PM Trudeau and Dr. Tam made a great video with the team at CBC Kids News answering questions from kids all over Canada. This is a long version (17 minutes) that would be great great for older classes. For younger classes you may prefer to direct the video at parents/caregivers so they can decide how much to watch with their kids or just set the link to start at a point of your choosing.
CBC Kids always has great videos/shows and kid-friendly versions of news stories that will help all ages. All of this is available through CURIO on our BYOD as well with more tools to search curriculum connections but this direct link might be easier to start the first week.
***Keep in mind that many children’s publishers are subsidiaries of larger publishers so you might need to look at their individual websites too. (e.g. Random House Kids is part of Penguin Random House)
Current Canadian Publishers Offering Relaxed Guidelines Regarding Read Alouds:
https://www.accesscopyright.ca/read-aloud/list-of-read-aloud-canadian-books-publishers-authors/
Current American Publishers Offering Relaxed Guidelines Regarding Read Alouds:
https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=publishers-adapt-policies-to-help-educators-coronavirus-covid19
The link below is an update as of April 6, 2020 about the rules and copyright policies about posting in virtual learning environments.
Educational Publishers Offering OPEN ACCESS Resources:
Nelson (Grade 3 to 8 - Math, Science, Social Studies, History/Geography)
https://www.nelson.com/learningonline/k12openaccess/
Pearson (Math, Science, Social Studies)
https://www.pearson.com/us/campaigns/covid-19-k12-support.html
Free E-Books, Audiobooks & More:
This list was created by Library Support and includes the following:
Literacy and Inquiry Supports - Learning at Home
PDSB Libraries: Bringing The Library Home:
This is a new site created by the library support team to share with staff specifically during this crisis. They are adding planned learning activities ALL the time so check back often.
Important Subheadings in this site:
Curated Collections - click the Google Slides and then you can click each “square” to link to free online books, literacy activities etc (Primary/Junior Literacy,, Intermediate/Secondary Literacy, Visual Arts K to 8)
Book Activities -Primary activities about specific picture books provided
Materials - This has 2 “hands on”/”makerEd” topics so far with LOTS of suggested activities for all ages - the two topics available right now are learning with LEGO and learning with CARDBOARD
Virtual Library Supports PDSB:
A very quick video to remind you and kids about the various e-resources and learning supports, research etc for kids of all ages.
BYOD Library E-Resources Brochure
This brochure is a good starting point for students, families and staff who may be unsure as to what the e-resources are and how to access them. More specifics on each database will be added to this document in the coming days.
Please see the PLAYLIST to the right is a collection of all our videos so far that help us navigate the PDSB Library eResources.
The great choice grids that Laura created for Day of Pink (shown below) are a popular, visual way to share resources and activities with kids while offering them lots of variety, choice and flexibility.
These link to live and highlighted online cameras showing various habitats and animals. This can be shared just for the fun of exploring the various feeds or may inspire further debate, discussion, inquiry around extinction, animals in captivity, climate change, pollution and more.
These link to a wide range of recommended podcasts for kids and families. I have included suggested ages where appropriate. Please consider that I am unable to preview every episode of every podcast for specific content but that each one was curated by multiple sources as highly recommended for children.
https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/bringingthellchome/templates?authuser=0
https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/bringingthellchome/book-activities?authuser=0
https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/bringingthellchome/curated-collections?authuser=0
(Harry Potter is one of the non-picture book choices that might inspire some of the students who are big fans!)
Though many of the PDSB E-resources sites have French options the document above contains some additional resources shared by some of our bilingual teacher librarians.
Educators who deliver the Kindergarten Program and Grade 1 curriculum know that play and inquiry are central to the success of young learners in a face to face school setting. The capable, curious minds of young children thrive with social interaction and hands on experiences.
In these strange times, access to digital resources may also be needed to support our students and their families. Keeping all of the above in mind here is a list including descriptions and suggestions of:
PDSB E-resources to Support K & Grade 1 During Emergency Distance Learning
Educators who deliver the primary education know that play and inquiry are central to the success of young learners in a face to face school setting. The capable, curious minds of young children thrive with social interaction and hands on experiences as entry points to literacy, numeracy and curriculum content.
In these strange times, increased access to digital resources may also be needed to support our students and their families. Keeping all of the above in mind here is a list including descriptions and suggestions of:
PDSB E-resources to Support Grades 2 & 3 During Emergency Distance Learning
Created & Curated by Helena Chestnut
Here is a great website with videos and activities that are great for our younger friends
Autism Ontario has put together an elementary educators toolkit with some great videos and resources available in English and French
The government of Prince Edward Island put together a tool kit in collaboration with board certified behaviour analysts which contains classroom activities, professional reading, stories and videos for students, and general classroom resources. It's a lengthy document but has some great tools.