Common Sense Media

A leading source for classroom technology recommendations and reviews for schools and families has posted the information below to help parents proactively plan for extended school closures. Click HERE to access the Common Sense Media resource.

Amid the COVID-19 anxiety, school shutdowns, work-from-home directives, and more, we at Common Sense have resources to help families and schools navigate this unpredictable time. As a parent and a teacher myself, I know it can feel overwhelming for families and teachers to adjust their plans on the fly.

Helping our communities choose media and tech that can keep kids engaged, entertained, and learning is core to our organizational mission. Whether you have kids at home or you need to develop plans to help kids learn outside the classroom, we think you'll find something useful.

KHAN ACADEMY

Khan Academy has content including video lessons, practice problems, and online instruction for Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies, and more. This content is designed in courses that are written for each grade level and student. Click HERE to access the Khan Academy site and then click on courses in the upper left hand corner.

BRAIN POP

Brain Pop is offering free access for any student who is out of school due to the Covid-19 virus. Brain Pop has great activities including interactive videos and lessons across many subjects for our elementary and middle school students. Click HERE to access brain pop and apply for a free account during the school closure.

CK-12

CK-12 is an online Open Educational Resource company that has digital textbooks, videos, and practice problems that are free and available for all students. This resource is great for all students Grade K-12. Click HERE to access CK-12 library of content.

CRASH COURSE

Crash Course is a site dedicated to presenting videos that cover essential content in many secondary science and social studies courses. These videos are entertaining and informative and are a great way to review or preview content. This resource is most appropriate for high school students. HOWEVER, under the “channel” link, they have a Crash Course Kids site that is appropriate for a younger audience. Click HERE to access the Crash Course website.

TEACHER TUBE

TeacherTube is the YouTube of teaching videos. This is a great resource when searching for more information about a topic. Click HERE to access TeacherTube.

XTRAMATH

XtraMath is a site that is allowing parents to create a FREE account for children affected by school closures due to the COVID-19 virus. Parents should click HERE to create a free account and set up their children. XtraMath provides self-adaptive practice problems for students in grades K-12. In addition, this resource provides parents with a report of their child’s progress through math content.

MYSTERY SCIENCE

Mystery Science is a great resource for K-5 students interested in exploring the scientific world. This company has also made all of their resources available for FREE because of the disruption to schools due to the COVID-19 virus. Click HERE to access a site that contains videos, lessons, and explorations for the science concepts covered in elementary school.

PEBBLE GO

Pebble Go is a K-2 early reading resource that helps guide students through the process of learning how to read. Pebble Go is traditionally a paid program, but due to school closures because of COVID-19 they are offering free access to parents. Click HERE to fill out the free access application to Pebble Go.

COMMONLIT

Commonlit is an online platform that offers free literary passages for students in grades 3-12. Click here to sign up

NEWSELA

Newsela offers access to reading passages for all grade levels. Click here to access Newsela and browse a variety of reading materials across all content areas.

COOLMATH GAMES

Cool Math is a free web-based platform that offers a variety of games and math practice. Geared primarily to elementary and middle grades, click HERE to access the Coolmath Games website.

CODE.ORG

Code.org is a great resource for all ages and provides a free curriculum and activities that promote computer science skills and competencies. Click HERE to access the code.org site.