Embedded Files
K-12
Zip School - many free classes for kids to learn something new
TedEd - Lessons and videos for all subjects and grade-spans
Mensa Lesson Plans and Activities - Many feature authentic learning PBLs - scroll ⅔ of the way down the page to find the plans and activities - all subject areas
John Hopkins - 16 Educational Podcasts for Curious Kids
Learn 4Good - simulation games
CILC Interactive Learning Live
Qwiz 5 This link is specific to black holes but if you look on the top you can choose any subject area. You can sign up for a weekly email to have a new learning sent to you or you can choose what is available.
Edhelper has challenge activity packets for up to a month for core classes. If you don’t have access or a subscription, let me know as I have access. They also have a great online practice for math now.
Khan Academy: “Free Education to anyone”. Students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. Partner Content
Hoagies for Kids a variety of resources for gifted kids and parents
View Pure- several good videos for math instruction and more
Online Enrichment for Students
Bored Teachers Enrichment at Home
Lapham Enrichment Board (Public)
Library of Congress Videos on Numerous Topics
Critical Thinking "Bologna Challenge Infographic"
Quizlet Lesson Plans for Virtual Learning
Gifted Guru - free downloads of depth and complexity and more
Multi-cultural Matrix Ford-Harris/Bloom-Blanks
K-8
Birdville Ind Sch District Gifted Page
Rules for Chess in Kid-Friendly Language
ABC Education - videos to help you learn various subjects
Internet for Classroom - various subjects and age levels
Choice Boards for Core Subjects
K-6
Mr. Nussbaum - collection of various topics and activities
K-1
S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Introductory Slide Show
Typing Club: Teaches young children how to type in an easy and fun format.
Toy Theater - variety of curriculum activities
2-3
S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Introductory Slide Show
4-5
History of Ciphers and Codes (vocab., pretest and video excerpts)
3-part mini-unit: Virtual Slide Show
Cryptology/ Cybersecurity
Understanding Time (Timeline Video Lesson)
S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Introductory Slide Show
6-8
History of Ciphers and Codes (vocab., pretest and video excerpts)
3-part mini-unit:
Cryptology/ Cybersecurity
Understanding Time (Timeline Video Lesson)
Harrison Middle School Gate Program Activities
5-12
Brilliant-Free Test Prep: Free problem solving and test prep. Problems are created by people all over the world, including olympiad champions and university professors.
PODCASTS
K-12
Gifted Guide's Bitmoji Virtual Classroom Example: Slide 1 has notes about what I've included in my "classroom" and why, as well as what you might want to add. Slide 2 talks about Pear Deck. Slide 3 is the same as the first slide only without Setting up your virtual classroom (Sarah Young)
1-8
Choice Boards (Grades 1-8): Semester long choice boards!
Gifted 101 - An Introduction to Gifted Course
K-12
Advanced Learning Labs (NC/Duke)
From the Gifted Guru:
Ideas for Remote Learning in Multiple Content Areas:
Ideas for Remote Learning in Multiple Content Areas:
TED Connections were one of my favorite things to do at Mensa. I took TED talks I thought would interest youth and created high-level thinking questions related to them. They also have a list of extension activities related to the talk. I highly recommend these. They’re designed to be done by students alone, so they’re perfect for distance learning. They cover many content areas, so no matter what you’re hoping to share, there’s probably something there for you.
The Mensa Foundation offers free lesson plans. I designed most of these lesson plans to be done by a student without a teacher, so they’re perfect for remote learning. They cover multiple content areas and grade levels, but don’t be limited by the grade level bands. Look at the different activities to see if they’re a good fit.
While you’re at MensaforKids, you can also find lots of educational online practice games. Most kids struggle with ratios, so take the opportunity to have even older students practice that, if nothing else.
The BBC has a whole learning center that is amazing. It’s using UK standards, but shockingly, we all teach pretty much the same stuff.
Fall in love with the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab. I could write an ode to this resource, truly. Learners need to set up a free account, but once they’ve done that, oh, friends, it’s fabulous. It describes itself as a “free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian’s expansive community of knowledge and learning.” Your tax dollars at work, friends.
PBS has an entire site for the Ken Burns collection. There are documentaries, documents, and media libraries. It’s searchable by grade and content area and standards. So wonderful.
Non-internet activities for learning at home
Non-internet activities for learning at home
What’s interesting is that the most effective learning experiences at home are just being mindful of daily life and seeing the learning in everyday experiences. I really learned this when I was homeschooling while we lived in Germany.
Here’s what I mean:
Cooking:
Cooking:
Have children cook with you. Cooking is science and math and language arts and social studies. They can:
Figure out how to double a recipe.
Identify what kind of food it is (culture).
Think about the process that is cooking the food. How much heat did it take? How long? Play around with the temperature and time – what happens if you cook it longer at a lower temperature?
Have them rewrite the recipe to make it easier to follow.
Have them record themselves making the recipe with you as if you were a cooking show.
Let them go through cookbooks and choose some recipes to try.
Have them create a month’s menus and corresponding shopping list.
Home Management:
Home Management:
Make your own cleaners.
Test the bacteria in your house. Here’s a great article on a few ways to do that. Then test with different cleaners for practical science!
Try to find the most efficient ways to clean. Can you find a faster way to change the sheets? Can you test different dishwashing liquids? Can you try different ways of cleaning baseboards (foam paintbrush, dust cloth, dryer sheet) and compare which works best?
Do a big organizing project on the garage or attic or closet, taking time to take measurements.
Create a photo catalog of the entire house. Have them take photos of everything in every room. It sounds crazy, but it really gives you a feel for how much there is.
Have them create a catalog of all of their toys, including a photo. Note how long they’ve had it, how often they play with it, why they think it’s fun, how it benefits them, etc.
If they’re old enough, have them engage with household finance. Our kids were very involved in our family finances, and teaching them about how much of the household budget goes to different areas is helpful. Have them create a budget and even do pie charts of where the money goes. Caveat: If the family is in a financial crisis, don’t do this.
Games:
Board games are the bomb. They build relationships, teach important social skills, and, if you pick the right (?) game, can last for hours (days that feel like years…).
Consider playing War, but not letting the child take the hand unless they can tell you by how much they won. Here are the rules for War.
Learn a new card game.
Learn how to play a game that is complicated that you don’t normally have time to play.
Play two games simultaneously.
Complete puzzles together. Try different methods (Edge first? Sections first?). Time yourself completing a puzzle, then take it apart and time the solving again. How much faster were you? Why do you think you were faster? Repeat. Compare the rate at which your speed is increasing. Are you getting faster at the same rate, or is it slowing down/speeding up?
Reading:
Reading:
You thought I’d pick this first, didn’t you? It’s the best and easiest of all at-home analog activities.
In addition to straight up reading, consider having kids:
Organize the home’s books
Create a reading plan for someone in the family
Write book reviews (see my how-to’s for that)
Try a completely different genre
Re-read a favorite from much earlier
Read to you while you do something that doesn’t require thinking
Outside
Outside
If you’re blessed with a yard or garden, the possibilities are endless.
Do a quick search of “backyard science activities with kids” and I’ll see you again in five years.
Kids can obviously help to maintain the yard, but they can also:
Create a catalog of the plants growing, taking pictures of what they look like, recording how old the plant is (may require a guess), taking note of any signs of disease or misplacement.
Draw a plan of the yard to scale. If you have a copy of your home’s survey, that’s even better because they can trace it.
Photograph the yard from interesting angles, getting really close up, and have people guess which plant it was.
Sources: Sarah Young Gifted Guide, Davidson Institute, Homeschool Hideout, WEBSITES. (2020, June 04). Retrieved September 23, 2020, from https://bigideas4littlescholars.com/recommended-links/websites/
By providing links to other sites, Clarinda Community School District does not guarantee, approve, or endorse the information or products available on these sites.
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