7 Free Resources for Online Learning with ELs -

Here is a round up of some things that are working for me as I try to teach ELs online during the COVID school closures of 2020.

Epic!

This is an excellent free online library of children’s books. Many of my students rely on the library for books, but our school and local libraries are closed right now because of the COVID outbreak. I set my students up on Epic, and they are loving it! I checked this morning and one of my third graders read for an HOUR on it today. Can you believe that?? An entire hour! I was blown away by how much they love this site and are engaging with it.

Quizlet

I love teaching and reviewing vocabulary with Quizlet. My students love it too! I’ve been using it for years now. You can use pre-made vocabulary sets or make your own. Students can learn using flashcards or review in the learn mode. They can play review games and even take a practice quiz. I use this for content vocabulary and for basic vocabulary for newcomer ELs. The kids like it because they can try to beat their time in the Match game. It promotes repeated practice in an engaging way.

BrainPOP ELL

Did you know BrainPOP has a whole section just for EL students? It is organized by grammar topic and split up into language levels. I wish it had more integration of academic content, but I do like how accessible these videos are for lower-level ELs. BrainPOP is normally not free, but they are offering free access during school closures!

Google Classroom

This is great for any teacher trying to tackle remote learning. You can post announcements, create assignments, grade work, suggest edits on student writing, share videos, make quizzes, and more. This is a great home base to share out other resources and organize your virtual class life. I’ve been creating Google compatible resources to use with my students.

I’m sharing my Digital Fluency Tracker with you all for free! You’ll love how easy this is to use and share with families. Click below!

ABCya!

This game-based website has engaging, kid-friendly games and activities sorted by grade level and skill. The free version does include advertisements though. This is a great resource for building literacy and numeracy skills for younger learners.

Flipgrid

This is a video discussion website/app. If you’ve used Marco Polo, this is similar to the format of that except that is was designed for education. You create and invite students to your “grid” and they can respond to different prompts by taking videos of themselves. Anyone in your grid can watch the responses of their classmates too. They’ve added in some cool features that mimic social media apps by adding in filters and emoji stickers.

It is great for continuing listening and speaking skills for ELs. You do not have to be logged into the app at the same time. Because we know that not all students have consistent internet or their own device, it works well as an asynchronous alternative to live lessons/discussions. I love how simple and clear it is for EL students to use. I’ve had no trouble getting my newcomers and dual-identified students to use it. Make sure you get parental permission if needed (depending on district policies). The grids default to an invite only setting, but make sure you always double check the settings.

Zoom

This is a video conferencing platform where you can chat with large groups of people. I’ve used it as a student in grad school, and I’ve started to use it with my students. As the “host” you can mute everyone else, share your screen, use a virtual whiteboard, and record the sessions to post for others to view. My team tried out a few other video conference platforms but this one worked the best on our devices. Need help planning your live lessons? Check out my Live Video Lesson Planning Sheet!

Funnily enough, my family held a virtual birthday party for my older brother last weekend and we used Zoom 🙂 It was really fun and really good to hear their voices and see their faces.

You’ve got this!

I hope these ideas help you get started with doing remote learning with ELs.

Take care and keep up the fantastic work, you amazing educators!