have worked to understand the ins-and-outs of distance learning and have been on the hunt for free online resources.
The good news is help is available! Many companies offer teachers free or discounted access to their online learning platforms. We have put together a list of free online resources for schools, educators, and administrators to help them navigate the formation of this new education landscape.
A new education landscape is forming and dozens of free online resources for schools are available for educators and administrators.
Whenever you are looking at utilizing a new online learning platform, it’s a good idea to check with your school and/or district to make sure it meets security and confidentiality guidelines. Zoombombing, where uninvited participants interrupt meetings, is prompting many schools and districts to take a closer look at how to protect students’ information. Northwestern University has shared guidelines for their staff to protect their meetings and respond to disturbances that you can apply to your own meetings. Knoji also released this list of tips for Teachers and Parents. If the resources on our list meet confidentiality requirements (FERPA, COPPA, etc.) we have listed that information in the description!
We will continue to monitor and update the resources listed here as new ones become available. Know of a resource we missed? Reach out to us at info@schoolchoiceweek.com to let us know.
For even more great content, check out our list of offline learning activities!
BrainPOP Espanol
BrainPOP is a learning resource supporting core and supplemental subjects, reaching millions of learners worldwide. There is a specific Spanish Brain POP website that offers all materials and videos in Spanish. Free Services Offered: A selection of content is available for free covering social sciences, math, health, technology, art and music, and Spanish.
Children’s Library
The International Children’s Digital Library was founded to support the world’s children in becoming effective members of the global community – who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas – by making the best in children’s literature available online free of charge. Books are available in Spanish, and you can sort the books by length, age, and topic. Free Services Offered: Free access to books.
How to Use: Visit the website, select a book, and read away!
CommonLit
CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization working to support all students with reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills. The CommonLit Literacy Model is built on a foundation of over 2,000 high-quality free reading passages for grades 3-12. Passages are available in Spanish. Free Services Offered: Free account access for teachers and students.
Engaging Every Student
This website offers a list of Dual Immersion Spanish Resources. You will find links for Spanish Language Games, Spanish Portals, Spanish Language E-Books and More for Emerging Readers, and more! Free Services Offered: Free list of websites offering Spanish Resources.
How to Use: Visit the website and scroll to the section you are looking for!
Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers free courses of all grade levels to help students master subjects and accelerate their learning. Khan Academy is available in more than 40 languages! Free Services Offered: Free standards-aligned lessons ranging from Kindergarten to advanced math.
How to Use: Visit this website for the Spanish language version of the website.
Multilingual Reading & Listening Resources
This is a collection of free resources for educators and families looking to provide children with opportunities to strengthen their reading and listening skills in multiple languages. Free Services Offered: Free collection of resources
How to Use: Visit the website and click on the tile of the resource you want to access!
Resource Guide for Spanish Immersion Students
This is a blog post from a former Spanish teacher turned bilingual blogger who has curated a list of foreign language resources in reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar – plus resources for parents who don’t speak Spanish. Free Services Offered: Free list of foreign language resources to help with Bilingual/Spanish education
The Fable Cottage
The Fable Cottage is a website that has a host of bilingual tales for language learners. These stories are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. There are 10 stories on the site, and you have the option of listening to the text or watching the video that goes with the story. Free Services Offered: 10 stories available in 5 languages each!
The Spanish Experiment
The Spanish Experiment is a website that has well-known children’s stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker. You can read along in Spanish or English. The website also contains free online beginner Spanish lessons with audio. Free Services Offered: 5 free stories with audio and text and 15 free beginner Spanish lessons
SALSA: Spanish for Children
SALSA blends puppets, animation, live action, and music to create a unique experience for first-time learners of Spanish language and culture. SALSA spices up learning by creating visually exciting production with funny characters that children can enjoy. SALSA also portrays the rice variety and heritage of Hispanic culture. Free Services Offered: Free access to 42 episodes of the show, standards alignment, and supporting materials.
Smithsonian Educational Resources
The Smithsonian Institution has curated a list of educational resources that are bilingual and in Spanish in the following content areas: Art and Culture, History and Social Studies, and Science and Nature. These resources are available for families, caregivers, teachers, and students. Free Services Offered: Free catalog of Spanish Resources from the Smithsonian Institution
How to Use: Visit the website to view the spreadsheet and click the URL to access the activities!
Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy has developed an online library that provides free access to more than 400 original picture books, one fourth of them written in Spanish. The digital books provide audio narrations in more than 40 languages, spoken by native speakers in warm, expressive voices. Free Services Offered: Free digital books in Spanish with narration.
How to Use: Visit the website, select a book, and start reading!
Curriculum Rocks!
Curriculum Rocks! was started by two teachers and sisters to provide entertaining and educational music for parents, teachers, and children. This song, “Ready, Set, Let’s Get Started!” was created to help students embrace the challenges of distance learning (and remember the guidelines). Free Services Offered: Free video & lyrics are provided in the description on YouTube.
FiscalTiger: Teaching Children About Money
FiscalTiger has put together a list of resources to help you teach financial literacy and money awareness. The list is broken down by age: Toddlers, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, and High School Students. For each age group there are financial literacy activities, a list of apps, and a list of resources. Free Services Offered: Free list of activities, apps, and resources.
How to Use: Visit FiscalTiger’s blog post and choose from the list of resources!
Global Educator Collective
This is a Facebook group of over 46,000 educators created to support each other in planning distance or online learning due to school closures for COVID-19. There are tons of ideas and resources shared in an ongoing manner, and many teachers are linking up to collaborate from across the country.
Emotional ABCs Classroom
Emotional ABCs Classroom is a teacher-led, research-based Social Emotional Learning curriculum that provides teachers (K-3) with 20 sequential Workshops, support materials, and a flexible structure for classroom instruction. The curriculum aligns with all 5 of CASEL core competencies. Free Services Offered: Free program access for teachers!
The Epic eBook of Web Tools & Apps
The Epic eBook of Web Tools & Apps is a free, crowdsourced “go-to” resource for educators as they integrate technology into their classroom. Right now, there are 90 different resources included in the eBook. Each resource has pages of information that will help you get started. Free Services Offered: Free eBook access.
Excel Easy
Excel Easy is a website that offers free, easy to follow tutorials that walk you through different functions and commands in Microsoft Excel. The tutorials are broken up into sections: Introduction, Basics, Functions, Data Analysis, and VBA (Visual Basics for Applications). Free Services Offered: Free examples and tutorials.
How to Use: Visit the website and click on the tutorial you want to see!
Google App Teacher Tutorials
Teacher Tutorials is an excel spreadsheet that has tutorial links for all of the Google Apps, as well as 11 additional apps. You will find links for tutorials for just about anything that you need to do! At the top of the spreadsheet is a link to Parent/Student tutorials that you can share with your students and their families! Free Services Offered: Free tutorials
How to Use: Visit the website and find the app you are wanting to use!
KwikSurveys
KwikSurveys is an online assessment tool that allows you to create and easily distribute customized quizzes. The platform offers features such as a quiz timer, custom messaging to students based on scores, and tracking for completion. You can also utilize A/B split testing if you would like. Free Services Offered: The Pro plan is free for schools and teachers for 3 months.
Learn Everywhere
Yes. Every Kid. has put together a Facebook group called Learn Everywhere. This is a community of resources, of support and access. Whether you’re a parent with a child at home, an educator in search of material, or a curious student, this group will let you share ideas, solutions and find learning materials. Free Resources Offered: Free Facebook group.
OTIS for educators!
Teq is a platform that evaluates and delivers products and services for the educational environment. They are dedicated to providing PD and instructional support to educators. Right now, Teq is offering educators free access to OTIS for educators! PD courses. Free Resources Offered: Access to OTIS for educators! PD courses
Remark Test Grading Cloud
Remark Test Grading Cloud allows busy teachers to quickly create and grade tests in the cloud. Teachers can create an online test or a printable test answer sheet emailed directly to the students for completion. Completed tests are automatically graded with a the built-in analysis report. You can also export the scores to your gradebook or LMS. Free Services Offered: Free access to the platform through the end of 2021.
How to Use: Visit the website and complete the form for your free account.
Training and Access Project (TAP)
TAP is an initiative within Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships that offers high quality professional development and consultation services. TAP is developing a series of free online courses for educators and school communities. Each training is composed of easy-to-follow videos on key topics related to social-emotional learning and behavioral health. Free Services Offered: 5 Online Free Trainings
How to Use: Visit the website and access the training today.
Wakelet
Wakelet is the easiest way to capture, organize, and share multi-media resources. With Wakelet, you can bookmark anything, organize and curate your collection, collaborate, and share. You can then present your information! Free Services Offered: Always Free
Actively Learn
Ready-to-go ELA, science, and social studies assignments, curriculum units, premium features, and more are free! Teachers can upload unlimited content and easily create engaging assignments, give students real-time feedback, quickly set up student collaboration, assess student progress, and more. The articles can be translated into over 100 languages. Free Resources Offered: Register for your free account today!
How to Use: Visit the website and create a free educator account today!
Boom Cards
Boom Cards are self-grading exercises that are gamified for students and provide the data teachers want. The store has decks of cards that have been created by teachers. Some of the decks are free, while others cost “points”, which you can purchase through the site. Free Services Offered: Free Account
How to Use: Visit the website to register for your free account.
Curriki
Curriki is building an OPEN and Free content development environment, toolkit, and ecosystem for a tech-first generation of learners. It is bringing the most engaging, innovative, and impactful digital learning experiences to students. Free Services Offered: Library of free learning resources.
How to Use: Visit the resource library today, no account needed!
EverFi
EVERFI empowers educators to bring real-world learning into the classroom and equip students with the skills they need for success. The interactive, game-based lessons help prepare students in the following topics: Financial Education, STEM & Career Readiness, Social & Emotional Learning, Health & Wellness, Cultural Literacy and Summer Learning. Free Services Offered: Always free for educators.
Facts4Me
Facts4Me is an online reference tool for primary readers of English. This site is written by teachers and is committed to offering high-quality, educationally-sound information in an ad-free, child-safe environment. Teachers can have elementary students look up information for research projects here! Free Services Offered: Always Free!
