k-8 Archives

Activities to keep kids engaged and learning during the summer

BrainPOP, the online educational solution that makes rigorous learning experiences accessible and engaging for all students, today announced a new product offering designed specifically with the needs of families in mind. The new BrainPOP Family allows kids to learn independently across multiple subject areas with a fun, personalized experience that is tailored to their interests and grade level from K-8.

“With the shift to remote learning, BrainPOP has been an invaluable resource for our family. My six-year-old son is really interested in biographies and, with BrainPOP, he is able to safely and independently explore different topics that are of interest to him,” said Lori Noto, a parent of two in Seattle. “The new BrainPOP Family features that allow parents to have insight into what content kids are accessing and how they are working toward goals is a game-changer for summer learning.”

BrainPOP Family was developed in response to feedback from hundreds of parents as they recently made a dramatic transition to remote learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one million families and teachers turned to BrainPOP content to support continuous learning. As families look to a summer without traditional camps and other enriching opportunities, parents overwhelmingly asked for a self-directed product that allows kids to safely explore their interests.…Read More

Free online resources to help address “summer slide”

Miacademy.co, the online homeschooling website, is proud to collaborate with ASU in offering fun, free online resources to help address “summer slide,” the loss of academic mastery during weeks away from the classroom. Many educators expect this to be profound this year, on top of the missed weeks this spring due to the pandemic, which creates their own loss of academic proficiency.

As part of ASU’s commitment to supporting parents by providing free educational resources, ASU created https://asuforyou.asu.edu/miacademy where parents can find hundreds of original teaching videos covering every K-8 grade level across every core subject.

Each of these educational videos forms part of a learning module on Miacademy.co, where student members can practice what they’ve learned, use online simulations, complete graded assessments, and work through related offline activities independently or together with family members. As an ASU For You learning partner, Miacademy is offering these videos, aligned to Arizona learning standards, free to Arizona families and all online learners. “I’m proud that Miacademy was chosen as a partner by one of the most prestigious online education providers in the U.S.,” says Dr. Johannes Ziegler, CEO of Miacademy. (Learn about Johannes and the founding of Miacademy here: https://parents.miacademy.co/help/about)…Read More

Digital Skills Playlist – a free resource for K-8 students

Learning.com is offering the Digital Skills Playlist – a free resource for K-8 students. It consists of grade-specific digital literacy lessons that students and parents can easily access and launch at home without any setup or district subscription required.

With this tool, your students, and at no cost, dive into the interactive digital lessons and hands-on projects available in a Learning.com curriculum subscription.

The tool is available here: https://info.learning.com/digital-skills-playlist …Read More

Diagnostic assessments and instructional strategies

CenterPoint has made its entire suite of products free for schools and individual teachers through the end of the school year. The list of these free resources is below.

Diagnostic and interim assessments in English language arts/literacy and mathematics in grades K-11. These are available on a variety of platforms (and print-based).
Curriculum-aligned interim assessments for EL Education (K-8) and Illustrative Mathematics (6-8 and high school). These are available on a variety of platforms (and print-based).
Digital and print-based formative tasks for grades K-2 to support English language arts/literacy and mathematics for early learners.
High school math tasks for Algebra I and Geometry. These are available in our resource library in PDF and ready to print.
K-2 formative tasks Designed for grades K-2, these formative tasks demonstrate a variety of ways to teach and implement key standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. These are available digitally and print-based (on our resource library).
Resource library of expertly developed digital tools, customizable assessments, professional learning modules, and instructional strategies, along with a curated, vetted collection of open education resources (OER).

Activity packs and guidance for educators and families

Curriculum Associates is offering printable activity packs and guidance for educators and student families to support learning at home. The content, which is available for Grades K-8 for both reading and math, comes in both English and Spanish.

Contingency plans to support your students away from school is a wise investment. But how can you keep your students learning if we need to close our schools for an extended period of time? i-Ready® and Ready® can play a valuable role in keeping the learning going, even when the classroom isn’t available.

Dreambox Learning Math provides 90 day free trial

DreamBox Learning Math is an award winning K-8 online math program. Our truly adaptive engine looks beyond the answer at how a student is solving problems, and adjusts accordingly to build a unique learning path for them. We’re passionate about math, because math unlocks future dreams for children, and we believe DreamBox can help them get there.

Offer: 90 day free trial of DreamBox. Sign up by April 30^th.

Get it now …Read More

9 ways to create better makerspaces

Makerspaces and maker culture have quickly become a favorite of STEAM advocates, and new research shows that makerspaces can be highly effective at helping elementary students develop skills such as critical thinking, design thinking, and problem solving.

Research from Macquarie University in Australia demonstrates how, with proper training and professional development, teachers can harness makerspaces and improve teaching and learning outcomes.

From August 2017 to July 2018, Macquarie University’s Department of Educational Studies partnered with the NSW Department of Education, Carlingford West Public School, Parramatta East Public School, Oatlands Public School and Makers Empire, which produces a 3D platform for K-8 educators, for a research study on maker pedagogy and makerspaces in primary schools.…Read More

Here’s how to put coding and robotics programs in K-8 classrooms

Coding and robotics programs in classrooms reflect how integral technology is in our lives.

Educators like Angie Kalthoff, a technology integrationist in St. Cloud, MN, and Ann Bartel, an instructional technology specialist in Chilton, WI, teach K-8 students about technology through coding and computer science programs that incorporate the 4Cs of learning: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.

Adaptive literacy? 3 must-knows for teachers and admin about adaptive learning

The use of differentiated instruction to individualize each student’s learning experience is becoming more common in today’s elementary classrooms, but creating meaningful differentiation for a typical class of 25 students or more can still be a challenge. What should educators and administrators know about adaptive learning?

In “Adaptive Literacy Learning 101,” presenters reviewed findings from Tech & Learning’s 2017 survey on adaptive learning and highlighted key points that everyone should know.

1. Value is Abundant…Read More

14 surprising facts about educators’ social media use

Social media has fast become an educator’s dream, with almost immediate responses to questions about teaching strategies, resources, and professional development opportunities.

But how are educators really using social media, and is it really as widely-used as everyone assumes?

FrontRow Education recently asked 1,000 K-8 teachers how they are using social media personally, professionally and as a communication tool with parents and students.…Read More