Free Materials for Distance Learning

Distance Learning – For the teacher this is expensive, time consuming, and frustrating. Did I say expensive? YES! Because of this, I pulled together a group of free resources that can be used during this tough time. You’ll find everything here: math, language arts, Google Slides and Boom Learning.

First things first. Here is a little bit about the programs. Specific materials follow the program descriptions.

Boom Learning

If you have never used Boom Learning, you are in for a real treat. Right now through June 2020, you can get a free Ultimate membership. Also all the decks you purchase or download for free can be used forever. Once the trial period is over, you can opt for the free membership or one of three paid plans which are extremely affordable. What the free membership means is students will play the decks as always. They will see no difference. The difference in the free membership and the paid options is the program will not collect data for teachers. So, get the free Ultimate Membership and try it out. It’s a win-win.

Google Resources for Teachers

By now you have most likely used Google, so I’ll keep these descriptions short.

• Google Forms – With Google Forms, you can create quizzes. You can also collect information such as email addresses, polls, etc.
• Google Slides – This program is used to make a variety of presentations. For teachers this means editable worksheets. You can even embed videos, animations, and much more.
• Google Docs – Docs is a word processing program. Students can easily type paragraphs or essays and add images and drawings. The smart program helps with editing.
• Gooogle Sheets – Sheets helps students create charts, graphs, and other spreadsheet tasks.
• More from Google Education
• Google Teacher Center

Free Digital Resources of Distance Learning

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

As a way to help teachers during this difficult time, I converted my The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Novel Study to Google Slides. So, if you are struggling to find resources for distance learning, here’s a great freebie for you. Since the novel is in the public domain, students don’t have to leave their homes to get copies of the book. Everything, including the actual novel, is on Google Slides.

On top of all of this, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a favorite with students. The book contains so many wonderful events that didn’t make it into the movie. Students are surprised by the differences.

Another plus, while The Wonderful Wizard of Oz rates at a Lexile score of 970L, audio versions are available on the web making it great for younger students as well as older ones.

Grab this pdf file to get links to the Google Slides plus teacher materials.