Remote Learning
Remote learning is here! Try out some of the resources below to enhance teaching and learning for your students. Please feel free to email Ms. Tarr anything else you would like included for others to be able to find.
eBooks and eAudioBooks
Students can use these to access a wide variety of free materials - eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming movies and more.
Every Massachusetts resident is eligible for a Boston Public Library eCard. Register online and access any of their eResources - including eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, streaming music, streaming video, online courses and more. Overdrive, Libby, RBDigital, Hoopla, Kanopy, Mango Languages, Lynda, etc.
Chicopee Public Library
Students who already have a Chicopee Public Library card can use it to access many of the same eResources as the Boston Public Library - OverDrive, Libby, Hoopla, Mango Languages, etc. If someone has forgotten their library password, they can reset it online. If a student has forgotten their card number as well, or is having any other issues accessing and using their account, they can call the library between 9am and 4pm at 413-594-1800.
Libby/OverDrive
The Libby app from Overdrive is a resource for digital books, audiobooks, and magazines from the public library. Usually you need a library card to create an account, but Chicopee Public Library has allowed an exception that allows people to create an OverDrive Instant Digital Card to login/create an account with a mobile phone number.
Audible.com has created a free version of its site, stories.audible.com with a few hundred free audiobooks available to stream. Collections include “Littlest Listeners,” “Elementary,” “Tween,” “Teen,” “Classics,” as well as Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japanese. Selections include new books and classics, with some read by well-known celebrities like Anne of Green Gables read by Rachel McAdams and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland read by Scarlett Johansson, as well as the first Harry Potter in multiple languages.
Open eBooks
Did you know that your students could be using their phones to access thousands of eBooks for free? The Open eBooks app will provide students from qualifying schools with free, unlimited access to thousands of popular and award-winning eBooks from top publishers. These books are always available, for free, with no waiting, no holds, and no fees. Students can instantly borrow up to ten books at a time, and replace them as many times as they would like with new titles. All titles support accessibility features like Text-to-Speech and are able to be viewed in the Open Dyslexic Font.
Suggested Google Classroom Post: Did you know that you can access thousands of free eBooks on your phone? The Open eBooks app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play, giving you unlimited free access to eBooks with no waiting, no fees, and no library card required. Email Ms. Tarr to get your Access Code. Happy Reading!
Epic! Books [better for younger readers, EL students, or World Languages students]
Access ebooks - works on iPads/Google Play. Any educator is eligible to sign up for an account, and they are waiving the “at-home” subscription fees until the end of the year. Aimed from pre-reading through chapter books mostly. There are also elementary-age books available in French, Spanish, and Chinese. For older readers there is less - like Beautiful LEGO or the history of WASPs.
The Wizarding World has just launched Harry Potter at Home - making available the first book for free in both audiobook (in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Japanese) and digital form. The new site also includes a variety of activities, like puzzles, word searches, and crafts.
Archive.org presents the "Open Library"
Archive.org provides free access to the 1.4 million items in its collections. Due to the nature of the collection, it is a little scattershot, but does include picture books, YA, adult, and titles published up until 2016. Browse around - you may find a gem or two. I found books by George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones), Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games), Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Bill Waterson (Calvin & Hobbes), F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently), E. B. White (Charlotte's Web), Clive Cussler (Dirk Pitt), Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five), and William Goldman (The Princess Bride).
Open Culture collects thousands of free resources for anyone to use, including eBooks, aAudioBooks, online courses, movies, textbooks and more.
Streaming Video
Students can use these to access streaming movies, music, and more.
Consider starting a class discussion about what you and your students are currently reading (or listening to or watching).
Every Massachusetts resident is eligible for a Boston Public Library eCard. Register online and access any of their eResources - including eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, streaming music, streaming video, online courses and more. Overdrive, Libby, RBDigital, Hoopla, Kanopy, Mango Languages, Lynda, etc. Hoopla and Kanopy are the streaming services.
Hoopla
HooplaEngage streaming video is available for students to use without a library card. Any Chicopee resident can now sign up for a Hoopla account by going to the signup page through Chicopee Public Library. Create an account using an email address. When you get to the part where it asks for a library card, check the option that they don't have a library card but would still like to try Hoopla. Accounts created without a library card will be allowed 5 checkouts per month while accounts with a library card will be allowed 10 checkouts per month. Hoopla has ebooks, audiobooks, comics, streaming video and more!
Streaming Services
If you want to assign students a movie or documentary to watch as an assignment, there are many services available to them, from common pay services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, to Hoopla (free with a BPL card, Chicopee Public Library, or free limited account with above instructions), to other free services like Vimeo, Tubi, and imdb, to the classic “wild west” of YouTube. The two quickest ways to see if something is available are to do a Google search, and then limit to “video,” and to search for a title on JustWatch.com, which is a pretty good “meta-search” engine, checking a wide variety of streaming sources at once.
The online TV provider is offering a variety of shows for free - in addition to various global news outlets, they also have kids TV, and a variety of "bingeable shows" [Kitchen Nightmares, Forensic Files].
From funny to inspiring, and everything inbetween. A few favorites:
YouTube and Google Classroom
Because YouTube "frowns" on the ability to download and save video, there is a thriving, yet ever-changing series of websites that can do it for you. All are filled with lots of scammy ads, but I can usually find one that works. Just search "YouTube Downloader" and try a few, (you can re-upload the resulting file to Google Drive and share with students, as it is now your own .mp4 and no longer YouTube affiliated) or send Ms. Tarr the link and you will "magically" be emailed a shared file link on Google Drive for posting.
In an embodiment of "The Show Must Go On!", Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber will stream a production of one of his musicals every weekend on YouTube.
Open Culture collects thousands of free resources for anyone to use, including eBooks, aAudioBooks, online courses, movies, textbooks and more.
Art and Music
Scholastic Art features articles about current and historic artists, art techniques, debates in the art world, art careers, and featured student artists. It also includes ready-made lesson plans and worksheets. Visit the Scholastic Art page to find past issues, and links to materials that can be posted in Google Classroom.
Over 100 museums and archives invite you to print and color from their collections. Find everything from old masters to 1920's advertising cuts, medical texts to pulp novel covers.Smithsonian has highlighted some favorites at ColorOurCollections.
Music in Scholastic Newsmagazines
Scholastic Science, Scholastic Math and New York Times Upfront occasionally feature articles about music; a few are linked below. Articles typically include worksheets or discussion questions.
Frozen Concert [instruments made of ice]
The Art Assignment from PBS Digital Studios
A variety of short art videos; topics include "The Case for [Impressionism, Realism, etc.]," "Art Trip to [LA, Detroit, London, NYC]," "We Think Art is Interesting [debates]," "Art Cooking," and more.
Google - Arts and Culture
Google will take you on a virtual field trip to some of the world’s best museums and galleries, like the British Museum, Getty Museum LA, Uffitzi Galleries, Musee d’Orsay, Great Pyramids, Versailles, Taj Mahal, Colosseum, Machu Picchu, Stonehenge. Google also has hi-def scans of famous artworks or browse works by color/time/movement.
National Jukebox from Library Of Congress
Find a wide variety of historic recordings and playlists; post specific links for kids to listen to and analyze or compare.
The BBC has announced an ambitious slate of programs to continue to promote the visual and performing arts. Because it is so new, airing dates (and if it will be available to stream in the US) are still forthcoming. Sample: "Museums In Quarantine is a four-part series for BBC Four made by Swan Films that will explore national collections - whether virtually or with new footage - at a time of enforced closure. In the first programme, Alastair Sooke gains privileged access to Tate Modern for a last look at the Warhol exhibition with its curators. In ensuing programmes, Dr James Fox will present individual works from Tate Britain that speak to our times, Dr Janina Ramirez will bring to life personal and public favourites from the British Museum, and Simon Schama will present a guide to the critically-acclaimed Young Rembrandt exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford. All titles are subject to rapidly changing events in the UK." There might also be a puppet show with Margaret Atwood about the plague (!?!?!).
In an embodiment of "The Show Must Go On!", Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber will stream a production of one of his musicals every weekend on YouTube. They have done Cats, Phantom, Hairspray, and Peter Pan - new shows resume September 25th.
Daily Jigsaw Puzzle Challenge - Cooper Barnsley Gallery
The Cooper Barnsley Gallery has been creating daily jigsaw challenges from the pieces in its collections. Try one and compete (worldwide!) for the quickest time.
MIT put together 10 weekly STEAM-themed learning packages that include videos, activities and forums for sharing. Themes have included: COVID-19, Inventions, and Living in Space, Music, Earth Week, Problem Solving, Artificial Intelligence, and Getting Creative with Math.
Frank Lloyd Wright "virtual visits"
12 Frank LLoyd Wright buildings across the US are posting "virtual visit" videos weekly. Explore these masterpieces of design like never before.
Imagineering
Disney is posting a new series of (very short) videos called "Journey into Imagineering." This also works well with "Imagineering in a Box," an online course created with Pixar and Khan Academy. Imagineering, the combination of art and science at the Disney Parks, includes elements of sculpture, music, technology, storytelling, and creativity.
English Language Arts
NewsELA ELA
NewsELA is a resource for many non-fiction articles in all content areas that can be assigned at various reading levels to students in Google Classroom. Create a teacher account here, using your cpsge/Google credentials, then link to your Google classroom to automatically enroll your students. Helpful guides and videos can be found here. There is also a helpful checklist that can be located here.
Scholastic Newsmagazines
New York Times Upfront, Scholastic Math, Scholastic Science World, and Scholastic Art feature articles about current and historic topics and events, most with included worksheets and assessments. With a wide variety of topics, you are sure to find something that connects to your curriculum. Visit their respective pages to find past issues, and links to materials that can be posted in Google Classroom. Recent articles have included:
Access through Boston Public Library (see eBooks section) or your local public library. Choose from one of over 70 language courses - including Shakespearean English or Pirate.
Crash Course videos are each about 10 minutes long, and include several literature and World Mythology playlists, as well as history playlists to help provide context. Each makes a great light-hearted introduction or review to a topic, and is easy to base a short assessment or discussion on.
Fitness and Physical Education
Resources for your Google Classroom in the areas of Physical Activities, Activity Breaks, and Family Health & Nutrition. See Dani Hill's email from March 18.
Exercise at Home - Shared by Andrea Williams in email dated March 25.
Shared by Major Bate with additional information in an email dated March 26. "I'm trying out a new app called Fitocracy. It can be accessed through the web, iPhone, and Android for free. There is an extensive list of exercises to choose from (with or without equipment), pre-made workouts, exercise guides, and more." Pacer Fitness Challenge instructions.
The "Active Home" section includes a variety of activities and suggestions for staying active, but the best feature is its weekly fitness plans for all grade levels. The PDF plans are easy to understand and post in Classrooms or print (the PDFs do include some links to video tutorials, but also easy to understand diagrams that do not require internet access). A sample high school plan includes daily juggling activities, mindfulness, warm-ups, and basic exercise routines, along with a log.
7-Minute Calorie Burning, No-Equipment Workout
Excerpted from a new book by DK - a "High Intensity Interval Training" (HIIT) workout.
Food, Health, and Child Development
Resources for your Google Classroom in the areas of Physical Activities, Activity Breaks, and Family Health & Nutrition. See Dani Hill's email from March 18.
BBC Food & Culture
BBC has two great columns relating to food and culture - Culinary Roots and Travel Food & Drink. Recent topics have included San Francisco Sourdough, Cake cooked on a spit, Caesar Salad, why Romania is obsessed with garlic, and the origins of macaroni & cheese.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - Clara Barton's papers
By the People is a project from the Library of Congress to transcribe, review, and tag various archival materials. One of the ongoing projects is transcribing the papers of nurse Clara Barton, "Angel of the [Civil War] Battlefield." This is a great opportunity to provide a window into the history of nursing, as well as remind students that a lot of work happens before a "search" can be done online - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about what they are discovering about the history of medicine and treatment, and what is different (or the same) as today.
MIT put together 10 weekly STEAM-themed learning packages that include videos, activities and forums for sharing. Themes have included: COVID-19, Inventions, and Living in Space, Music, Earth Week, Problem Solving, Artificial Intelligence, and Getting Creative with Math. Week 3 - Living in Space included an entire module on Food in Space.
Tufts University "The Great Diseases" Curriculum
Are you looking for resources to help teach about COVID-19? Tufts University has created five free lessons about pandemics and the new coronavirus, including workbooks, activities, and games, as part of their free The Great Diseases curriculum.
A web series about art and cooking.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - Maturity of Baby Sounds
Math
Scholastic Math is filled with articles about current events and topics, plus it includes a variety of worksheets and lesson plans. Visit the Scholastic Math page to find past issues, and links to materials that can be posted in Google Classroom. You may also find useful materials in the related Scholastic Art, Scholastic Science World, and New York Times Upfront. Some recent articles have included:
Crash Course videos are each about 10 minutes long, and include several math related playlists; Statistics and Computer Science. Each makes a great light-hearted introduction or review to a topic, and is easy to base a short assessment or discussion on.
MIT Blossoms - Math Video Lessons for High School
Math lessons presented by MIT instructors - each includes about a 30 minute video, plus related hands-on activities. Pick the "Languages" tab on top to see which videos are also available in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and more. Check the "Resources" tab on top for more online resources.
This "Math in Plain English" site offers easy, visual lessons in the form of click-through slideshows on math concepts from Precalculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Probability.
Short, relevant articles on mathematical concepts - like Voronoi diagrams, herd immunity, blockchain, golden ratios, and more. Some articles include videos. The publication is based in the UK, so this "maths" magazine also includes articles on snooker!
Cambridge International - Resource Plus
"Resource Plus gives you access to high quality videos, ready-made lesson plans and teaching materials that you can use to help your students learn." This is typically a subscription-based service, now freely available. Access Mathematics materials that include videos and lesson units.
National Museum of Mathematics has a "Math Encounters" lecture series - archive available on YouTube on really interesting topics like Swarm Math, The Monty Hall Problem, "Star Trek: The Math of Khan," and "Decoding License Plates." and "Mathmagic with a Deck of Cards." These tend to be about an hour, so you may want to pick an excerpt for kids.
Math at the Core by PBS / WGBH at Home
PBS has created a Learn at Home collection of resources, including Math at the Core, with lessons, interactives, videos, activities and more broken down by math concept like ratios, operations, and number systems.
See also the Science section for some science related crowd-sourced digitization projects, many of which will produce aggregate data.
Media Literacy
The ability to find and analyze information for bias and accuracy are more important than ever. Consider having a weekly assignment or activator that focuses on these critical skills.
Crash Course - Media Literacy and Navigating Digital Information
The short, fast-paced and entertaining Crash Course video series cover a variety of topics - including Media Literacy. This playlists covers everything from the history of media literacy, to the media's current influence, to the future of media literacy.
NYT Upfront Articles - Media Literacy
The excellent student newsmagazine, New York Times Upfront, has done a a variety of articles on media literacy and digital awareness. Specific articles, complete with worksheets and discussion questions are linked below.
Product Placement 14-03-17
Fake News 17-01-09
#sponcon 17-04-03
Fake News 17-09-04
Facebook Under Fire [Cambridge Analytica] 18-05-14
Does Facebook Know Too Much? 18-09-03
Is YouTube Radicalizing Us? 18-10-08
When Photos Lie [Fake Photos] 18-12-10
Is Social Media Fueling Hate? 18-12-10
Is Juul Targeting You? [e-cigarette advertising] 18-12-10
Should Ads Be Allowed at School? 18-12-10
Is Social Media Good for Democracy? 19-04-22
Is Social Media Ruining Nature? 19-10-07
One Impeachment, Two Americas 20-01-27
Commonsense Media has built an entire free curriculum for high schoolers about digital citizenship and media literacy; share lessons and slides with your students to start a discussion. Topics range from "Curated Lives" to "Challenging Confirmation Bias" to "Should Online Hate Speech be Censored?". They have "Hoaxes and Fakes," "Challenging Confirmation Bias," "Clicks for Cash" and "Filter Bubble Trouble" There are also MS aimed lessons on "Finding Credible News," "Fair Use" and "Reacting to Breaking News."
"Why is Fake News So Effective?" Interactive Lesson from PBS
This interactive lesson frames the controversial issues of fake news and trust in the media with the historical context of yellow journalism and sensationalist reporting. It includes a short video, graphs, matching activity, and two sample articles for students to analyze. Student Link, or can be posted directly to Google Classroom from the teacher link above.
How We Can Protect the Truth in an Age of Misinformation (15 min) TED Talk
The Seven Commandments of Disinformation (15 min) from The New York Times
An interactive game where students decide whether a short news story is true or false.
Includes mini-module interactive lessons on finding information, evaluating information, and using information.
Online Courses and General Sources
Online coursework available across most subjects and levels - from Art History to US History to Calculus. Daily educational schedules and course work from Khan Academy. Khan Academy Google Doc
Free online courses at Open University. Over 1000 free courses, videos, interactives, and more.
Free, online courses through major colleges and universities worldwide. Some are "self-paced" and can be taken anytime; others have a weekly discussion with other participants. Find classes in Arts, Humanities, Science, Math, Languages, Business, History, Education and more.
The Crash Course videos (each 10-15 minutes), are each part of a subject “course” - like US History, World History, English, Science, Psychology, Economics, Chemistry, Media Literacy, Engineering, Sociology, Artificial Intelligence, Anatomy, Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, Ecology, Film History, and Astronomy. Fast-paced and funny. The ever-popular Crash Course has finally created an app! Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. In addition to all the videos, the app now includes flashcards and quizzes for Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry (with more coming in the future).
Full college courses available in the iTunesU app, stand-alone lectures available in Podcasts. Free educational content from universities such as Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; Duke University; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The content included course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours in audio, video or ebook format.
Learn to Code
Learn to Code with Kodable [first 30 lessons are free]
Swift Playgrounds for iPad
Khan Academy - Computer Programming
MIT App Creator - "Have a simple app running in 30 minutes"
Open Culture collects thousands of free resources for anyone to use, including eBooks, aAudioBooks, online courses, movies, textbooks and more.
Distance Learning resources for grades PK-12. This site includes resources broken down by grade level and subject, plus a webinar for educators. Find lessons, interactives, and videos for ELA, mathematics, civics, economics, science, and US History. Also check out the PBS Distance Learning Center for materials through specific programs like the NOVA Resources for science, American Experience for US History, Math at the Core, and Frontline for current events.
Imagineering
Disney is posting a new series of (very short) videos called "Journey into Imagineering." This also works well with "Imagineering in a Box," an online course created with Pixar and Khan Academy. Imagineering, the combination of art and science at the Disney Parks, includes elements of sculpture, music, technology, storytelling, and creativity.
Solve puzzles to progress through the challenge. Topics posted here include Harry Potter (not an easy one!), art, the Titanic, Star Wars, and Greek mythology.
Science
Gale Interactive Science is a database offering over 200 short, interactive activities on aspects of Earth Science, Anatomy, Biology and Chemistry. Sample activities include 3-D online models for dissection (frogs, fetal pigs, human anatomy), and geologic models for deconstruction, as well as an interactive periodic table. Activities can be directly linked/posted into your Google Classroom. Password: patriot (may not be required)
NewsELA Science
NewsELA is a resource for many non-fiction articles in all content areas that can be assigned at various reading levels to students in Google Classroom. Create a teacher account here, using your cpsge/Google credentials, then link to your Google classroom to automatically enroll your students. Helpful guides and videos can be found here. There is also a helpful checklist that can be located here.
Scholastic Science World is filled with articles about current events and topics, plus it includes a variety of worksheets and lesson plans. Visit the Scholastic Science World page to find past issues, and links to materials that can be posted in Google Classroom. You may also find useful materials in the related Scholastic Art, Scholastic Math, and New York Times Upfront. Some recent articles have included:
Golf Ball Clean Up [ocean pollution]
Distance Learning resources for grades PK-12. This site includes resources broken down by grade level and subject, plus a webinar for educators. Find lessons, interactives, and videos for ELA, mathematics, civics, economics, science, and US History. Also check out the PBS Distance Learning Center for materials like the NOVA Resources for science, which include a wide variety of science videos, interactives, interviews, lessons, and more broken down by subject.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - Citizen Science
Crowd sourced science projects. A great project to provide a window into the research side of science, as well as remind students that studies and new discoveries don't just "happen" - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about the weirdest thing they found while working on it, or to speculate on the future value of their work.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - Zooniverse
A wide variety of crowd-sourced science digitization projects - antibiotics, botany, raccoons, baby talk, penguins, zebras, and more. Crowd sourced science projects. A great project to provide a window into the research side of science, as well as remind students that studies and new scientific breakthroughs don't just "happen" - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about the weirdest thing they found while working on it, or to speculate on the future value of their work.
Crash Course videos are each about 10 minutes long, and include a variety of science playlists for Biology, Ecology, History of Science, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, and Astronomy. Each makes a great light-hearted introduction or review to a topic, and is easy to base a short assessment or discussion on.
A variety of short science videos about a wide variety of science topics - mostly silly, like "Why we Hiccup," or "Should We Kill All Mosquitos?" or "Why Avocados Shouldn't Exist." Make great discussion starters or activators.
Aerospace Education Member and Civilian Air Patrol
Activity kits and materials. Please email Major Bate or reference his email dated March 22.
Explore.org - Live streaming wildlife cameras
Choose from hundreds of streaming cameras - all nature and animal related. Watch feeds from NASA, an alpaca sanctuary, or a jellyfish tank at an aquarium.
MIT Physics Demonstration Videos
Very short (30 seconds to 2 minutes) class demonstrations from MIT physics classes. Includes about 40 videos, ranging from the Galvonometer Principle to a Fire Extinguisher on a Tricycle. Find demonstrations by category on the Technical Services Group @ MIT Physics website.
Short videos created and produced by MIT students about science - from "What is a Fractal" to "Why Do We Have Snot?" Includes playlists focused on Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Nuclear Energy.
MIT put together 10 weekly STEAM-themed learning packages that include videos, activities and forums for sharing. Themes have included: COVID-19, Inventions, and Living in Space, Music, Earth Week, Problem Solving, Artificial Intelligence, and Getting Creative with Math.
MIT Blossoms - Science Video Lessons for High School
Science lessons presented by MIT instructors - each includes about a 30 minute video, plus related hands-on activities. Pick the "Languages" tab on top to see which videos are also available in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and more. Check the "Resources" tab on top for more online resources.
Cambridge International - Resource Plus
"Resource Plus gives you access to high quality videos, ready-made lesson plans and teaching materials that you can use to help your students learn." This is typically a subscription-based service, now freely available. Access materials in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Literature. Science courses include experiment videos and "interactive" videos, as well as handouts and full lesson plans.
National Geographic Learn at Home
National Geographic has a variety of lessons and short activities aimed at grades 6-12. Topics focus mostly on geography, earth science, biology, and ecology, but also include food, civics, economics, and photography. Activities and materials can be sent directly to Google Classroom.
Boston's Museum of Science is still bringing the science to you! With virtual exhibits, daily live streams, and learn at home webinars they hope to keep the science going! The Virtual Exhibits offer an interactive peek at the Museum, or a pressing issue, like the debate over sharing cellular location data with a contact-tracing app.
Tufts University "The Great Diseases" Curriculum
Are you looking for resources to help teach about COVID-19? Tufts University has created five free lessons about pandemics and the new coronavirus, including workbooks, activities, and games, as part of their free The Great Diseases curriculum.
Social Studies
The New York Times Upfront is a newsmagazine aimed at high school students. The articles include a mix of current events, US and world news, science news, historic retrospectives, and Yes-No debate articles. Most articles also include a variety of worksheets and discussion questions. Thanks to Adam's timely question, I now know that it is possible to translate articles into other languages (though they lose the photos/layouts). Find an article in Gale Middle School in Context, then translate and save as a PDF (you can also just post a link to the article in Google Classroom - this will allow students to have the article read aloud in English as well). You may also find something useful in the similar publications Scholastic Art, Scholastic Science World and Scholastic Math.
NewsELA Social Studies
NewsELA is a resource for many non-fiction articles in all content areas that can be assigned at various reading levels to students in Google Classroom. Create a teacher account here, using your cpsge/Google credentials, then link to your Google classroom to automatically enroll your students. Helpful guides and videos can be found here. There is also a helpful checklist that can be located here.
Crash Course videos are each about 10 minutes long, and include a variety of social studies playlists for World History, World Mythology, European History, US History, US Government and Politics, Psychology, Sociology, and Economics. Each makes a great light-hearted introduction or review to a topic, and is easy to base a short assessment or discussion on.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - By the People
A project from the Library of Congress to transcribe, review, and tag various archival materials. Some of the specific ongoing projects include Spanish legal documents, Letters to Lincoln, papers of the suffragettes, nurse Clara Barton, folklorist Alan Lomax, and more. This is a great opportunity to provide a window into the primary source research side of history, as well as remind students that a lot of work happens before a "search" can be done online - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about the weirdest thing they found while working on it, or to speculate on the future value of their work.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - New York Public Library Labs
A variety of projects from the New York Public Library to digitize and make searchable some of its unique materials. This is a great opportunity to provide a window into the primary source research side of history, as well as remind students that a lot of work happens before a "search" can be done online - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about the weirdest thing they found while working on it, or to speculate on the future value of their work. Some ongoing projects include:
What’s on the Menu? - transcribe and geotag historical menus.
Emigrant City - help transcribe historical real estate records
Building Inspector - help trace and label historic maps
Ensemble - help transcribe historic playbills
Be virtually dropped anywhere in the world; look around similar to Google Street View and try to guess where you are. Anyone can play free maps - cities, countries, landmarks, or even "Where's that McDonalds?"- send your students on a trip around the US or the world. Sign up for a PRO account to create your own maps.
See Ann and Lori's email dated April 3 to find out more about this series.
Distance Learning resources for grades PK-12. This site includes resources broken down by grade level and subject, plus a webinar for educators. Find lessons, interactives, and videos for civics, economics, and US History. Also check out the PBS Distance Learning Center for materials through specific programs like American Experience and Frontline.
Theatre
Crash Course - Theatre and Drama
Fifty short (10 minute) videos, perfect for posting in Google Classroom and starting a class discussion.
Crowd-Sourced Digitization - Ensemble
The New York Public Library has a crowd-sourced digitization project to make its large collection of scanned playbills searchable - that means looking at playbill, typing what is there, and verifying the work of others. A great project to provide a window into the history of the theater, as well as remind students that the searchability of the internet doesn't just "happen" - and that they can still make contributions to the larger academic community from home. Start a class discussion about the weirdest thing they found while working on it, or to speculate on the future value of their work.
The BBC has announced an ambitious slate of programs to continue to promote the visual and performing arts. Because it is so new, airing dates (and if it will be available to stream in the US) are still forthcoming. From BBC - "With all our theatres closed, the BBC is taking on the role of a repertory theatre for audiences at home. We are launching a huge carousel of shows on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four that feature the best of both the BBC’s and UK recent performances, as well as new never-seen-before titles. For theatre, this includes Mike Bartlett’s Albion from The Almeida, Emma Rice’s Wise Children, Battersea Arts Centre’s Frankenstein and six recent titles from the Royal Shakespeare Company: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing and Othello." There might also be a puppet show with Margaret Atwood about the plague (!?!?!).
In an embodiment of "The Show Must Go On!", Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber will stream a production of one of his musicals every weekend on YouTube. They have already done Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, and Peter Pan - new shows resume September 25.
Online Broadway Production Course with The Lion King
The curriculum comes in two sets: “Kids,” which is aimed at kids ages 8-11, and “Junior,” which is for kids 12-15. Each one includes a number of 45-minute lessons, PDF worksheets, and accompanying online videos and resources that cover inspiration, writing original music, designing stage lighting, creating costume elements like masks, learning dances, and more. Each video features an introduction from Jelani Remy and Syndee Winters, who starred in the Broadway production of the show.
World Languages
Access through Boston Public Library (see eBooks section) or your local public library. Choose from one of over 70 language courses - including French, Spanish, Chinese, or even more obscure options like Shakespearean English or Pirate.
Learn over 30 languages for free, including standards like French, Spanish, Chinese, and German, but also Welsh, Navajo, High Valyrion (Game of Thrones) and Klingon (Star Trek)
Access ebooks - works on iPads/Google Play. Any educator is eligible to sign up for an account, and they are waiving the “at-home” subscription fees until the end of the year. Aimed mostly at elementary age students, there are books available in French, Spanish, and Chinese.
Audible.com has created a free version of its site, stories.audible.com with a few hundred free audiobooks available to stream. In addition to audiobooks in English, there are also Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japanese selections. Includes the first Harry Potter book in multiple languages.
Be virtually dropped anywhere in the world; look around similar to Google Street View and try to guess where you are. Anyone can play free maps - cities, countries, landmarks, or even "Where's that McDonalds?"- send your students on a trip around Spain, Mexico, or China. Sign up for a PRO account to create your own maps.
NYT Upfront/Scholastic Art/Scholastic Science/Scholastic Math Articles
The high school newsmagazines of NYT Upfront, Scholastic Art, Scholastic Science, and Scholastic Math include short articles plus worksheets or discussion questions on world news and other culturally relevant topics, great for posting in Google Classroom. Browse the websites above for something that fits your objectives; some recent articles include:
Memrise - Learn a Language
This website and app (free, but includes optional pay features and subscription) offers to teach natural conversational language from native speakers in bite-size lessons.
MIT Blossoms - Science and Math Video Lessons for High School
Science and math lessons presented by MIT instructors - each includes about a 30 minute video, plus related hands-on activities. Pick the "Languages" tab on top to see which videos are also available in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and more.
Diversity in Latino Culture - Interactive Lesson from PBS
A 1-hour interactive lesson on Diversity in Latino Culture. Includes pages to click through (each includes a short written intro, a short video or graphic plus a few questions). It can be posted directly into your Google Classroom. Sections include food, music, dance, and art as well as national origins. Because it is from WGBH, it is very local - the food video is from Bueno y Sano! Teacher Link (about, guides, standards, etc) Student Link (Start Activity)
See also the Art or Social Studies sections
Professional Development and Remote Learning Tools
Google Apps for Education
Now is the perfect time to up your Google Game! The Google Training Center for Educators offers training courses and certifications in all things Google. Teach from Home: Google’s NEW dedicated webpage dedicated to teachers who are now trying to teach from home. Don't forget to list your Google Classroom in the district spreadsheet from Andrew Vernon (email dated March 25).
Google Meets can be recorded and posted in your Classroom. It saves directly to your Google Drive. (it takes a while to show up but it works) You can record a multiperson chat or just start one yourself and hit the record feature. There is "share screen" and "share window" abilities as well. No time limit and its already built into Google Suite. Post your Google Meet link in the header of your Google Classroom so students can find it quickly everyday.
Digital Resource Google Doc for CPS - From Lynn Clark's email dated March 23.
Supplemental Educational Resources - From DESE and sent via email by Christina Pina March 20.
Edgenuity - Video tutorials. Also the district has been offering additional support and training - Please see Dr. Pietrzykowski's email dated March 31.
Digital Whiteboard - bitpaper
Recommended by Karryn Faivre in email dated March 24. "Anyone that you share the "paper" (or digital whiteboard") can write on the screen if you give them permission. Although the program is very intuitive, the youtube video was helpful. I would fast forward through the first 12:30 minutes while he talks about his background. "
Record presentations with your video/voice and your screen, then share with students. Free for educators.
Record instructional videos to post to Google Classroom. This tool adds an extension to your Chrome browser and allows you to record yourself, your screen, and audio. You can then edit it and post it to Google Drive or YouTube. Then, you can post those to your Classroom as part of an assignment or as a material. Tutorial video.
Creating Interactive PDFs
This tutorial for creating interactive PDFs for students was shared by Andrew Billig April 1.
Primary Source PD from the Library of Congress
Explore a collection of recorded webinar videos from the Library of Congress to build awareness about Library materials as well as explain and model teaching strategies for using primary sources in the classroom.
Jamboard - virtual whiteboard
Ziteboard - virtual whiteboard
FlipGrid
Boom Cards
Canva
Prezi Video
"A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through Coronavirus" by Teaching Tolerance
Experts from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network share their recommendations for educators supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis.
Tech in Education - A Remote Learning Playbook for K12
Access Tech & Learning's free K12 Remote Learning playbook for strategies, templates, resource links and more.