The Best Free Online Educational Resources for PreK-12th Grade Students
Edited by Stephen Braren & Rose Perry, Ph.D.
The Best Free Online Educational Resources for PreK-12 Students | Across the United States (and around the world), coronavirus-related school closures have put millions of students out of classes through the remainder of the school year. As students, teachers, and educators adjust to the realities of distance learning, a number of online platforms have launched free, open-access educational resources to aid parents and children in navigating the shift to at-home schooling. Research suggests that social-emotional learning and well-being plays a crucial role in fostering children’s cognitive development and academic outcomes, which means that supporting students’ social connectedness is paramount to maintaining structured academic learning, particularly during this time. Luckily, there are many online educational resources designed to help keep students engaged not only with their coursework, but also with their peers and educators.
Here are some of the top free online educational resources for PreK-12 students, including students with learning differences.
Editor’s Note: During shelter-in-place mandates, children and families without access to internet or technology in the home are facing a compounded disconnect from the resources needed to sustain their health and well-being. The Social Creatures team is currently fundraising to support internet access and digital solutions for low-income and underserved communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To help enable access to important distance learning materials (such as those listed below) for children from marginalized communities, donate to our “Digital Safety Nets” campaign.
PreK through elementary school:
PBS Kids: PBS Kids’ website offers online games, activities, and tips for children ages 2 through 8 that focus on skill-developing in areas such as self-awareness and social-emotional learning, literacy, math, science, and arts.
Education.com: This website includes printable worksheets such as connect-the-dots drawings, handwriting practice, math equations, and geography quizzes for PreK and elementary school children, as well as online games and guided lesson plans organized by grade, focused on subjects varying from geometry to grammar and even mindfulness.
Khan Academy Kids: The free Khan Academy Kids iOS and Android app offers thousands of educational activities, books, and printable resources focused on math, reading, and social learning for children ages 2-7. Khan Academy is also offering free daily “learning at home” printable schedules on its website for parents and children to use.
Hand 2 Mind: Educational supplies company Hand 2 Mind introduced a series of free daily online lessons and activities for K-5 students. Created and delivered by teachers, the grade-specific video lessons are designed to engage students without parental support and build math, literacy, and STEM skills. Twelve-week lesson schedules are available in English and Spanish.
NABU: This nonprofit global literacy organization has an international catalog of children’s storybooks, providing free access to books in English, French, and underrepresented mother tongue languages, such as Haitian Kreyol, Swahili, Lingala, and more. The Social Creatures team gives NABU massive bonus points, as their app performs well in low-bandwidth internet environments, and is actively bridging the digital divide.
PreK through middle school:
All Kids Network: This website features free educational resources, worksheets, writing prompts, themed coloring pages, and DIY project ideas for parents, teachers, and caregivers of students in grades K-7.
Scholastic: The educational company launched a “Learn at Home” platform that offers daily courses for PreK-9th grade students, providing online educational content in the form of virtual field trips, writing and research projects, and geography challenges. The website, which is accessible on any device that has internet, will remain free throughout COVID-19 school closures.
International Children's Digital Library: This online library database provides free access to high-quality children's books from around the world written in 59 languages, including Arabic, Afrikaans, Danish, English, Farsi and beyond. The website hosts books for children ages 3-13. Start browsing the library here.
Curriculum Associates: Printable math and reading activity packets to support learning at home for K-8 students and families, available in both English and Spanish.
PreK through high school:
Khan Academy: This free app (the companion to Khan Academic Kids) gives 2nd-12th grade students access to thousands of video tutorials that explain the ins-and-outs of everything from early math, grammar, and world history to trigonometry, calculus, statistics, economics, and more. (Videos can also be accessed via YouTube or on the Khan Academy's website, which includes detailed daily schedules for at-home students up to 18 years old.)
Wide Open School: Hosted by Common Sense Media, this free online platform gathers educational resources from Scholastic, Noggin, Google, YouTube, PBS, and National Geographic to provide learning through videos, virtual field trips, and even livestream events that focus on areas such as science, social studies, math, arts, writing, and even life skills (such as building focus) as well as physical health and emotional well-being. Resources are organized by grade level (PreK-12) with dedicated sections for English-Language Learners (ELL) and children with learning differences.
NeoK12: Designated a "Great Site for Kids" by the American Library Association, this online resource provides educational videos, lessons, quizzes, and games for K-12 students in various subject areas, with lessons that focus on topics ranging from evolution and solar energy to agriculture and public speaking.
OER Commons: This online database offers free openly licensed textbooks and supplemental resources for K-12 students and higher education. You can search for resources by grade and subject area, then refine by different fields such as type of learning material.
BioED Online: This biology-oriented online educational resource for educators, students, and parents offers a “STEM @Home” platform that gives access to streaming video presentations, lesson plans, and hands-on activities grouped by grade level for K-12 students.
National Geographic’s Explorer Classroom: National Geographic’s weekly Explorer Classroom broadcasts feature educational interviews with conservationists, researchers, scientists, and storytellers. The live virtual sessions are hosted every weekday at 2 p.m. (EST) on Youtube and focus on topics such as “Why Plants Matter” and “Global Deep-Sea Research.” The schedule also includes educational livestreams in Spanish, and ASL interpretation is coming soon. Registration is free for Explorer Classroom sessions, and the first six students (or households) to sign up for each session will have the chance to ask experts questions directly via Zoom.
For students with learning differences:
Accessibyte: This self-voicing software is providing free access to its entire platform of apps (downloadable on iOS, Mac, Windows, Chromebook and Android) for blind, low vision, deaf, and reading impaired students through June 30. The platform includes “highly visual and audible typing tutor, games, flash cards, and study apps” for students of all ages.
Bookshare: A free online library for students with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers that provides access to over 800,000 ebooks in easy-to-read formats, such as karaoke-style highlighting, braille, or large fonts.
Do2Learn: For PreK-12 students who need extra guidance in social-emotional skills building and behavioral regulation, this free online educational resource provides a hefty collection of downloadable academic materials, learning worksheets and games, as well as functional communication cards and skill-building activities.
For social interaction-based distance learning:
Of course, different students thrive in different types of learning environments. Some learners do better working independently, while others grasp concepts through collaborating in groups. Activities that promote interactive, hands-on learning are just as effective as standard educational worksheets. Here are some free online resources that outline ideas for parents to encourage more naturalistic learning for children at home.
Tinkergarten: Tinkergarten, known for providing outdoor-based early childhood education programs, has launched “Tinkergarten at Home,” a dedicated online platform to get parents outside and learning with their children. Signing up on the website to get free access to weekly ideas for outdoor activities, parenting insights, and live online sessions with other parents and caregivers.
Activity Hero: A database of free virtual classes and online camps for kids with a wide variety of live, interactive courses focused on activities such as cooking, yoga, kickboxing, and origami, as well as chess and coding skills. There is even an online session called “Little Medical School” for children. You will receive an email with instructions for how to join the virtual workshop upon registration.
Illustrator Wendy MacNaughton’s Drawing Lessons: New York Times bestselling illustrator and graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton is offering free drawing classes on Instagram Live every weekday at 10 a.m. (PST) through the rest of the school year. After each class, which lasts roughly 30 minutes, students can check out #drawtogether, where MacNaughton has asked that participants post photos of their drawings so that everyone can check out one another’s work. The live drawing lessons are available to watch on MacNaughton’s Youtube channel 24 hours after they air.
America’s Test Kitchen for Kids: The website for America’s Test Kitchen for Kids offers a free “curriculum” called Kitchen Classroom, which outlines a weekly collection of recipes, hands-on activities, and food quizzes that children and parents can tackle together in the kitchen.
King Arthur Flour Baking Booklet for Kids: A downloadable book of easy-to-follow recipes and techniques for baked goods such as braided breads, cinnamon rolls, and pizza.