Elementary Resources

General Topics

Great Minds – Knowledge on the Go is working to create knowledge-building resources for parents and caregivers. They are providing lesson and content updates daily: written materials and instructional videos for math (K-12), instructional videos for English (K-8), and instructional videos for science (3-5). Information is provided in module form and is organized and well connected from one lesson to the next.

Does your student need a little tutoring help? Khan Academy provides the next best thing through a library of lessons and important information created by content experts. Khan Academy delivers free, supportive, and interactive content. Currently, Khan Academy is being especially attentive to students learning at home and helping families create helpful schedules.

*Provides Spanish Content

 

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) has created a toolkit of “learn at home” resources include helpful tips for parents, as well as age specific tools. Among the options offered are kid friendly television shows, online learning games and apps, and instructional resources that are content specific. KET has also changed their daytime tv schedule to better serve the learning needs of current at-home students.

Learning Heroes is partnering with families to help support learning at home. With a focus on reading, math, and life skills for families with students in kindergarten through 12th grade, Learning Hero resources include links to websites, pdf documents, videos, and information from reputable sources. This is an excellent site to explore when beginning a search for helpful websites and links. 

*Provides Spanish Content

Scholastic, famous for their at-school book fair sales, has created a free, online resource to support families who are continuing learning at home. They’ve created day-by-day projects to help students continue to learn, with a focus on children in elementary and middle grades. Weekly lessons include videos, story reading, puzzles, and resources for an even deeper dive into subject areas.

Wonderopolis is an online student-driven resource that allows children of all ages to ask questions that focus on “the World of Wonders.” Students can find out about topics linked to math, science and social studies. Current onsite questions include “Why do bees make a hive?”, “Did Shakespeare Write His Own Plays?”, and “What was the first virus ever discovered?” Students are also able to watch “Wonder of the Day” videos that feature “Charlie” – who shares such information as “How do you purify water?” and “Who invented paper?”  This is a wonderful resource for kids to do some safe, educational exploring on their own, or to watch and learn along with family.

While schools are closed, students everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.

All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.

Explore the collection, select a title and start listening.

English Language Arts and Reading

Want to find great books and stories that will appeal to all the young readers in your house? MyON® can help with that.  We have worked with Renaissance to provide myON® Reader at no charge to families for a limited time.  Renaissance myON® Reader is an online reading platform with over 6,000 books available.  Students can also download up to 20 books at a time and read offline.  Titles are matched to each student’s interest, grade and reading level.

Login Information:

School Name: Berea College Partners for Education Reads
Student Username: reads
Student Password: reads

If you have questions about myON® Reader or need additional support please contact: [email protected]

Time for Kids is an online, weekly magazine for elementary school kids which shares age appropriate stories and information, as well as instructional materials aligned to Common Core and other state standards. During this time frame, they are also providing a free digital library with a focus on grades K- 6. Subject areas include the arts, health, the world, and community. They are also providing supportive teaching materials for educators and families based on the grade range of the students you are working with.

Math and Science

Bedtime math is a site set up to help make math a fun part of families routines. Parents can sign up via email, on the website, or use the app, and the Bedtime Math folks have adapted their after school math activities for out-of-school learning. Each of the activities lists what particular skill is engaged, as well as the amount of time needed, and any kind of preparation that might need to occur. There are also books, a parent blog, and games at home to explore.

Crash Course Kids is a YouTube show that helps engage grade-school kids in science. There are nearly 100 video episodes, focusing on sharing fun and interesting information about the earth, habitats, space, chemical reactions, geography, and astronomy.

Scratch is a programming language and online community where kids can create and share their own interactive stories, games and animations. The site is incredibly user friendly and offers parents the support that they might need to work with their children to create fun projects. The Scratch site utilizes the CleanSpeak profanity filter, and manages any content that does not fit within their community guidelines. Families with younger children might with to explore the https://www.scratchjr.org/ site.

Code.org® is a nonprofit organization that utilizes a website to teach elementary aged (and above) students computer science skills via tutorials and projects. A full course catalog of code learning is offered, based on age and experience of the student – there are even opportunities for kids who are not yet reading! Code’s hope is that every student has the opportunity to learn computer science. This is a great opportunity to help kids of all ages become familiar with coding and computer science, and for families to learn these skills alongside of their students.

Well-being

Sesame Street in Communities is a site was created to help caregivers and parents talk to the children they care for about sometimes scary subjects. Often the focus is on things like divorce, or helping parents handle tantrums, but Sesame Street in Communities is currently focused on the COVID-19 health emergency. Subjects include how to offer comfort and connection while also discussing social distancing, helping parents create routines, learning the most effective ways to wash hands, and being physically active even while having to stay at home. This site is a wonderful place to explore the best ways to talk about well-being with a child, and also some tips on focusing on self-care as a caregiver. 

*Spanish Language Available

Save the Children has been focused on giving children a healthy, supported start in life for decades. During the Coronavirus outbreak, they have continued their work to ensure that families still have the resources that they need, even if it is virtually. This website not only provides learning activities (separated by age, grade and subject), but also shares tips for increased well-being, having kid-friendly Coronavirus conversations, and additional suggestions for ways to stay connected to friends and family during these times of social distancing.