Education

Sep 20th, 2020

Code Read’s collection of links to keep kids entertained and educated during isolation periods

While Australia is yet to implement wholescale school closures, many anticipate this will eventually occur as it has in 107 countries (as of 18th March). Temporary, individual school closures will continue to occur as the number of COVID-19 cases rise. Some families have withdrawn their children, for various reasons.

Code REaD Dyslexia Network (CRDN) would like to assist families, schools, and teachers by directing them to appropriate resources, many free or low cost, to assist during any school closure period.

The volume of very generous sharing of free, or reduced cost education resources on social media, may seem overwhelming. With the help of CRDN members who are teachers and structured literacy specialists we have tried to sift through much of what has been shared to create a list of resources geared toward dyslexic learners.

We will attempt to add to this document as more resources become available.

School Contingency Plans

All States and Territories have emergency education contingency processes, and schools are working very hard to work through how they support students and families during any closure.

Schools will provide families with varying degrees of resources, but families will not be expected to teach new content during times of forced school closures.

Digital Learning Management Systems allow efficient communication between school and families. Lesson plans, powerpoints, web links, assessment tasks and rubrics can be uploaded. Many systems facilitate messenger communication between students, families, and school. Some examples used in Australian schools include:

Daymap
ClassDojo
Edmodo
Google Classroom

Collaboration platforms that support live-video communication

Microsoft Teamshttps://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-au/2020/03/how-schools-can-ramp-up-remote-learning-programs-quickly-with-microsoft-teams/
Skype
Zoom (offering free support during school closures)https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2020/03/13/zoom-video-coronavirus-eric-yuan-schools/?fbclid=IwAR3Nn3O37IOa7DI27cBPipxUacjs_aaB7yLR-k1Trs0htX4jFnhMoLCB79E#232740414e71)

Mobile reading applications

Vision Australia – free to join for dyslexic learners – large library catalogue:https://www.visionaustralia.org/services/library/join
Audible – free range of children’s titles:

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

Gutengerg – free e-books:http://www.gutenberg.org/?fbclid=IwAR0GO1KdBfim27SDscMuTvA1YwfYYGAkAYJoi3D73QjPKO60nlFs7-ywi3U
Storyline Online – free children’s books read by famous people:

https://www.storylineonline.net/

Specialist/Therapist support

Many families have external specialist support. Your specialist will communicate with you how they might continue support during this time. Some may have capacity for webinars, Skype, Zoom etc

Supplementary learning content for families and schools

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum is developing free videos for families and schools to download:

https://www.heggerty.org/?fbclid=IwAR2f3ay5ryovWcCSZymgTwbL55fdYLucV1wFX85wyQbkoz69dAlzBVUKH5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lroKByqjBd0&feature=youtu.be

Parker Phonics – free resources:

https://elink.io/p/free-phonics-books-98c2d4e

Phonics International – free resources: A Series of 8 eBooks : ‘Alphabetic Code and Phonics Skills’ https://teachyourchildtoread.co.uk .As well as systematic and incidental phonics material for nursery aged children or pre-schoolers as open access: ‘Phonics and Talk Time’ and ‘Teeny Reading Seeds’ https://phonicsinternationalpreschool.com

Nessy – free to schools, once school closure is confirmed: https://www.nessy.com/us/virtualschool/?fbclid=IwAR3yn7ntoohTtWfx_aUMyfINGQy9rlDXt3FnuXWM2GqniFyihwswYUvfDY4

Reading Bear – free phonics lessons and exercises / games: https://www.readingbear.org/?fbclid=IwAR20BAAcbfXPrH_AsQRBOQLhpTs_dwuDRuUfvMHgZxZEkWY8x8Shk6Q6piA

Sounds-Write – Part 1 of their course is free, and increasingly more is being offered:

https://www.sounds-write.co.uk/

SPELD-SA – lots of free resources:

https://www.speld-sa.org.au/free-resources.html

Spellaroo – free online spelling game

https://www.funbrain.com/games/spellaroo

Starfall – practice your phonics skills with these read-along stories: https://www.starfall.com/h/index-grades123.php?fbclid=IwAR3zrk4cWOCKFAbdENbaKG2Id_RICeUnysQ64nEhDLOacJCNEz9BI4E0s_c

Tiny Steps Make Big Strides – free resources and games:

https://tinystepsmakebigstrides.com/library/

Touch Type Read and Spell are offering 4 weeks free access to schools who have closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak:

https://www.readandspell.com/virtual-schools

Dictionary, Etymology, and Morphology

Dictionary of the British English Spelling System – free pdf version: https://padlet.com/TMKTR/42orhg3q6yxs?fbclid=IwAR0sV_D5ubXVyqoAHcTQVMW_HANvIm2avuc_UjtPSZ6Ngozlf5Nc3egQgtE

Etymology Online – free: https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/book-resources-locked/?fbclid=IwAR20Ua2XrYkI-yLWOANh_kbx2kDFlOI8l9InAnAQAvYXTqOGlACzEttBHwQ

Membean – free morphology aide: https://membean.com/treelist?fbclid=IwAR1NawrOYpDi8l44QOAGyR_6GOAHY8EKLzWGVVNBDUU_oHf8ZcFwWHp_P6Y

Online Games – Morphology Grades 4-8

https://www.funbrain.com/games/rooting-out-words

Writing

The Writing Revolution – free access to resources: https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/book-resources-locked/?fbclid=IwAR20Ua2XrYkI-yLWOANh_kbx2kDFlOI8l9InAnAQAvYXTqOGlACzEttBHwQ

Brave Writer – free webinars (US based but is recording webinars)

https://bravewriter.com/about/homebound/homebound-conference?fbclid=IwAR3jEdU75sTcb2XxCz9tQoVYPRDrmP-SZbsqaIUrxG8XVe3yHxox4xcqST8

General curriculum support

Core Knowledge Curriculum, provides open access to content-rich curriculum materials for preschool through grade 8

https://www.coreknowledge.org/curriculum/download-curriculum/

Ditch the Textbook – e-learning activities: https://ditchthattextbook.com/elearning-activities/?fbclid=IwAR0tuJbDWgqbXl6b3HK8AXiofz8X2D23WduqiUWssrv2pwwiQq4b0KDQeX4

Khan Academy – free – many resources across various topics: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/611770255064350720/remote-learning-with-khan-academy-during-school

Kids News – free:

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/?int=appleNews&fbclid=IwAR1oUqyjcTj_xcR4UBaUXxfE–K5MugnPs2RQ0WiE6gfrXMXJvQduDmJ0yc

Mammoth Memory – free – revision assistance across various topics: https://mammothmemory.net/index.html

Online history classes for all ages preteen through adults: https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

Maths

Mangahigh – free – over 700 maths activities:

https://www.mangahigh.com/en-gb/blog/2020-03-06-free-access-schools-online-maths-coronavirus

Math Flips, flashcards with a problem on the front and a similar problem on the back (instead of a problem and an answer) to encourage relational thinking rather than answer-getting: https://mathvisuals.wordpress.com/math-flips/?fbclid=IwAR0I02ZzpxanmobRugXue6lrUD5UjBplkF-JHj_nHHcj10_QtnwxEimgtVc

Maths Online – discounts apply for current home schoolers, and will be extended when families decide to keep children home, or in the event of school closures. Families need to contact and will be sent a link:

https://www.mathsonline.com.au/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI__X01tun6AIVwg0rCh3Q3QzREAAYAyAAEgJ0NPD_BwE

Mr Barton Maths – range of maths links here: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/teachers/links.html?fbclid=IwAR0cEaKCsWq9cflUVVRSoCFobkMKTgwlTuq-mfMYVprAbzhBs56lfwHJ7Ik#websites