Curriculum Options
Get started with selecting curricular resources, see our recommendations for educational apps and external resources, see our curriculum correlations, and learn how to donate used materials to the Learning Commons.
- Getting Started With Selecting Curriculum
- Educational Apps for Tablets & Phones
- External Online Resources
- Curriculum Correlations
- Curriculum Donations
Getting Started With Selecting Curriculum
Curriculum Options and Picks
The Curriculum Options page on our website offers carefully vetted suggestions for each core subject by grade level, meeting the needs of most typical home-educating students.
To quickly find our "Picks" (recommended resources that cover key standards without overwhelming you with too many choices), simply filter the Curriculum Options by GRADE and select ONLY the feature “HCOS Pick.”
Detailed information regarding our curriculum picks can be found in the SOPHIE chapter, Curriculum Picks.
Curriculum Selection Tools and Tips Webinar
This webinar provides an overview of the curriculum selection process and references many curriculum options that may work for your situation.
Slide deck: bit.ly/Curriculum-Selection-25
Curriculum Consultations
If you need assistance selecting curriculum, please be in touch with your support teacher. Our Curriculum Consultant, Cynthia Duncalfe, is also available for consultations with HCOS-enrolled or registered families via her online calendar.
Educational Apps for Tablets & Phones
This page contains free and paid app suggestions in a variety of subject areas and grade levels.
HCOS + Flex Apps
These are the app versions of tools and platforms available to enrolled students through HCOS + Flex. Please search SOPHIE to learn more about accessing the Resources and visit the Learning Commons website to find passwords for our Subscriptions.
Resources
|
Name |
Description |
Links |
|
Canva for Education |
Graphic design |
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Google Workspace |
Calendar, Docs, Drive, Gmail |
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Grammarly |
Writing and proofreading |
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Read&Write |
Reading and assistive technology |
Subscriptions
|
Name |
Description |
Links |
|
BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr |
Movies and quizzes from the BrainPOP website |
(Apple App Store and Google Play) |
|
Matific |
Skill-building numeracy games |
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Reading Eggs |
Skill-based literacy games |
|
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RightNow Media |
Bible study video resources |
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Sora |
eBooks and audiobooks library |
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Tynker |
Coding-based math games |
Teacher Recommended Apps
Parents are encouraged to do their own research on these recommended apps to determine alignment with family values and learning goals. Reviews can be found on the links for the Apple App and Google Play Stores or by searching apps on Common Sense Education.
Arts Education
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Adult Colouring Book |
Digital colouring book |
Free |
|
|
DMD Panorama |
Photo and video 3D camera app |
$12.99 (Apple) Free (Google) |
|
|
GarageBand |
Music recording and editing app |
Free |
|
|
iMovie |
Movie editing app |
Free |
|
|
Lapse It |
Time-lapse and stop motion video creator |
Free |
|
|
Paper |
Digital sketchbook |
Free |
|
|
PicCollage EDU |
Photo editor and collage creator |
$2.99 |
|
|
Pixlr |
Photo Editor |
Free |
|
|
Procreate |
Digital art creator and editor |
$17.99 |
|
|
Stop Motion Studio |
Stop motion video creator |
Free |
Assistive Technology
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Articulation Essentials 2.0 |
Speech therapy support |
Free |
|
|
Articulation Station |
Speech therapy support |
Free |
|
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Audio Notebook |
Voice recorder |
Free |
|
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Mod Math |
Adaptive math notation |
Free |
|
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SnapType |
Worksheet digitization and editing |
Free |
Christian Studies
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Bible App for Kids |
Interactive Bible stories for children |
Free |
|
|
BibleProject |
Interactive Bible resources and classes |
Free |
|
|
Keys for Kids Ministries |
Daily devotionals |
Free |
|
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Superbook Kids Bible |
Interactive Bible stories and resources |
Free |
|
|
YouVersion Bible |
Digital Bible resource |
Free |
Executive Functioning and Organization
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Be Focused (Apple) Focus To-Do (Google) |
Time management support |
Free |
|
|
CamScanner |
Document scanner |
Free |
|
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Evernote |
Notes and task organizer |
Free |
|
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Genius Scan |
Document scanner |
Free |
|
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Noteability |
Notes organizer |
Free |
|
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Time Timer |
Visual time management |
Free |
|
|
Vantage |
Scheduling and calendar tool |
Free |
Learning Support and Inclusive Education
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Blending Sounds 1 |
Skill-building phonics games |
$19.99 |
|
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Brain Works |
Sensory breaks |
$11.99 |
|
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Choiceworks Calendar |
Visual calendar and time management |
$17.99 |
|
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Conversation Builder Teen |
Skill-building conversation tools |
$39.99 |
|
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Exploring Emotions |
Social emotional learning |
$9.99 (Apple) $12.99 (Google) |
|
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First Then Visual Schedule |
Visual calendar and time management |
$19.99 |
|
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Keedogo Plus |
Simplified keyboard layout |
$3.99 |
|
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Letter Sounds 1 |
Skill-building letter sounds games |
$19.99 |
|
|
School of Multi-Step Directions |
Auditory comprehension and listening skills |
$24.99 |
|
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Sight Words 1 |
Skill-building sight words games |
$19.99 |
|
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The Sounding Out Machine |
Assistive reading tools |
$3.99 |
|
|
The Zones of Regulation |
Social emotional learning |
$7.99 |
Literacy
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Book Creator |
eBooks creator |
$3.99 |
|
|
IXL |
Skill-building literacy games |
Free |
|
|
LetterSchool |
Handwriting skills |
$12.99 (Apple) Free (Google) |
|
|
Me: A Kid’s Story |
Digital diary creator |
$4.99 |
|
|
Storybird |
eBooks creator |
Free |
|
|
Strip Designer |
eComics creator |
$4.99 |
|
|
Tell About This |
Photo prompt caption creator |
$3.99 |
|
|
Text Twist |
Letter games |
Free |
Numeracy
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Doctor Lowhigh |
Ordering values |
$0.99 |
|
|
Equilibrians |
Balancing equations |
$2.99 (Apple) Free (Google) |
|
|
Euclidean Lands |
Puzzle-based math games |
$6.99 |
|
|
IXL |
Skill-building numeracy games |
Free |
|
|
King of Math |
Skill-building numeracy games |
Free (Apple) $4.09 (Google) |
|
|
King of Math 2 |
Skill-building numeracy games |
$3.99 (Apple) $4.09 (Google) |
|
|
Lightbot |
Coding-based math games |
Free |
|
|
Math Slide |
Multiplication and division |
Free |
|
|
Monument Valley |
Geometry-based math games |
$4.99 (Apple) $6.99 (Google) |
|
|
Odd Bot Out |
Puzzle-based math games |
Free |
|
|
Prodigy |
Puzzle-based math games |
Free |
|
|
ReflexMath |
Skill-building numeracy games |
Free |
|
|
ScratchJr |
Coding-based math games |
Free |
|
|
SET Pro HD |
Puzzle-based math games |
$6.99 |
|
|
Swift Playgrounds |
Coding-based math games |
Free |
Science
|
Name |
Description |
Cost |
Links |
|
Biodigital Human |
3D anatomy virtual model |
Free |
|
|
Frog Dissection |
Virtual dissection lab |
$4.99 |
|
|
IXL |
Skill-building science games |
Free |
|
|
NASA Visualization Explorer |
Space research and exploration |
Free |
|
|
The Explorer’s Library by Tinybop |
Skill-building science games |
$2.99-$4.99 |
(Apple Play Store) |
External Online Resources
Overview
We’ve curated dozens of educational resources available for free online. These sites offer valuable and engaging articles, instructional videos, interactive games, and much more to supplement learning at home.
Benefits
Parents, students, and teachers can access a wealth of information and interactive learning experiences for research and inquiry, as well as to supplement coursework, deepen understanding, and foster further exploration.
Using External Resources
Many of these resources are available without an account. Sometimes, parents must set up a free account to use the resource.
Parents should preview resources to ensure suitability for their students.
Accessing External Resources
Kindergarten - Grade 5
Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies: Design Thinking and Making
| Curiosity Machine | Design challenges across various subject areas |
| Design Squad Global |
Compete to create solutions to engineering challenges |
| Instructables |
Learn how to make anything, one step at a time. |
| Little Inventors |
Design challenges and resources that encourage children to think up and draw great invention ideas. |
| Makers Empire | 3D design tool to create, download, and print original or community-based objects |
| The Tech at Home | STEM and design challenge activities for K-12 learners |
| The Young Inventors | Challenges designed to demonstrate how inventions can improve people’s lives |
| Tinkercad |
Three workspaces where students can design: 3D Design, Codeblocks, and Circuits |
Arts Education
| 8notes.com |
Sheet music and resources for musicians, including tuners, chord charts, and lessons |
| Blob Opera |
Create your opera-inspired song; no music skills required |
| GarageBand |
Music creation studio with a complete sound library |
| Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM | Arts-integrated online learning experiences for students that include videos and lesson plans |
| MetKids |
Whimsical, kid-friendly intro to the wide art world with videos and interactive activities |
| PBS Learning Media’s Arts Education |
Resources, videos, and interactive lessons in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts |
| TedEd Visual Arts | Instructional videos with comprehension and guided discussion questions |
| Art For Kids Hub |
Online YouTube videos teaching young children to draw |
Bible/Christian Studies
| SundaySchoolZone.com | FREE printable children’s Bible activities for use with kids at home, church, and school, as well as resources for teaching children the Bible. |
| Elevate Kids | Kid-friendly, age-appropriate, and Bible-based videos to show your child how to become the leader that God designed him or her to be. |
| Kids Corner | Audio adventures, Bible stories and activities for kids |
| Kids of Integrity | Downloadable lesson plans that help parents instill Christ-honouring character traits in their kids. |
| Kids World | Online easy-to-read Bible lessons. |
| Mini Bible Lessons | Short, self-guided lessons on topics of interest to teens |
| Open Network | Engaging video dramas and Bible-based topics complete with leader guides and activities. |
| Unlocked | A daily audio devotional for teens. |
| VEGGIE TALES | Christian lessions and Bible stories from beloved veggie friends. God made you special, and He loves you very much! |
Career Education
| Bankaroo | A virtual bank for kids where you can teach them about the value of money in a safe environment |
| EVERFI |
Standards-aligned, research-based digital lessons to teach students to thrive in an ever-changing world. |
| Thrively |
Guides students through a student-centred journey to discover their strengths, increase their self-awareness, set goals and track progress, build skills, and learn real-world problem-solving |
| SignalHill |
Life-building teaching tools to help you inspire and equip your K-12 students |
Communication & Collaboration
| Lino |
A sticky-note tool to organize and collect information and can be shared with parents and teachers |
| Screencastify |
Empowering students to demonstrate and share their learning |
| Seesaw | Students share their learning with others through digital portfolios |
| Wakelet | Save, organize, and share any content from across the web |
Computer Science
| Code.org | Hundreds of computer science activities and tutorials |
| Codeable Crafts | Animate stories with accessible drawing tools and coding blocks |
| CS First | Makes coding easy to teach and fun to use |
| Scratch | Code, share, and remix stories, games, and animations |
| ScratchJr | As above, for ages 5-7 |
Digital Literacy and Wellness
| Be Internet Awesome | To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome empowers kids with tools and education to confidently and safely explore, grow, and play online. |
| Protect Kids Online | ProtectKidsOnline.ca is designed to assist parents/guardians in protecting their children on the Internet and reducing their risk of victimization. |
| Common Sense Media | All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. |
| Media Smarts | MediaSmarts has been developing digital media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996. Our work falls into three main areas: education, public awareness, and research and policy. |
| LIVING WELL IN A DIGITAL WORLD | A Guide for Students, Schools and Families - LIVING WELL IN A DIGITAL WORLD |
| Well Being BC |
Well-Being BC was created for all schools, as part of a school-based mental health initiative to support three pillars of Well-Being: SOCIAL EMOTIONAL |
English Language Arts
| National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) | Draft an entire novel in just one month in motivational virtual spaces. |
| Quill | Free writing and grammar activities and tools. |
| ReadWorks | Differentiated reading passages designed to improve comprehension. |
| StoryJumper | An easy way for students to write, narrate, and illustrate their stories. Find informative, expository, collaborative, narrative, and creative writing project ideas, suggestions on topics to write about and digital storytelling ideas. Your students can then use our tools to create and narrate a book, print it on-demand, and publish a book they can hold and hear. |
| Storyline Online |
Read-along books are brought to life through video narrations by actors and authors. Each title is paired with a supplemental curriculum, designed by a certified elementary educator, to support English-language learners in building comprehension, as well as verbal and written communication skills. |
| Whooo’s Reading | A website with a clear mission: to help students think more critically about whatever they read through open-ended rather than multiple-choice reading quizzes. |
Indigenous Education
| Canada’s Original Place Names | Indigenous Peoples named many places in present-day Canada. |
| Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada | Four books: Truth and Reconciliation, First Nations, Inuit, Metis |
| The Great Bear Sea | Curriculum resources based on the film The Great Bear Sea: Reflecting on the Past, Planning for the Future by Green Fire Productions can be used to engage students in an inquiry-based, educational journey through the Great Bear Sea exploring a variety of themes such as Indigenous Knowledge, collaborative science, marine planning, biodiversity, sustainable resource management and marine stewardship. |
| SignalHill | Life-building teaching tools to help you inspire and equip your K-12 students |
Mathematics
| Didax | Virtual manipulatives and downloadable activities for PreK – Grade 12. |
| Khan Academy | Provides interactive lessons and instructional videos; students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. |
| Legends of Learning | Provides an engaging educational experience for at-home learning. Kids will love the educational games on the platform, and parents will love the data that comes out as they automatically progress. |
| MathAntics | FREE math videos and additional subscription-based content! |
| Math Learning Centre | easy-to-use math apps for web browsers, Apple devices or Chromebooks. |
| Math Snacks | Educational animations, games, and interactive tools that help learners in grades 3 – 8 better understand math concepts. |
| Zearn | An online math curriculum with supplemental skills practice activities for K – 5. Parents and teachers must set up their own accounts and assign lessons to their students. |
Multi-Subject
| CK-12 | Free Math, Science, Social Studies, English and more courses for grades 1-12. |
| Collabrify Productivity Tool Suite | Educational productivity Apps. In real-time, two or more students, each on their own computing device, co-constructing text documents, drawings & animations, KWL charts, and spreadsheets. |
| Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool | A free online Christian homeschool curriculum. |
| Khan Academy Kids | A free, award-winning app for children ages 2 – 7 that engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills. |
| Learning Hero Roadmap | An interactive guide with videos/tools to help parents support grade-level math and reading as well as social-emotional development. Informed by what parents need, developed by leading content experts. |
| Newsela | Great nonfiction articles with 5 options for levelled reading. |
| NOVA | Compelling videos, simulations, teacher guides, and other activities. |
| PBS Kids | A wealth of educational content and valuable learning resources covering various topics. |
|
|
PreK-12 digital media service. Search and browse thousands of learning materials, including videos, interactive lesson plans, media galleries, and more. |
| Quarto Classroom | A free video library on YouTube of Quarto’s creators using their books as teaching tools in educational spaces. |
| Smithsonian Learning Lab | an interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian’s expansive community of knowledge and learning. |
|
|
supports kids’ sense of wonder with outstanding short video lessons. |
| Wonderopolis | short, interesting informational texts. Each text has vocabulary practice, a comprehension quiz, and activities for further learning. The Immersive Reader tool increases text accessibility with read-aloud, picture dictionary, translation, and more. |
| The Archievery | A free and safe online learning platform created by AT&T to provide K-12 students with engaging and entertaining videos paired with educational activities. English language arts, social-emotional learning, technology and engineering, digital arts, math, science, and digital literacy |
Physical and Health Education
| GoNoodle | Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. |
| KidsHealth | Easy-to-follow articles, slideshows, videos, and health tools designed to help kids and teens learn, grow, and be their best. |
| PBS Learning Media’s Health & PysEd | Resources that provide essential lessons on physical, mental, and emotional health. |
| SignalHill | Life-building teaching tools to help you inspire and equip your K-12 students |
Science
| 100 Fun Science Experiments / Fair Projects | Amazing collection of science experiments and science fair projects that you can try with your kids and students at home or school. |
| Climate Kids | This kid-friendly, expert site by Nasa explores key climate issues through videos, games and activities. |
| Google Earth | Search for specific locations or quickly manually manoeuvre across the globe, zooming in to show detail to the level of parked cars and even pedestrians. Many world areas can be viewed in 3D, allowing students to see cities, the countryside, and famous landmarks in three dimensions. |
| Inquiry in Action | K-5 science lessons about physical science and chemistry in everyday life |
| Legends of Learning | Provides an engaging educational experience for at-home learning. Kids will love the educational games on the platform, and parents will love the data that comes out as they automatically progress. |
| Nasa STEM @ Home | Videos, interactive multimedia, hands-on activities and more categorized by grade range. |
| National Geographic Kids | Stunning photos, in-depth stories of Earth’s peoples and wildlife, and a large collection of multimedia resources that teach students about animals, habitats, countries, and cultures. |
| Ocean School | National Film Board of Canada. It’s bilingual, free and has aboriginal content! A YouTube channel and an app on iOS. It uses video, virtual reality, interactive and 360-degree video, augmented reality, newsreels, toolkits and assessments. Brings powerful storytelling techniques, immersive technologies and interactive media to your home. Explore the ocean with documentary footage of real scientists, 360 videos, AR, and VR. |
| Science Buddies | K-12 STEM resources, including 160+ hands-on STEM activities and videos. Our activities cover different STEM concepts, can be done in an hour or less, and use materials easily found at home. |
| Smithsonian Science Education Center | Curriculum & resources searchable by type, grade and topic. |
| The San Diego Zoo | An interactive site featuring videos, games and activities. |
Second Language
| The ASL App | Learn American Sign Language right from your phone. |
| ASL Kids | ASL learning app for Beginners & Kids. |
| Boukili | Help your students and children love reading in French. |
| Curious Learning | Apps for learning to read in 48 languages. |
| Duolingo | A science-based language education platform that has organically become the most popular way to learn languages online. |
| Fingerspelling | Learn the ABCs in ASL with machine learning. |
| HandsOnASL | Learn to fingerspell with sign language. |
| Oh Noah! | Offers students a multi-pronged approach to learning Spanish vocabulary. With its funny, story-based interface, kids are encouraged to take an easygoing, just-try-it approach to learning languages. |
| OnlineFreeSpanish | Dozens of games, colouring pages, and interactive activities by level can be accessed anytime on tablets or desktops. |
| Sign School | Learn American Sign Language |
STEAM
| 100+ STEM and STEAM Resources Livebinder | has a variety of tools, videos and resources for you to browse. |
| Teachers Pay Teachers | for design thinking worksheets and find art lessons here. |
| Crayola STEAM Lesson plans | Put the art into your STEM and make it STEAM with these creative ideas. |
| Design Squad Global | Interactive learning fun. |
| Engineer Girl | Engineer Girl shares positive role models and what they do. |
| Get Caught Engineering | STEM for Kids |
| Going from STEM to STEAM | A prezi sharing STEAM creatively. |
| Government of Canada lesson Plans | STEAM resources |
| How to Smile | A site that houses wonderful math and science activities. |
| Let’s Talk Science | STEAM at Home |
| NASA Middle grades STEM lesson plans | Free webinars for students! |
| PBS STEM Resource | A phenomenal site with lessons for K-12 in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math as well as professional development for teachers. |
| Planting T’s | A website dedicated to promoting design thinking in K-12 education. |
| SF MoMA Teacher Resources | This section of the San Francisco MoMA site for teachers is a goldmine of articles you can select and read with students, video interviews, project ideas and an entire section dedicated to STEAM. |
| STEAM Education Lessons | Provide several high-quality STEAM lessons that you can browse through.The STEAM Academy is a terrific site for advocating and sharing authentic STEAM projects and efforts. |
| STEAM Starters: Tinkering for Early Learners | A new collection of online learning modules offering starting points, practical resources, and reflection tools to introduce tinkering into your early childhood classroom or care setting. Explore lessons by subject. |
| Teach Engineering | The engineering design process emphasizes open-ended problem-solving and encourages students to learn from failure. This process nurtures students’ abilities to create innovative solutions to challenges in any subject! Fully aligned to engineering and STEM standards. |
| We are Teachers | 10 Innovative Projects that Take Learning from STEM to STEAM |
| Working in Scratch: Putting STEAM into Cross-Curricular Collaboration | A prezi that gives practical applications for using the computer program SCRATCH in the arts classrooms. |
Virtual Field Trips and Tours
| British Natural History Museum | Virtual Museum: 14 ways to explore from home |
| Canadian Farm Food Virtual Tours | Learn how things are made and how animals are raised. |
| Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips | Promising amazing places and remarkable experiences, Discovery Education has many different cost-free tours available. |
| Great Lakes Virtual Field Trip | Learn about the science, diversity, and ecology of these large freshwater lakes. |
| Hall of North American Mammals (Grades 3-5) | Explore habitat dioramas to learn how animals must be adapted to an environment in order to survive in it. |
| Royal Tyrrell Museum Park | Visit Canada’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the study of ancient life from home. |
| Slime in Space | This video field trip shows how slime acts in space. Watch astronauts play ping pong with it! |
| Smithsonian: National Museum of Natural History | Virtual Tours |
| The Butterfly Conservatory (Grades K-2) | Observe butterflies and compare their patterns. |
| The National Aquarium | Explore one of the best aquariums in the country in this interactive self-guided tour. |
| Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China | Virtually explore the great wall of China. |
Stirling Castle - Scotland 4K Virtual Walking Tour |
See Scotland's Sterling Sastle Museum. (YouTube) |
The Perfect Walk |
See historic sites, museums and more with me as I explore different places around the world. (YouTube) |
| Inside STIRLING CASTLE walking tour | Join us for a stroll through Scottish history, inside the incredible walls of Stirling Castle! (YouTube) |
External Free Resources Gr. 6-9
Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies: Design Thinking and Making
| Code.org | Hundreds of computer science activities and tutorials. |
| CodeCombat | CodeCombat is a knight and dungeon adventure-based game that allows teens to master “the lost magic of programming” to save their world. JavaScript, Python, coding fundamentals, critical thinking. |
| CS First | A free computer science curriculum that makes coding easy to teach and fun to learn. |
| Curiosity Machine | Kids engage in design challenges across various subject areas. |
| Design Squad Global | Students compete to create the most novel solutions to engineering challenges. Includes games, lesson plans, and video demonstrations of the brainstorming and prototyping processes that go into the design. |
| Google Applied Digital Skills | Practical lessons teach critical computer skills. |
| Instructables | Learning how to make anything is easy, one step at a time. From the stovetop to the workshop, you will surely be inspired by the awesome projects shared daily. |
| Kano Code & Make Art | The Kano app empowers anyone to make, learn, and play with technology. Learn to code art, games, music, and more. |
| Makers Empire | A 3D design tool enabling students to create, download, and print original or community-based objects. Download for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows and Chromebook. |
| OK Go Sandbox | Creative music video-inspired STEAM design challenges. |
| Scratch | A creative coding platform that allows children of all ages to code, share, and remix their own stories, games, and animations. |
| Spark 101 | STEM video challenges that engage students in real-world problem-solving. |
| Swift Playgrounds |
Swift Playgrounds is geared towards kids who want to get started creating iOS APPS (MAC & iPad) |
| The Tech at Home | STEM and Design Challenge activities for K-12 learners. |
| Technovation Girls Curriculum | A hands-on coding and entrepreneurship curriculum for teams of teens to develop a mobile app to address a real-world problem in their communities. |
| Tinkercad | A tool that supports design thinking and maker education. Tinkercad offers three different workspaces where students can design: 3D Design, Codeblocks, and Circuits. |
Arts Education
| 8notes.com |
Sheet music and resources for musicians, including tuners, chord charts, and lessons. |
| Blob Opera | Create your own opera-inspired song with Blob Opera; no music skills are required! |
| Flat | User-friendly music composition software that gives you all the tools you need to make your own sheet music. You can write, listen, share and discover music scores. |
| Institute for Arts Integration | Arts-integrated online learning experiences for students that include videos and lesson plans |
| Google Arts & Culture |
An excellent curation of art and culture and interactive activities that invite exploration. |
| National Gallery of Art |
From Byzantine altarpieces to pop art, learn about the collection’s paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and other works. |
| PBS Learning Media- Arts |
Resources, videos, and interactive lessons in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. |
| TedEd Visual Arts | Instructional videos with comprehension questions, additional resources, and guided discussion questions. |
| Yo Kidz | YouTube channel featuring dozens of drawing tutorials. |
Bible/Chrstian Studies
| SundaySchoolZone.com | FREE printable children’s Bible activities for use with kids at home, church, and school, as well as resources for teaching children the Bible. |
| Elevate Kids | Kid-friendly, age-appropriate, and Bible-based videos to show your child how to become the leader that God designed him or her to be. |
| Kids Corner | Audio adventures, Bible stories and activities for kids |
| Kids of Integrity | Downloadable lesson plans that help parents instill Christ-honouring character traits in their kids. |
| Kids World | Online easy-to-read Bible lessons. |
| Mini Bible Lessons | Short, self-guided lessons on topics of interest to teens |
| Open Network | Engaging video dramas and Bible-based topics complete with leader guides and activities. |
| Unlocked | A daily audio devotional for teens. |
| VEGGIE TALES | Christian lessions and Bible stories from beloved veggie friends. God made you special, and He loves you very much! |
Career Education
| EngineerGirl | Information and tools that encourage girls to explore engineering. |
| EVERFI |
Standards-aligned, research-based digital lessons to teach students to thrive in an ever-changing world. |
| Thrively |
Guides students through a student-centred journey to discover their strengths, increase their self-awareness, set goals and track progress, build skills, and learn real-world problem-solving |
| Read to Lead | Award-winning learning games teach literacy and leadership in an immersive virtual workplace. Students are the boss, make big decisions, and gain critical skills along the way! |
| SignalHill |
Life-building teaching tools to help you inspire and equip your K-12 students |
Communication & Collaboration
| Lino |
A sticky-note tool to organize and collect information and can be shared with parents and teachers |
| Screencastify |
Empowering students to demonstrate and share their learning |
| Seesaw | Students share their learning with others through digital portfolios |
| Wakelet | Save, organize, and share any content from across the web |
Computer Science
| Code.org | Hundreds of computer science activities and tutorials |
| Codeable Crafts | Animate stories with accessible drawing tools and coding blocks |
| CS First | Makes coding easy to teach and fun to use |
| Scratch | Code, share, and remix stories, games, and animations |
Digital Literacy and Wellness
| Be Internet Awesome | To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome empowers kids with tools and education to confidently and safely explore, grow, and play online. |
| Protect Kids Online | ProtectKidsOnline.ca is designed to assist parents/guardians in protecting their children on the Internet and reducing their risk of victimization. |
| Common Sense Media | All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. |
| Media Smarts | MediaSmarts has been developing digital media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996. Our work falls into three main areas: education, public awareness, and research and policy. |
| LIVING WELL IN A DIGITAL WORLD | A Guide for Students, Schools and Families - LIVING WELL IN A DIGITAL WORLD |
| Well Being BC |
Well-Being BC was created for all schools, as part of a school-based mental health initiative to support three pillars of Well-Being: SOCIAL EMOTIONAL |
English Language Arts
| 826 Digital | Resources to ignite a love of writing. Browse, enjoy, and apply various teaching tools and student writing examples. |
| Bartleby | Literature guides for classic novels and some other free resources. |
| LitCharts | A literary resource of over 1600 study guides and teaching materials for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literary devices, Shakespeare, and more. Most of the content is free and accessible to all. |
| myShakespeare | Media-rich, full-text editions of Shakespeare’s plays with interactive content and study tools. |
| National Novel Writing Month | A fun, empowering approach to creative writing. The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. |
| Poets.org | Hundreds of essays and interviews, audio clips, biographies of more than 500 poets and over 2000 poems. |
| Poetry Writing Analysis Guide | In-depth overview organized into topics, each with its own summaries, helpful links for further study and key terms. |
| Quill | Free tools to make your students better writers. Quill provides elementary, middle, and high school students with free writing and grammar activities. |
| Read to Lead | Award-winning learning games teach literacy and leadership in an immersive virtual workplace. Students are the boss, make big decisions, and gain critical skills along the way! |
| ReadWorks | 1000’s of nonfiction & fiction differentiated reading passages with curriculum and supports designed to improve comprehension. |
| Scrible Edu | A robust research & writing platform. Google & Microsoft integrated. Students curate, annotate, cite, organize & collaborate on articles. |
| Storybird | A social storytelling site that helps kids create and publish storybooks; boosts writing skills with 700+ challenges. |
| Whooo’s Reading | A reading website with a clear mission: to help students think more critically about whatever they read through open-ended rather than multiple-choice reading quizzes. |
Indigenous Education
| Canada’s Original Place Names | Indigenous Peoples named many places in present-day Canada. Before the arrival of Europeans, Indigenous Peoples gave names to the land to identify places they knew and with which they had strong spiritual connections. Discover Canada’s original place names and their Indigenous origins. |
| Great Bear Sea | Environmental Science lesson plans K-12 |
| Indigenous Education Resource Inventory | Incorporate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into B.C. classrooms. The inventory includes guides, books e-books, articles, websites, videos, and other materials. |
| Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada |
Four books: Truth and Reconciliation, First Nations, Inuit, Metis |
| How to talk about Indigenous people | Ever wonder how to use the proper terms when referring to Indigenous Peoples? Inuk journalist Ossie Michelin has a friendly how-to guide. |
Mathematics
| Khan Academy | Provides interactive lessons and instructional videos; students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. |
| Banzai | An award-winning financial education program that helps your students budget wisely. Money management is taught in three interactive courses, each including tests, quizzes and an interactive library. |
| Didax | Virtual manipulatives and downloadable activities for PreK – Grade 12. |
| GeoGebra |
Dynamic mathematics software with an easy-to-use interface that combines geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. |
| Legends of Learning |
Kids will love the educational games on the platform, and parents will love the data that comes out as they automatically progress. |
| MasterMath |
Middle School Online Math (Free Video Math Lessons, Worksheets and Quizzes) |
| MathAntics | FREE math videos and additional subscription-based content! |
| MathGames | Online math games, quiz questions and skills practice. |
| Mathigon |
An online textbook for middle and high school mathematics. The unique content format makes learning interactive, and a virtual tutor gives personalized help. |
| Math Playground! | Math games (Listings for K-Gr.6) |
| Math Snacks | Educational animations, games, and interactive tools that help learners understand math concepts. |
| The Get It Guide | Math resource for middle school students.The student or parent simply has to identify the topic they are working on from the textbook and find the matching tutorial, video or worksheet from the math topics tab on the website. |
| Virtual Nerd | Real math help. Over 1,500 video lessons covering Middle Grades Math through Algebra 2. |
| XtraMath |
A math facts fluency program that helps students master addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. |
Multi-Subject
| Actively Learn | A digital reading platform for students on various topics; includes illustrations, driving questions and comprehension questions to keep students engaged. |
| Arca | Discover BC’s Digital Treasures |
| CK-12 | Free Math, Science, Social Studies, English and more courses for grades 1-12. |
| Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool | A free online Christian homeschool curriculum. |
| Esri GeoInquiries | Interactive maps make learning come alive in mainstream subjects—like environmental science, math, history, and literature—and beyond. |
| Games for Change | A website of curated digital and offline games resources that invite students to engage with contemporary social justice issues. |
| Khan Academy | Interactive lessons and instructional videos; students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. |
| Learning Hero Roadmap | An interactive guide with videos/tools to help parents support grade-level math, reading, and social-emotional development. |
| Newsela | Great nonfiction articles with five options for levelled reading. |
| NOVA | Compelling videos, simulations, teacher guides, and other activities. |
| PBS LearningMedia | PreK-12 digital media service. Search and browse thousands of learning materials to enrich instruction, including videos, interactive lesson plans, media galleries, and more. |
| Quarto Classroom |
A free video library on YouTube of Quarto’s creators using their books as teaching tools in educational spaces. |
| Smithsonian Learning Lab | An interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian’s expansive community of knowledge and learning. |
| Smithsonian: TweenTribune & TT Junior | A trustworthy tween news site searchable by grade, topic, and Lexile level for Grades K – 12. |
| TED-Ed | Supports kids’ sense of wonder with outstanding short video lessons |
| Wonderopolis | Each text has vocabulary practice, a comprehension quiz, and activities for further learning. The Immersive Reader tool increases text accessibility with read-aloud, picture dictionary, translation, and more. |
| YouTube Learning | Playlists and channels organized by subject area. |
| The Archievery | A free and safe online learning platform created by AT&T to provide K-12 students with engaging and entertaining videos paired with educational activities. English language arts, social-emotional learning, technology and engineering, digital arts, math, science, and digital literacy |
Physical and Health Education
| KidsHealth | Easy-to-follow articles, slideshows, videos, and health tools designed to help kids and teens learn, grow, and be their best. |
| PBS Learning Media’s Health & PE | Resources that provide essential lessons on physical, mental, and emotional health. |
| TED-Ed | Useful instructional videos with comprehension questions, additional resources, and guided discussion questions for Physical Fitness and Health. |
Science
| 100 Fun Science Experiments / Fair Projects | Amazing collection of science experiments and science fair projects that you can try with your kids and students at home or school. |
| Google Earth | Search for specific locations or quickly manually manoeuvre across the globe, zooming in to show detail to the level of parked cars and even pedestrians. Many world areas can be viewed in 3D, allowing students to see cities, the countryside, and famous landmarks in three dimensions. |
| Alchemie’s Animator | An app which allows users to build and share molecular animations to understand chemical concepts. Look for other apps by Alchemie Solutions, Inc. on Google Play and the App Store. |
| High-Adventure Science | Each module includes interactive computer-based systems, models and real-world data on unanswered questions scientists face today. Students explore evidence and discuss the issues of certainty and uncertainty, with the models and data. |
| HMXEarthScience | A collection of the best resources available to help teachers and students explore, learn, and review the scientific fields of astronomy, meteorology, and geology. |
| Learn Genetics | Multimedia tools to teach and understand complex biology topics. |
| Legends of Learning | Provides an engaging educational experience for at-home learning. Kids will love the educational games on the platform. The data is generated automatically with progress. |
| Nasa - STEM@Home | Videos, interactive multimedia, hands-on activities and more categorized by grade range. |
| National Geographic Education | A top geography resource site providing global exploration opportunities. |
| NOVA Labs | A digital platform that engages teens and lifelong learners in games and interactives that foster authentic scientific exploration. Conduct investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and sharing the same data that scientists use. |
| Ocean School | By the National Film Board of Canada. It’s bilingual, free and has Aboriginal content! A YouTube channel and an app on iOS. It uses video, virtual reality, interactive and 360-degree video, augmented reality, newsreels, toolkits and assessments. |
| PhET Interactive Simulations | Provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. |
| Science Buddies | K-12 STEM resources, including 160+ hands-on STEM activities and videos. Our activities cover different STEM concepts, can be done in an hour or less, and use materials easily found at home. |
| Smithsonian Science Education Center | Curriculum & resources searchable by type, grade and topic. |
| STEM Resource Finder | Engage your students with scientifically accurate virtual labs and hands-on digital tools. Make the invisible visible and explorable to bring out the inner scientist in everyone. |
| Xplorlabs | An educational platform designed to encourage students to “solve through science.” Includes interactive videos, instructional experiences, hands-on activities and creative challenges. |
Second Language
| The ASL App | Learn American Sign Language right from your phone. |
| ASL Kids | ASL learning app for Beginners & Kids. |
| Boukili | Help your students and children love reading in French. |
| Duolingo | A science-based language education platform that has organically become the most popular way to learn languages online. |
| Fingerspelling | Learn the ABCs in ASL with machine learning. |
| Games for Language | Online learning courses & games for a variety of languages. |
| HandsOnASL | Learn to fingerspell with sign language. |
| OnlineFreeSpanish | Dozens of games, colouring pages, and interactive activities by level can be accessed anytime on tablets or desktops. |
| Sign School | Learn American Sign Language |
STEAM
| 100+ STEM and STEAM Resources Livebinder | has a variety of tools, videos and resources for you to browse. |
| Teachers Pay Teachers | for design thinking worksheets and find art lessons here. |
| Design Squad Global | Interactive learning fun. |
| Engineer Girl | Engineer Girl shares positive role models and what they do. |
| Get Caught Engineering | STEM for Kids |
| Going from STEM to STEAM | A prezi sharing STEAM creatively. |
| Government of Canada lesson Plans | STEAM resources |
| How to Smile | A site that houses wonderful math and science activities. |
| Let’s Talk Science | STEAM at Home |
| NASA Middle grades STEM lesson plans | Free webinars for students! |
| PBS STEM Resource | A phenomenal site with lessons for K-12 in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math as well as professional development for teachers. |
| Planting T’s | A website dedicated to promoting design thinking in K-12 education. |
| SF MoMA Teacher Resources | This section of the San Francisco MoMA site for teachers is a goldmine of articles you can select and read with students, video interviews, project ideas and an entire section dedicated to STEAM. |
| STEAM Education Lessons | Provide several high-quality STEAM lessons that you can browse through.The STEAM Academy is a terrific site for advocating and sharing authentic STEAM projects and efforts. |
| Teach Engineering | The engineering design process emphasizes open-ended problem-solving and encourages students to learn from failure. This process nurtures students’ abilities to create innovative solutions to challenges in any subject! Fully aligned to engineering and STEM standards. |
| We are Teachers | 10 Innovative Projects that Take Learning from STEM to STEAM |
| Working in Scratch: Putting STEAM into Cross-Curricular Collaboration | A prezi that gives practical applications for using the computer program SCRATCH in the arts classrooms. |
Virtual Fieldtrips & Tours
| Parliament: The Virtual Experience | Virtual tour of the Parliment of Canada |
| British Natural History Museum | Virtual Museum: 14 ways to explore from home |
| Canadian Farm Food Virtual Tours | Learn how things are made and how animals are raised. |
| Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips | Promising amazing places and remarkable experiences, Discovery Education has many different cost-free tours available. |
| Ellis Island National Monument Tour | Virtually explore Ellis Island. |
| Hall of Planet Earth (Grades 6-8) |
Explore how plate tectonics explains specific Earth formations. |
| Lincoln Memorial |
Tour the memorial to this highly regarded President who presided during the Civil War. |
| London National Gallery |
The Virtual Gallery - Wherever you are in the world, you can experience the Gallery |
| Natural History Museum |
13 ways to explore from home |
| The Giant’s Causeway Virtual Tour |
A unique rock formation found in Ireland. This 360° experience is controlled by you. |
| Great Lakes Virtual Field Trip | Learn about the science, diversity, and ecology of these large freshwater lakes. |
| The Largest Cave in the World |
A wondrous cave in Vietnam that includes almost anything you can imagine! |
| The Manhattan Project Field Trip |
WWII Atomic Bombs: Learn about how the most powerful weapon in the world was made and the history behind it. |
| Royal Tyrrell Museum Park | Visit Canada’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the study of ancient life from home. |
| The Sistine Chapel | Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece cannot be photographed, but you may take a virtual tour here. |
| Slime in Space | This video field trip shows how slime acts in space. Watch astronauts play ping pong with it! |
| Smithsonian: National Museum of Natural History | Virtual Tours |
| The National Aquarium | Explore one of the best aquariums in the country in this interactive self-guided tour. |
| Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China | Virtually explore the great wall of China. |
Stirling Castle - Scotland 4K Virtual Walking Tour |
See Scotland's Sterling Sastle Museum. (YouTube) |
The Perfect Walk |
See historic sites, museums and more with me as I explore different places around the world. (YouTube) |
| Inside STIRLING CASTLE walking tour | Join us for a stroll through Scottish history, inside the incredible walls of Stirling Castle! (YouTube) |
| The United States Constitution Museum | Learn about what is considered the most important document the USA has ever written. |
| Virtual Planetarium | View the night sky from a planetarium and learn about the stars, constellations, planets and more. |
External Free Resources Gr. 10-12
Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies: Design Thinking and Making
| Autodesk Design Academy | Professional online STEM courses. Learn the skills you need to succeed tomorrow. |
| Fortnite Creative: Unreal Engine | Create a private island and build game creations tool and Twinmotion free visualization software. |
| Google Applied Digital Skills | Practical lessons teach critical computer skills. |
| Instructables | Makes it easy to learn how to make anything, one step at a time. |
| mBlock5.0 | A block-based coding platform based on Scratch and Python. It supports Makeblock robotics, Arduino, micro:bit, etc. |
| Mouse Open Projects |
Creative STEM, computer science and technology activities for students in grades 5-12. |
| Roblox Education |
Online tutorials and lesson plans teaching coding, design thinking and entrepreneurship. Our Team Create feature allows students to remotely collaborate on projects together. |
| RoboBlockly |
An online environment for learning math, coding, robotics, and Arduino, with over 1000 learning activities for a range of student levels, using both virtual and hardware robots. |
| Scratch | A creative coding platform that allows children of all ages to code, share, and remix their own stories, games, and animations. |
| The Tech at Home | STEM and Design Challenge activities for K-12 learners. |
| Technovation Girls Curriculum | A hands-on coding and entrepreneurship curriculum for teams of teens to develop a mobile app to address a real-world problem in their communities. |
| Tinkercad | A tool that supports design thinking and maker education. Tinkercad offers three different workspaces where students can design: 3D Design, Codeblocks, and Circuits. |
Arts Education
| 8notes.com |
Sheet music and resources for musicians, including tuners, chord charts, and lessons. |
| Blob Opera | Create your own opera-inspired song with Blob Opera; no music skills are required! |
| Flat | User-friendly music composition software that gives you all the tools you need to make your own sheet music. You can write, listen, share and discover music scores. |
| Institute for Arts Integration | Arts-integrated online learning experiences for students that include videos and lesson plans |
| Google Arts & Culture |
An excellent curation of art and culture and interactive activities that invite exploration. |
| National Gallery of Art |
From Byzantine altarpieces to pop art, learn about the collection’s paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and other works. |
| PBS Learning Media- Arts |
Resources, videos, and interactive lessons in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. |
| TedEd Visual Arts | Instructional videos with comprehension questions, additional resources, and guided discussion questions. |
Bible/Christian Studies
| Mini Bible Lessons | Short, self-guided lessons on topics of interest to teens |
| Open Network | Engaging video dramas and Bible-based topics complete with leader guides and activities. |
| Unlocked | A daily audio devotional for teens. |
Career Education
| DegreeHub |
Find the right university and major for you, powered by AI. Take the free 10-minute quiz to unlock your custom recommendations. |
| EngineerGirl | Information and tools that encourage girls to explore engineering. |
| EVERFI |
Standards-aligned, research-based digital lessons to teach students to thrive in an ever-changing world. |
| Thrively |
Guides students through a student-centred journey to discover their strengths, increase their self-awareness, set goals and track progress, build skills, and learn real-world problem-solving |
| SignalHill |
Life-building teaching tools to help you inspire and equip your K-12 students |
English Language Arts
| 826 Digital | A Good Time to Write: Remote Learning Kit Engage young writers of any age at home with this collection of 826 Digital writing prompts and activities. |
| Lit Guides by bartleby | Offers literature guides for classic novels and some other free resources. |
| LitCharts | A literary resource of over 1600 study guides and teaching materials for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literary devices, Shakespeare, and more. Most of the content is free and accessible to all. |
| Media-rich, full-text editions of Shakespeare’s plays with interactive content and study tools. | |
| National Novel Writing Month | A fun, empowering approach to creative writing. The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. |
| Natural Reader | A professional text to speech program that converts any written text into spoken words. |
| Poets.org | Hundreds of essays and interviews, audio clips, biographies of more than 500 poets and over 2000 poems. |
| Quill | Free tools to make your students better writers. Quill provides elementary, middle, and high school students with free writing and grammar activities. |
| Poetry Writing Analysis Guide | In-depth overview organized into topics, each with its own summaries, helpful links for further study and key terms. |
| ReadWorks | 1000’s of nonfiction & fiction differentiated reading passages with curriculum and supports designed to improve comprehension. |
| Scrible Edu | A robust research & writing platform. Google & Microsoft integrated. Students curate, annotate, cite, organize & collaborate on articles. |
| Storybird | A social storytelling site that helps kids create and publish storybooks; boosts writing skills with 700+ challenges. |
Curriculum Correlations
Math
Math Curriculum Comparison Chart
This quick reference chart compares various math curricula regarding instructor involvement, learning style, academic challenge, price, etc.
Math Correlations
- Exploring Creation with Mathematics
- Bridge the Gap Math
- Horizons
- Jump Math
- Life of Fred
- Math Lessons for a Living Education
- Math-U-See
- Principles of Mathematics
- RightStart Math Gr K - 8 (Gr 9 coming soon)
- Saxon Math
- Singapore Dimensions Math Middle School
- Singapore Primary Math 2022 Edition
- Singapore Math (Various)
- Teaching Textbooks
Math Supplementation Suggestions Using Subscriptions
If preferred, the information below is also available on one page.
Math Subscription Supplementation Suggestions by Grade
| K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| BC Exambank | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link |
| BrainPOP | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link | link |
| Gizmos | n/a | n/a |
n/a |
link | link | link | link | link | link | link |
Math Multiple Grade Subscription Supplementation Suggestions
- Learn360 (log in first; select BC Curriculum, Grade, and Subject for applicable videos)
-
Matific (filter by grade; must have a teacher account)
- Sora Virtual Library K – 3 Math Collection
Science and Social Studies
Science
- ACSI Science Grades 1-6
- Apologia Science Middle School Correlations with 3rd Editions General and Physical Science
- Berean Builder Science Series K-6
- Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Gr 1 - 6
- Exploring Creation with Earth Science Gr 1-6
- Middle School Science (various)
- My Pals Are Here Gr 1 - 6
Curriculum Correlations Packs
- Gr 8 God’s Design for the Physical World: Heat & Energy
- Gr 9 Pt 1 Exploring Creation with Biology
- Gr 9 Pt 2 Exploring Creation with Physical Science
Social Studies
- Donna Ward Grade 2 Social Studies
- Donna Ward Grade 3 Social Studies
- Donna Ward Grade 4 Social Studies
- Donna Ward Grade 5 Social Studies
Curriculum Correlations Packs
Diana Waring Romans, Reformers, and Revolutionaries
World Empires, World Missions, World Wars
Curriculum Donations
The Learning Commons welcomes donations of gently used curriculum (e.g., no rips or marks on pages) that are not older than 7 years. Novels, DVDs, and CDs are only accepted if they are part of a curriculum package. When we receive curriculum donations, we post them in our Used Bookstore for other families to purchase at a discounted rate.
Please email Library Administrator Shandra Wiebe for more information: swiebe@onlineschool.ca