Article on AFIWD: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved since 2021, becoming an integral part of our daily lives. However, with the integration of AI into various sectors and applications, the issue of bias in AI has rightfully come to the forefront of discussion. Recognizing and addressing bias in generative AI models is crucial to building inclusive technology which ensures diverse perspectives are factored, and that outcomes are both fair and equitable.
Without a doubt, many of us are feeling anxious as we navigate the uncertainty of the coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re feeling it too, and we wanted to share some of the tools we’re using to take care of our minds and stay grounded.
Enjoy this curation of meditations, sleep stories, music and more, all hand-picked to support your mental and emotional wellness through this time. And check back soon as we’ll be updating these resources regularly.
Finding new and smart ways to use or get rid of your old art supplies, including recycling them, reusing them in new projects, and reducing the amount of supplies needed for your art, can keep our planet clean.
Tech Bytes is a teen taught class on various aspects of Computer Science. Teen Mentors, Rayaan Siddiqi, Labdhi Jain and Andrew Choi, host live sessions each week accompanied by online activities posted in the associated Google Classroom. Teens (12-19) may register at the library’s website to participate and receive the code to enter the Google Classroom for more lessons and activities. Tech Bytes is funded by the Project Next Generation grant from the Illinois State Library.
Kikori is an app that provides teachers and parents with experiential and social emotional learning activities to help their students connect to themselves, their communities, and the world. Experiential education is LEARNING by DOING. The Kikori App has many easy to find Virtual and Physical Distancing activities to use!
The app gives educators tools + training to deliver experiential education activities and helps students connect with themselves,others and the planet. All public activities on this app are free for anyone to use in keeping with Kikori’s vision to provide all students with the opportunity to develop the social emotional skills needed to thrive.
There are premium features that can be turned on that allow users to create, share, and favorite playlists and activities.
Empowering teachers and students to start learning data science – with fun, free datasets
The National Geographic Education Resource library has Activities, Articles, Collections, Infographics, Lessons, Maps, Photographs, Units and Videos for PreK through High School in subjects including: Geography, Biology, Ecology, Health, Earth Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Engineering, Experiential Learning, Arts and Music, Anthropology, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics.
The link will bring you to lesson plans but you can find other materials by clicking on the filters on the left.
GoNoodle® engages 14 million kids every month with movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free at school, home, and everywhere kids are!
Hip-hop videos and creativity tools give teachers new ways to captivate students while engaging them in academically rigorous content.
Topics include Social Emotional Learning, Health & Wellness, Financial Literacy
Build vocabulary – Vocabulary is a building block of literacy and the foundation for every Flocabulary lesson
Develop 21st-century skills – Student creativity and collaboration are at the core of our platform
Media, from video games and commercials to movies and social media, has an enormous influence on students’ behavior, thoughts, and health and well being. Educators see its impact every day in the classroom. How do we teach our students to become knowledgeable and responsible consumers and creators of media in today’s digital world?
Watch this on-demand webinar with Dr. Monica Burns, EdTech Consultant and Founder of ClassTechTips.com and Heather Inyart, Executive Director for Media Power Youth
But Why is a show led by you, kids! You ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there.On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world.
Topics include: Llamas, Nightmares, Baby Teeth, COVID-19, Tasting Food
TIME for Kids is committed to supporting educators and families around the world during this time. We have opened up all of our 2020 content and will continue to provide materials on a weekly basis through the end of the school year.
Topics Include: COVID-19, Environment, Virtual Field Trips, Animals, Exploring Underwater
TIME for Kids is committed to supporting educators and families around the world during this time. We have opened up all of our 2020 content and will continue to provide materials on a weekly basis through the end of the school year.
Topics Include: COVID-19, Animals, Environment, Medicine, Kid Reporters
Brains On! is an award-winning audio show for kids and families. Each week, a different kid co-host joins Molly Bloom to find answers to fascinating questions about the world. Our mission is to encourage kids’ natural curiosity and wonder using science and history…but there’s no age limit on curiosity, and episodes of Brains On can be enjoyed by anyone.
4 weeks of daily lessons in multiple subjects
Topics include Animals, Music, Celebrating Differences,Cakes, Dinosaurs, Roller Coasters, ASL
Mind Yeti is a library of research-based guided mindfulness sessions that help kids and their adults calm their minds, focus their attention and connect to the world around them. Created by nonprofit Committee for Children.
Have students participate in a content-based scavenger hunt and take photos to record their findings. An app like GooseChase can make this even more fun.
Educational Ideas can be found here: https://www.goosechase.com/edu/game-library/
The Walking Classroom is an award-winning nonprofit education program that gets kids walking while listening to fun, standards-aligned, educational podcasts. The 15-minute podcasts are custom-written and recorded and cover topics on English language arts, social studies, and science and are designed for kids in grades 3 through 8.
In additional to the podcast’s core content, each podcast begins with a different brief health message to build health literacy. It also incorporates a character value woven throughout the narrative (and included in the discussion questions) to support social and emotional learning.
The new mobile app includes almost 200 podcasts and is completely free to use through July 31, 2020. Discussion questions for each podcast are included right in the app. A separate Teacher’s Guide with full lesson plans including quizzes is available in our online store.
Roots & Shoots mission is to empower young people to affect positive change in their communities.
This site includes exclusive lesson plans, activities, 1-Click Actions, projects, an online course, reflections, and opportunities to stay connected. Whether it’s doing something immediately to support first responders, grow understanding through activities like Community Mapping, or finding ways to grow Compassionate Traits from home, we’ve got everything you need to grow hope at home and anywhere, every single day.
The Brown Bookshelf hosted the KidLit4BlackLives Rally that took place on June 4, 2020. Led by Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jason Reynolds, the Rally featured inspiring words, music, and numerous calls to action in support of equity and justice.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of resources you can use to help young people learn the social-emotional skills they need to get through these challenging events.
Back to School Supports
Coming Soon: Second Step SEL for Adults Resilience Module
We’re committed to helping both students and staff navigate the transition back to school this fall. For many, that includes coping with and recovering from the extreme stress and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why we’re releasing our field-test prototype of SEL for Adults (SELA) Resilience Module this August. The Resilience Module is designed to help enhance the natural adaptability and recovery of adults in the school community.
CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, especially students in Title I schools, graduate with the reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond.
We believe in providing teachers with all the resources they need to set their students up for success, while also encouraging best practices in the classroom. That’s why the CommonLit Literacy Model is built on a foundation of over 2,000 high-quality free reading passages for grades 3-12, complemented by aligned interim assessments, growth-oriented data, and expert-led teacher development.
Our resources are: Flexible, Research-Based, Effective, as proven by third-party review, Aligned to the Common Core State Standards, Created by teachers, for teachers.
CommonLit’s Mini-Units. These units include over a dozen high-quality reading and writing activities and are a great way to keep students learning. CommonLit has developed over units for grades 3–12. Each of these 15 units include:
4–10 texts organized around an essential question
Daily lessons and questions for cross-textual analysis
A final writing assessment and an alternative assessment that encourages students to be creative
Student handouts with graphic organizers
Answer keys for educators
Joyful learning starts here! Inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery with our free, fun educational program for children ages two to seven. Our program engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills.
Original interactive activities, books, animated videos, games, and creative lessons captivate children’s attention.
100% Free. You’ll never see ads. You’ll never need a subscription.
Khan Academy Kids was developed in collaboration with learning experts at Stanford and aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework and Common Core Standards.
Looking for engaging ways to introduce your child to reading or to encourage your teen to write? Need some age-appropriate book suggestions or rainy day activities? The materials here are your answer—all of them created by experts to be fun, educational, and easy to use outside of school.
We have hundreds of standards-based lesson plans written and reviewed by educators using current research and the best instructional practices. Find the perfect one for your classroom. Every lesson plan on ReadWriteThink has been aligned not only to the IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts but to individual state standards as well.
Here at ReadWriteThink, our mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials.
Standards-aligned science online content at all K-5 grade levels that support classroom learning from home during this challenging time. All kinds of “ology” including: Anthropology, Archeology, Marine Biology, Paleontology, Zoology
Dad’s Worksheets has a growing collection of over 9,000 printable worksheets, online Math games, puzzles, and tools such as calculators, converters, and timers. All of these are completely FREE!
The Goal of the podcast is to:
A) Showcase some of the cool stuff teachers are doing and hopefully inspire the listeners to try new things or reflect on their practice in a new way
B) Make Listeners feel less alone in their journey of improvement as teachers who are doing amazing things share their not-so-amazing moments
The groundbreaking game that makes learning to read fun
• Covers everything from letters and sounds to reading full sentences.
• Designed in collaboration with leading academics.
• Complements all synthetic phonics programmes used in schools.
• Computer version is 100% free.
• Paid apps available on iOS and Android platforms
Tips for Designing an Online Learning Experience Using the 5 Es Instructional Model
Covid 19 has educators and educational institutions worried about and preparing for possible school closures. What happens if students have to stay home for days or even weeks? How can we keep them learning remotely? What strategies and technology tools can teachers leverage to take their traditional classes online?
Book Creator is a simple tool for creating awesome digital books. Create your own teaching resources or have your students take the reins.
Combine text, images, audio and video to create: Interactive stories, Digital portfolios, Research journal, Poetry books, Science reports, Instruction manuals, ‘About me’ books, Comic adventures
A creation and communication tool for students, educators and administrators to create interactive content, allowing those of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively. Buncee empowers educators, administrators, parents, and all types of learners to achieve their remote learning goals. Easily create and share engaging activities, resources, and assignments directly with students, give students the tools to creatively demonstrate their learning, and connect with your entire school community through your virtual classroom.
Assign self-paced lessons students access anytime, anywhere. Students complete assignments independently while you gain insights into students’ understanding with post-session reports. Easily integrate with your LMS (i.e. Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology and more).
Note: with Nano Pod, you can also create your own lessons.
Comprehensive resources with an ability for teachers to bring their own materials
We cover standards across ELA, Science, and Social Studies with articles, textbook sections, fiction, videos and more. And teachers don’t have to transition to new materials; they can upload their existing assignments onto the platform. Easy student access with supports for all learners and collaboration with peers
Actively Learn is easy for students to access at home, whether on a smartphone, laptop, or desktop. They can access scaffolding notes and media, an embedded dictionary, translation into over 100 languages, plus in-line peer discussion and shared peer responses.
Progress monitoring and easy ways to provide real-time feedback and grades
A site with hundreds of learning resources from Pre-K through Adult Learning categorized by grade and subject. For Teachers and Parents to share educational resources and support each other. Both Free and Paid resources exist on the site but the site itself is always free to use
The Checkology virtual classroom is a browser-based platform where middle school and high school students learn how to navigate today’s challenging information landscape by developing news literacy skills. Through its lessons, educators equip their students with tools to evaluate and interpret information and to determine what they can trust, share and act on.
STEM Punks is Australia’s leading STEM Education provider and is now providing free online lessons in response to COVID-19. The lessons are all designed, filmed and developed by teachers to ensure learning outcomes.
Each week is themed differently and students are asked to complete mini projects, design prototypes and complete playbooks (all provided). Weekly projects are designed for the students to work autonomously with minimal to no parental supervision required.
Discover the Desert Online!
Discover the joy of the desert and the joy of learning alongside our expert Desert Museum educators and scientists. Each week is different- check back often for upcoming programs and make sure to register!
Free programs can be found at https://www.desertmuseum.org/center/edu/dtdo/free_programs.php
Paid, custom programs for your group are available Mon-Fri at 10:00 a.m. Choose your date and topic and we’ll put together a program just for you. https://www.desertmuseum.org/center/edu/dtdo/youth_programs.php
The Lion King Experience is an immersive arts education program that introduces students to many aspects of theater-making through the lens of The Lion King. We’re thrilled to unlock all sessions of The Lion King Experience for you to explore at home! Each lesson plan contains videos, journal prompts, performances, and more. How it works: Self-directed activities broken into 45-minute lesson plans on a flexible schedule.
Although this program is traditionally facilitated in a classroom setting, these instructions give you everything you need to explore theater on your own at home. And teachers: feel free to facilitate these lessons remotely as well! Have fun!
Camp Kinda is a free virtual summer experience designed to keep kids in grades K-8 engaged, curious, and having fun—even if they’re stuck at home. It’s like summer camp… kinda.
your kids will get 3-4 hours’ worth of activities each day, all connected to a weekly theme. Nothing boring. We’re talking about exploring the art of graphic novels, unlocking the mysteries of history, or jumping into the world’s craziest sports. Start any time you want. End any time you want. Camp Kinda runs on your schedule. We’ll add new adventures every week, and save them all for you right here.
If you are a White parent of a White child, and you are having some aha moments about the extent, depth, and prevalence of racism in our country, or you’ve had this awareness for some time but are having a different kind of aha moment (i.e., reckoning with your own participation in this system, your own privilege, and a true desire to do something about it), talk to your children. Not about equality in general, or the importance of standing up for what is right, or the history of civil unrest in our country, or the greatness of Dr. King, but about White supremacy, systemic racism, and Whiteness.
Tinkergarten is on a mission to elevate childhood. We help kids develop a host of important capabilities, including empathy, collaboration, creativity, persistence and problem solving. Our expert-designed classes and activities help kids ages 6 months—8 years develop core life skills while enjoying healthy, fun, engaging experiences in the physical freedom of local green spaces. We also provide a DIY list of activities for you to try out at home.
Sesame Street and CNN produced for “Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism,” a town hall special featuring both CNN journalists and Sesame Street favorites trying to illuminate issues of racism and police brutality for young people.
A Project by the Augusta Baker Chair | Dr. Nicole A. Cooke | University of South Carolina | @BakerChair
This project emerged out of the pain and frustration associated with the back-to-back deaths of #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor and #AhmaudArbery in 2020. We must do better as a global society! #BlackLivesMatter
Almost 200 resources listed here – * Green = materials for youth
With protests over the violent deaths of black Americans dominating the news, it’s understandable that many kids are feeling scared, confused or angry about the situation. How can parents, many of whom are struggling themselves, help children process what they’re seeing and manage their feelings?
There’s no one right answer. That said, there are a few guidelines parents can keep in mind to help kids deal with troubling news about race and violence.
Black Lives Matter in Schools Resources for Educators: Books, Videos, K-12 Lesson Plans, and more.
Epic! is the Leading Digital Library for Kids 12 & Under
Instantly access 40,000 of the best books, learning videos, quizzes & more with Epic Premium.
Epic Premium is free through June 30th for everyone and free for teachers & librarians beyond that. Families can join the paid service or can get invited to enjoy a brand new service, Epic Free, which offers every student 2 hours of free weekly reading in a limited library of high-quality educational books by a teacher or educator: https://www.getepic.com/learn/freeremotestudentaccess/.
Top summer reads at Epic Free can be found here: https://www.getepic.com/learn/top-summer-reads-for-kids-on-epic/
CBS News This morning Youtube video about how to raise kids to be anti-racist and talk to them about racism. Protests across the nation over the death of George Floyd are forcing parents to have tough conversations with their kids about racism. CBS News contributor Ibram X. Kendi’s upcoming book “Antiracist Baby” is about raising anti-racist kids. He shares how to talk to your kids about racism amid the protests over police brutality.
Author Jason Reynolds shares a powerful message about racism and antiracism. June 1, 2020