Remote Learning Resources
There is something here for all of you:
students & silblings, parents & teachers!
Click to access We Count- a free eBook about the Census for grades PreK-3 in 15 languages
Our district-wide free BrainPOP login (also accesses BrainPOP Jr, BrainPOP ELL and BrainPOP Español) is
BrainPOP
Engaging learning games, animated movies, and activities. Designed with relevance, depth, and humor to encourage kids on their unique learning paths.
CPS subscription
Username: chicagopublicschools
Password: cps123
National Poetry Month Resources for TEACHERS
Tuning Up (grades PreK-1)
Big Snow (grades PreK-1)
Baby Chick (grades PreK-1)
Focus Poetry (grades 1-5)
Poetry in America (grades 6-12)
Poetry Everywhere (grades 7-12)
Chicago Public Library now has Daily Read Alouds at 10:00AM
Listen to a librarian read a story! Click here to join the fun daily!
Mackin Storytime videos
These are read alouds you can share with your students when you don't have time to make your own.
eBooks and eAudiobooks
Chicago Public Schools eBooks and eAudiobooks
Search the CPS virtual library here. If you want to read the same books as your friends, just select simultaneous view eBooks.
Click here for steps to check out books.
Audible Books
For as long as schools are closed, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Explore the collection, select a title and start listening.
Chicago Public Libraries eBooks and eAudiobooks
Chicago Public Libraries.
Want to Read With Others? Form an Online Book Club?
Step 1:
Click into the complete Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and type in the word “simultaneous” on the search line to explore more than 1,200 books that can be accessed by an unlimited number of readers at the same time.
Step 2: Use additional search terms and/or use the filters on the left to narrow your searches (e.g. genre, primary audience, subject, etc.).
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
TeachingBooks Awesome Resource for students and teachers provided by CPS,
It is an engaging collection of resources that brings books to life! You MAY BE prompted to enter login information to access TeachingBooks. If so, please refer to this document OR just email me at [email protected]
Online Research
- The home page of this site has the links for online databases provided for all CPS students. Access is free.
- Passwords for off-campus use of databases provided by CPS HERE (login to CPS Google required to access the password document)
- CPS access to The New York Times is available at home as long as you are signed in to your CPS Google account. The New York Times is hosting and continuously updating this page on ideas for working with content from the NYT and other reliable sources about the current pandemic.
- Check out the widely-used databases provided by Chicago Public Library. Library card with login information is required. Don’t have a card? Apply for an eCard
- Stuck? Need help? Email me at [email protected]
YouTube Channel
Click to access Cortes’ Map of Tenochtitlan and several other cool offerings from Newberry Library including a Young Chicago Authors event focused on the 1919 Chicago Race Riots (August 2019), and other exciting conversations.
Amazing Library Collections to Explore Online
Library of Congress New York Public Library
The British Library Harvard University Bodleian Library
Online Resources and Lesson Plans from World Class Cultural and Media Institutions
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. Select a topic to discover featured collections and stories, OR search millions of digital records. The Smithsonian has launched a central portal highlighting an array of distance learning resources, including resources for caregivers and resources for children and teens. Click to access great content for students pre-K - 5th grade. Click to access great content for students 6th - 12th grades.
Listen to great podcasts for HUSH and APUSH and Engineering students on this page of the National Museum of American History.
This link provides the names of all the Smithsonian Museums. Consider exploring them separately.
Smithsonian YouTube Channel
PBS and your local station have curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for teachers.
YouTube Channel
Field Museum
YouTube Channel
Bring science learning to life through lesson plans, games, and more. Teachers and students of all ages can click away to explore learning activities about evolution, plants and animals, and world cultures. Experience the Field at Home Field Museum Learning Resources
Museum of Science and Industry
YouTube Channel
Keep learning in place and at your pace with science activities and topics you can access anytime.
Art Institute of Chicago
YouTube Channel
Visit virtually whether you’re seeking inspiration, community, or a little adventure.
Journey Maker (for kids of all ages!) - With JourneyMaker, an innovative digital interactive, you can create your own one-of-a-kind adventure with works of art from the Art Institute’s collection
Chicago Architecture Center
YouTube Channel
Buildings of Chicago
Secret Spaces Atop Chicago - Roosevelt Tower
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
YouTube Channel
Shedd Aquarium
YouTube Channel
Live Cam
Keep Sharks Swimming
Google Arts & Culture
YouTube Channel
For the culturally curious, this platform allows you to immerse yourself in culture with 360 views, zoom in to reveal the secrets of a masterpiece, take behind the scenes tours of palaces and museums (1,700 in 70 countries!), watch kids explain famous paintings to art experts, and so much more. Intro Video (YouTube) Download the Google Arts & Culture App to find out what piece of art looks like YOU! Selfie Video on YouTube
National Geographic offers curated collections of learning activities to implement at home. By educators. For educators, parents, and caregivers. Also check out National Geographic’s helpful resources for families during coronavirus shutdowns.
Media Literacy
Check out this new, original documentary from Connecticut Public Television (CPTV).
Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation (first aired February 13, 2020) explains how and why misinformation spreads and how to be a smarter information consumer in our increasingly digital world. The Guide to Finding Fakes and Facts produced by CPTV is a compact and comprehensive summary of concepts, definitions, and tips!
Social and Emotional Learning
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) offers suggestions for parents, educators, and policymakers on addressing the social and emotional needs of students.
The National Association of School Psychologists has developed a set of materials for schools and districts to support their students and community in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
LitWorld’s Global Heart Map Project EXPRESS YOURSELF!
Heart Maps allow us to connect with each other by sharing the ideas and feelings that define us in the most elemental of ways - and in these uncertain times, that connection is more important than ever. Create and share your heart map!
Diverse Learners
The Council for Exceptional Children offers resources for teaching remotely and is offering non-members of CEC a free basic membership from now through May 31, 2020.
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) offers strategies and resources for ensuring that online learning supports students with IEP’s.
Books and Reading for Primary students
Many Creative Company’s eBooks are available at no charge through May 31, 2020. Please share these ebooks (in English and Spanish) with younger children and students (preK-8th grade.) [email protected] 1-888-865-6455
Storyline Online is produced by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television’s SAG-AFTRA Foundation as part of its children’s literacy program. The site streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.
Supporting English Learners
Colorín Colorado, the premier national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12, provides multilingual resources for schools (Spanish, English, Mandarin) in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maguaré is an online resource in Spanish provided by the Ministry of Culture of Columbia that features books, songs, games, books, vidoes, and more for young children! Be patient while the website first loads!
BookBox
BookBox creates animated books (anibooks) for children in over 50 languages with Same Language Subtitling (SLS) to support reading and literacy development around the world. BookBox features animated stories in various languages to watch online. The website appears to charge by the book but all Bookbox videos on YouTube are free.
BookBox Spanish YouTube Channel
BookBox Mandarin YouTube Channel
BookBox Hindi YouTube Channel
BookBox Arabic YouTube Channel
BookBox Tamil YouTube Channel
BookBox Gujarati YouTube Channel
BookBox French You Tube Channel
BookBox English YouTube Channel
Bookbox German You Tube Channel
Urdu Fairy Tales YouTube Channel (not from BookBox)
The International Children's Digital Library Foundation (ICDL) is a free online library of digitized children's books in 59 languages from various countries. Children can search for books by country, language, length, intended age group, content type, and emotional quality. Books are presented in their original language with copyright permission from publishers or authors. Languages represented not otherwise available in this list of resources include Polish, Tagalog, Croatian, Hebrew, Persian, and Thai.
Practical Stuff
Zoom Teleconferencing Service
Click here to view plans and pricing. The FREE version is quite robust. Host up to 100 participants. Unlimited 1 to 1 meetings. 40 minute limit on group meetings. Unlimited number of meetings. Online support. Requires download. I have used it successfully with many friends and family members in recent days.
Google Meet (Teleconferencing) is a unified communications service that allows members to initiate and participate in text, voice or video chats, either one-on-one or in a group. Google Hangouts has been broken up into two different platforms: Google Meet and Google Chat. For now it looks like only staff can use Google Meet, but both staff and students can use Google Chat for some purposes.
The City of Chicago Coronavirus Center
This City of Chicago website provides the latest information on a range of topics regarding COVID-19.
Questions? Stuck? Need help of any kind? Have resources to share with the wider community?
Please email me at [email protected]