2023 Edit: These resources remain applicable although we are BACK in the classroom!
New York City schools are closed through the end of the 19-20 academic year and it is likely that surrounding districts will follow suit. Students are missing their proms, learning new systems, and wondering why they can’t see their friends. A mother shared with me that her daughter woke up and put on her uniform for days before the idea of “not going to school” sunk in. Apparently, we are similar in our commitment to routine.
Teachers, administrators, and families across the country are coming together to provide meaningful learning experiences to students. As my friend Rachel always reminds me, TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK. Below are some great websites to practice elementary level skills and explore science and math concepts.
- ABCya is a fun website. You can choose activities and skill games based on your child’s grade level.
- Starfall provides games and activities for students in grades K-2
- The highlights website includes educational podcasts for students to listen to, science videos, and educational crafts and activities for home.
- NASA kids’ club provides videos and information about the international space station and NASA.
- Magic Tree House is a website that provides “mystery missions” for students to solve.
- Students can use EPIC to explore books from different class collections. Your child’s teacher can get you free access.
- EPIC is an awesome website that teachers can sign up for. You create your roster, collections, and assignments, and then you can send reading response “menus” home so students have choices about how they respond to texts. Remote access is FREE through June due to our forced distance learning. You can also which stories students read and for how long. They also have “read-to-me” books and stories in multiple languages.
Below you will find websites and organizations that can provide or point you toward lower priced, refurbished, donated, or free technology for students during this closure.
- Donors Choose: Teachers can setup a project and hustle on social media, and donations shall come.
- Notebooks for Students: Discounted laptops. See: basic laptops toward the bottom for elementary age students.
- Computers with Causes: Families can request a laptop donation from Computers with Causes.
- The On It Foundation: This is a public nonprofit that provides laptops and computers to families who qualify. Students have to receive free or reduced lunch and be a K-12 student in the United States.
Teaching, Leading & Learning 