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The Scarborough Reading Rope illustrates how various components, such as phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, come together to support a reader's ability to understand and interpret text.

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The simple view of reading explains that reading comprehension is the product of two key components: decoding words and understanding language.

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The key elements of reading instruction typically include phonics, vocabulary development, reading comprehension strategies, and fluency practice to build strong and proficient readers.

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The reading workshop framework is an instructional approach where students engage in independent reading, small group discussions, and teacher-led lessons to foster a love for reading and develop essential literacy skills.

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Reflection Questions on the Workshop Model

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Reflection Questions on the Workshop Model

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The Community - Science of Reading Course

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The Community - Science of Reading Course

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Investigate the on demand course in the community on The Science of Reading K-2 & 3-5, what to hold on to and what to shred.

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Fourth Grade Case Study

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Middle School Case Study

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Easy CBM is a free tool to use as a screener - could possibly be used as a diagnostic and/or progress monitoring.

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Dibels has free assessments for K-8. You download them to your computer.

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This manual includes information about DIBELS 8, how DIBELS 8 differs from previous editions of DIBELS, how to administer and score DIBELS 8 subtests, and how to use DIBELS 8 data to inform instructional decision-making.

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This manual includes information about DIBELS 8, how DIBELS 8 differs from previous editions of DIBELS, how to administer and score DIBELS 8 subtests, and how to use DIBELS 8 data to inform instructional decision-making.

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You can download the assessments in PDF form for free.

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Reading Assessments, Tools, and Resources | Acadience Learning

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Unlock the potential in each student with Acadience Reading, because you know that reading proficiency correlates with greater success in school and life.

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Phonemic Awareness Inventory - Informal.pdf

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These student assessments can be used to monitor student progress with phonological and phonemic awareness skills, and the results can be used to plan for instruction. The Heggerty Phonemic Awareness assessments are not required to teach the curriculum.
Please note: English assessments were updated August 2021 to align to the digital assessments now available on myHeggerty. For the previous version of the English assessments, please scroll to the bottom of the page and open the archive folder.
Pre-Kindergarten Assessments:

Progress Monitoring Assessments:
Progress monitoring assessments for individual phonemic awareness skills can be used to gather data about a students' progress. These assessments can be administered throughout the school year to students in Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade. Specific lessons from the Kindergarten and Primary curriculum are listed on each assessment, to assist teachers with planning for instruction.

↓ Initial Phoneme Isolation
↓ Final Phoneme Isolation
↓ Medial Phoneme Isolation
↓ Blending Syllables
↓ Blending Body Coda and Onset Rime
↓ Blending Phonemes
↓ Segmenting into Syllables
↓ Segmenting Onset-Rime
↓ Segmenting into Phonemes
↓ Adding Syllables
↓ Adding Initial or Final Phonemes
↓ Substituting Initial, Final, and Medial Phonemes
↓ Deleting Syllables
↓ Deleting Initial or Final Phonemes
↓ Deleting Initial Phonemes - Extra

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Phonemic Awareness Assessments & Lesson Plans | Heggerty

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Download free phonemic awareness assessments and lesson plans in English and Spanish for pre-k, kindergarten, and primary curriculums.

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Phonemic Awareness Assessment
The following assessments for preschool through first grade are provided by Literary Resources, Inc., a company that was created by thirty year veteran teacher, Dr. Michael Heggerty. As a first grade classroom teacher, Dr. Heggerty worked on an action research project on the importance of phonemic awareness in acquiring and mastering sound reading skills. These assessments are designed to be used throughout the school year. The same assessment can be given as a pre-assessment and then as a post-assessment, or a second assessment has been provided to be used at the end of the preschool year. This second assessment asks students to segment and blend with phonemes, and asks students to produce rhyming words. Both assessments are able to provide teachers with baseline data and data at the end of the school year. There is also an assessment provided for second grade and above if it is needed.

Informal Assessment

Formative/Summative Assessments

Target Grade Level: Pre-K-1

This assessment measures phonemic awareness.

Estimated Completion Time: 15 minutes

Format: Oral

This assessment should be administered individually.

Phonemic Awareness Assessment
This assessment was created by early reading specialist, Wiley Blevins. This assessment was published in his book Phonics from A to Z. This assessment measures the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds.

Informal Assessment

Target Age Range: 5-8

This assessment measures phonemic awareness.

Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes

Format: Oral

This assessment should be administered individually.

DIBELS Assessments
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade.They are designed to be short fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills. These research-based measures are linked to one another and predictive of later reading proficiency. The measures are also consistent with many of the Common Core State Standards in reading, especially the foundational skills. Listed below are the DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency. You can learn more about DIBELS here. You can access all DIBELS assessments here.

Formal Assessment

Target Grade Level: Pre-K-1

These assessments measure initial sound fluency and phoneme segmentation fluency.

Estimated Completion Time: 5 minutes

Format: Oral

This assessment should be administered individually.

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Phonemic Awareness Assessment This assessment was created by early reading specialist, Wiley Blevins. This assessment was published in his book Phonics from A to Z. This assessment measures the...

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Lesson slides, decodable passages, games, and additional practice.

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Lesson Resources

The UFLI Foundations Toolbox contains all the lesson resources to accompany the lesson plans provided in the UFLI Foundations manual. (Don't have a manual yet? Click here to order one) Every lesson has companion resources that will help you implement the lessons efficiently, effectively, and consistently.

Some of the companion lesson resources you will find below include:

Lesson slide decks (in PowerPoint and Google Slide formats)

Decodable passages

Homework sheets

Games and activities for additional practice

We have grouped the lessons into smaller units so you can access these resources more easily. Scroll down to use the buttons below to find the resources for each lesson or groups of lessons.

Please note that we are still building out these free resources, and we will be editing this page over the next few weeks. We wanted you to be able to access some materials as soon as possible, but be sure to come back later to see the rest!
New to UFLI Foundations? Learn about its development, check out a sample lesson plan, view the scope and sequence, and more.

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The UFLI Foundations Toolbox contains all the lesson resources to accompany the lesson plans provided in the UFLI Foundations manual. (Don't have a manual yet? Click here to order one) Every lesson has companion resources that will help you implement the lessons efficiently, effectively, and consistently.

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Free decodable books to read online (not print)

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Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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Decodable books for kids - download PDF and print.

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All texts currently on this website were created to support various versions of Focus on Early Learning, the PK through second grade curriculum of the Boston Public Schools. These texts were specifically written and illustrated to be culturally relevant and empowering to children in Boston.

Who should use Beyond Decodables?

Beyond Decodables are best for children working on applying phonics skills to decode words (K-2nd). Check the scope and sequence and the back page of each book to see if it is right for your students. Parents, you can use these books, too! Our Parent Guide is coming soon!

When during the day should I use Beyond Decodables?

Beyond Decodables are meant for small group and independent reading. Remember, the goal is for children to actively decode the words in these books, so you need to give them the chance to individually encounter and decode each word. For children who may need more support, we recommend considering using a different text or echo reading. Check out our lesson templates to see how to teach using these texts.

What do I need to change about my reading instruction to use Beyond Decodables?

There are a few ways your teaching might need to change to get the most out of these books. First, focus at least some small group reading lessons on applying phonics to read words in texts by following our templates and using Beyond Decodables. Second, change your prompting to focus on "Look at the word" and "Slide through each sound" instead of "Check the picture." Third, consider a new way of evaluating children's reading, like Drs. Nell K. Duke, Alessandra E. Ward, and Rachel Klingelhofer's Listening to Reading Protocol (available on Dr. Nell K. Duke's website). All of this and more in my new book, Reading Above the Fray. Find it everywhere books are sold.

Text are all about animals, their features, and their habitats.

*We also include consonant digraphs and suffix -s ending.

Texts are about economics, innovations, and inventors (and other persistent characters)

Also includes the beginning of the text series, Genius Gia, following one main character, Gia, as she learns about light, sound, and scientists/innovators

Texts are about innovations and inventors

Also includes two text series:

Genius Gia texts follow one main character, Gia, as she learns about light, sound, and scientists/innovators

The Magic Compass texts (digital/print is the same pdf) follow two siblings using a compass to navigate in their neighborhood

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Free Kids Books with Decodable Words | Beyond Decodables | Teacher Resources

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Beyond Decodables provides access to free kids books online with a focus on phonics and diversity. Kids books include decodable words related to CVC words, consonant diagraphs, CVCe Words, Multisyllabic Words, Consonant Blends, and Long Vowel Patterns.

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Beginning and Advanced decodable readers that can be read online.

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Congratulations! You are embarking on the most amazing journey! You are helping a child learn to read! Whether you are a librarian, parent, caregiver or someone who loves to help children read, we hope this program enables you to support young or struggling readers. Beginning Reading Instruction (BRI)/ Advanced Reading Instruction (ARI) is a highly researched, and simple reading program that helps children learn to decode. Anyone can use this program to work with a child.

About this Program

BRI is based on research funded by the United States Government to develop the optimal sequence of sounds, words, practice, and pacing for teaching children to read. The instruction was used in kindergarten classes across the United States, with a series of national studies demonstrating that the program successfully taught thousands of pre-school children to read. Researchers also tested the program extensively to verify its effectiveness in teaching young children to read.

A follow-up study found that young children who had learned to read in Kindergarten maintained their reading advantage through high school. This extensive research and evaluation account for the effectiveness of this program. No other reading series since has been so scientifically and carefully developed.

How We Support You

The first step in this program is to read through the brief guide. The guide, along with the three sets of books, and the booster set (extra practice) are all you need to begin teaching a child to read. Additional materials, such as tests to make sure a child has mastered the skills after they complete each set, and ways to keep track of progress are included.

Download your guide here!

Download assessment forms for BRI to test mastery of skills after each set of books.

Download forms to keep track of the books you complete within each set.

Beginning Reading Instruction eBooks
Beginning Reading Instruction-Set 1 Beginning Reading Instruction-Set 2 Beginning Reading Instruction-Set 3 Beginning Reading Instruction-Booster Set
Advanced Reading Instruction eBooks
Advanced Reading Instruction-Set 1 Advanced Reading Instruction-Set 2 Advanced Reading Instruction-Set 3 Advanced Reading Instruction-Booster Set 1 Advanced Reading Instruction-Booster Set 2

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Beginning Reading Instruction - Teach My Kid To Read

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Congratulations! You are embarking on the most amazing journey! You are helping a child learn to read! Whether you are a librarian, parent, caregiver or someone who loves to help children read, we hope this program enables you to support young or struggling readers. Beginning Reading Instruction (BRI)/Advanced Reading Instruction (ARI) is a highly researched,...

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Free books to read online.

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Reading for All Learners Home Education and School Closure Edition

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UFLI text & AI generated pictures - creates an upper elementary decodable reader.

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© COPYRIGHT 2005-2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Second Grade and Third Grade Student Center Activities Phonemic Awareness | Phonics | Fluency | Vocabulary | Comprehension

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Fourth and Fifth Grade | Florida Center for Reading Research

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Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade Student Center Activities Advanced Phonics | Fluency | Vocabulary | Comprehension

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Please enable JavaScript for this site to work properly.

Learning about the building blocks of words can help you make sense of unfamiliar words.

Differentiated vocabulary for your students is just a click away.

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Learning about the building blocks of words can help you make sense of unfamiliar words.

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"In Shifting the Balance, 3-5 , Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates go beyond the science of reading being only phonics. Taking a deeper dive into vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and word identification for upper elementary students, this book helps teachers understand what is needed in their instruction through easy-to-read case scenarios. Thanks to these authors for once again bridging hearts and minds."

Donna Hejtmanek Retired Educator and Creator of the Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook Group

" Shifting the Balance, 3-5 brings the Science of Reading from theory to direct application. This new take on literacy instruction brings forth the hope of long-lasting knowledge and continued growth for students. It is not only a thorough approach but is realistic and best of all, attainable!"

Clorasteen Wilson , Structured Literacy Instructor, Associate/OGA

"Teaching reading can sometimes feel like an impossible task. Our classrooms are filled with diverse groups of learners that present all different levels of instructional need. Shifting the Balance, 3-5 gives teachers tools they need to incorporate reading instruction that is purposeful and student-centered. With data driven techniques and lessons, this book will set up any upper elementary school classroom with success."

Michaela Durr , New York City Teacher

"While many of the big conversations about the Science of Reading (SOR) research have focused on the foundational skills in primary grades, upper elementary teachers no longer need to feel left in the dark. With this gem, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates skillfully supply six scientifically-sound shifts―answering the big questions & providing high-leverage instructional routines, while weaving in all five pillars of reading. No matter where you are on your SOR journey, this sensational book is a must-read for all!"

Michelle Sullivan of The Colorful Classroom & Elementary Literacy Coach

"Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates clarify misunderstandings, summarize the research in an accessible way, and provide suggestions for what they call high-leverage routines to help teachers enhance their instruction and support students' growth as readers. Thoughtful, well-researched, and teacher-friendly, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to explore how to implement effective literacy instruction for readers beyond grade two."

Lisa Maucione , Reading Specialist, Dartmouth Public Schools, MA

"As the field of reading instruction continues to reinvent itself, so many of us elementary educators find ourselves in need of a road map. The authors of this second volume of Shifting the Balance step in, validate our good intentions, and offer to guide us as we reflect on, reconsider, refine and reimagine our practice. I look forward to referencing the ideas and resources in this edition (and online) as I continue striving to equip my students for meaningful reading experiences, now and in the future."

Katie McAlister , First Grade Classroom Teacher

"With all the noise in the world about reading instruction, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates discuss a practical, research-driven, and student-based way to shift our reading instruction into balance and clarity. They've done the hard thinking in order to zoom in on what is necessary to teach intermediate readers to succeed."

Jeff Anderson , Lead author of the Patterns of Power series (PreK-12)

"The science of reading isn't just for the primary grades! In their clear and readable style, Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates examine the research and show teachers of grades 3-5 exactly how to apply it. With zero judgment and endless encouragement, the authors will inspire teachers to rethink current practices and make research-based decisions to help every student."

Anna Geiger , M.Ed., Host of the Triple R Teaching podcast and creator of The Measured Mom website

Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham is committed to supporting teachers in making learning joyful, purposeful, and evidence-based. She is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Sacred Heart University where she teaches literacy methods and children's literature courses. Her other work includes Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness and Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning .

Dr. Jan Burkins is a full-time writer and literacy consultant dedicated to helping teachers and those who lead them negotiate the competing tensions in our field. Her favorite work is conducting literacy audits with schools and districts. Her other books include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2) , co-authored with Kari Yates, and Who's Doing the Work: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More , co-authored with Kim Yaris.

Kari Yates is an author, speaker, and consultant with a passion for helping busy literacy educators thrive. Her other works include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2) co-authored with Jan Burkins, To Know and Nurture a Reader Conferring with Confidence and Joy , co-authored with Christina Nosek, and Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom .

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Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom

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Amazon.com: Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom: 9781625315977: Cunningham, Katie, Burkins, Jan, Yates, Kari: Books

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Literacy Instruction in Secondary Education Classrooms

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Who doesn't enjoy sharing their opinions and arguing to defend them? It's a favorite pass-time. In the case of our students, it's a phenomenal way to drum up excitement about a topic and increase the level of engagement they will have when reading the text regarding that topic.

Evidence proves that encouraging students to engage with a text by predicting content is an effective way of ensuring students focus on the text as they read. Students gain more robust understanding of the content since they will ultimately either note confirmation of their previously considered predictions or will discover that their preconceived notions were challenged by the text.

Successful adolescent readers routinely do this in many ways by reading the back of a book, looking over the book's cover, skimming over the chapter titles, and attempting to gather all sorts of information about a text to get excited about reading. However, so many struggling readers avoid this and trudge straight into reading.

The teacher selects a text for students to read.

The teacher reads the text over multiple times to figure out what the text's main ideas and takeaways are.

The teacher creates a set of 3-6 general statements directly related to the the text. (These statements should be related to major overarching issues addressed in the text. )

Students are given the set of statements and are instructed to read each statement carefully.

Students are told to decide whether they agree or disagree with each statement.

Then, students are given the text the statements were derived from.

Students are instructed to read the text and to keep each of the statements from the anticipation-reaction guide in mind as they work through it.

By the time students finish reading the text, all of the issues from the statements should have been addressed, so students are instructed to review the statements and compare their previous answers to what they now know feel is correct.

The reaction portion of an anticipation-reaction guide activity requires students to come to final conclusions about what the text actually states as the answer to the questions provided on the anticipation-reaction guide. Students get to ask themselves questions such as, "Did I guess right?" "Was my initial guess confirmed?" "Am I surprised by the real answer?" Relating their new knowledge to their prior knowledge helps build stronger, long-term connections to the information learned in a passage.
An example of an anticipation-reaction guide is included below. This particular example is focused on facts, but a more powerful implementation of an anticipation-reaction guide would be to have students think about bigger ideas or to take a stand on different issues addressed in a text. ​

The guide below is an example of how not to do an anticipation-reaction guide. It's still better than no pre-reading activity at all, but the types of statements I used in these old anticipation-reaction guides are limiting since they have a correct answer. Students still enjoyed the activity and took more away from the reading as a result of having engaged with this guide, but using statements that are up for debate makes for a stronger effect.

References and Recommended Reading:
Beers, K. (2003). When kids can't read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sec-rdng2/cresource/q3/p10/
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/anticipation-guides

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literacy strategies for high school students

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Anticipation-Reaction Guides: Evidence proves that encouraging students to engage in a text by predicting content is an effective way of ensuring students focus on the text as they read.

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Lenski, S. D., Wham, M. A., & Johns, J. L. (1999). Reading and learning strategies for middle and high school students. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Taba, H. (1967).Teacher's handbook for elementary social studies. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Tierney, R.J., & Readence, J.E. (2000). Reading strategies and practices: A compendium (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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List-group-label is a form of semantic mapping. The strategy encourages students to improve their vocabulary and categorization skills and learn to organize concepts. Categorizing listed words, through grouping and labeling, helps students organize new concepts in relation to previously learned concepts.

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List-Group-Label is an interactive strategy that engages students in developing their vocabulary and connections between words and ideas. It helps students learn to better categorize and organize information by activating their critical thinking skills while working together as a group.

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Birbili, M. (2007). Mapping Knowledge: Concept Maps in Early Childhood Education . Retrieved November 4, 2008.

Council for Exceptional Children, the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) and the Division for Research (DR). Graphic Organizers: Power Tools for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities (528K PDF)*.

Hyerle, D. (1996). Visual tools for constructing knowledge. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervisors of Curriculum Development.

Novak, Joseph D. (1998). Learning, creating, and using knowledge: Concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and corporations. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Noyd, Robert. (1998). A primer on concept maps. USAFA Educator, 7(1).

Schroeder, N.L., Nesbit, J.C., Anguiano, C.J. et al. Studying and Constructing Concept Maps: a Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review 30, 431-455 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9403-9

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A concept map is a visual organizer that can enrich students' understanding of a new concept. Using a graphic organizer, students think about the concept in several ways. Most concept map organizers engage students in answering questions such as, "What is it? What is it like? What are some examples?"

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The ABC Brainstorming strategy is an excellent way to access student's prior knowledge. According to John Hattie, activating prior knowledge (0.98) is a powerful teaching strategy that has great impact on student achievement.

About ABC Brainstorming

ABC Brainstorming helps to structure students' thinking by asking them to generate ideas that begin with each letter of the alphabet. It is a quick way to generate thoughts and measure prior knowledge. It is sometimes called the Alphabet Brainstorm.

Steps

Preparation

1. Select the general topic.

2. Prepare a template organized with the 26 letters of the alphabet and a spot next to each letter where students can record ideas.

3. If this is the first time using the activity, you can prepare a completed ABC brainstorming template about a different topic. Write the general topic at the top or in the middle of the page, and then write a word, phrase, or sentence beginning with each letter related to the topic.

Activity Steps

1. Select a topic. Topics that work well with ABC Brainstorming tend to be broad.

2. Distribute a template and have students enter the name of the topic at the top or in the middle of the template.

3. Ask students to think of at least one word, sentence, or idea related to the topic that begins with each letter of the alphabet. They should then enter them on the template in any order. However, encourage students to try to think of at least one idea for each letter, and to think of more than one for a letter if they are able to. Make sure you give students enough time to think of a lot of ideas.

4. Next, debrief as a whole class or in small groups. Ask students to share what they brainstormed for each letter. Students compare and contrast their ideas.

5. Allow students to reflect on their learning. Students could respond to questions such as: How is brainstorming different from other types of thought? How can brainstorming help you to learn a topic? How does the structure of this activity help you to come up with ideas you might not otherwise think of?

If the topic were World War II, students might list Allies, Bombers, Concentration Camps, D-Day, Europe, French Resistance, Germany, Hitler, Italy, Japan, and so on.

Templates

Variations

1. AlphaBlocks: Rather than brainstorm ideas for all 26 letters of the alphabet, students brainstorm ideas within groups ("blocks") of letters (ABC, DEF, GHI, etc). This simplifies and speeds up the brainstorming, while still causing students to turn their attention to and think about the topic at hand.

2. Partial-alphabet brainstorm: You could give students only a portion of the alphabet to work with. Or you could divide the alphabet into quarters or thirds and have groups work on only one section.

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Access Prior Knowledge with ABC Brainstorming

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Are you looking for a way to access student's prior knowledge? If so, try the ABC Brainstorming strategy that works for any grade level or subject area.

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Join us for our Virtual Field Trips or watch them on-demand after their premieres. Each no-cost Virtual Field Trip comes with a companion guide packed with standards-aligned, hands-on learning activities! Select one of the options below to register.

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Take students beyond the classroom and into some of the world's most iconic locations with virtual field trips. Learn more!

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Virtual field trips are a game changer. Not only do they fill in for real field trips when budgets and other roadblocks prevent in-person options, but virtual field trips also open doors to educational experiences all over the country and the world, both past and present. No fundraising or permission slips required!

(Note: For anyone who needs it, YouTube offers a closed-captioning option. Just click the CC button in the bottom right-hand corner.)

Amazon Career Tours are free virtual field trips that inspire students to pursue careers of the future. Tour whenever, wherever on Kahoot! Each tour comes with a Teacher Toolkit that includes a facilitation guide and student worksheets.

2. The Zoo

There are so many amazing online options when it comes to zoos that we couldn't narrow it down to just one. Most zoos have live webcams in some of their most popular exhibits, such as the KC Zoo Polar Bear Cam and the Giant Panda Cam at Smithsonian's National Zoo. However, some zoos offer a more in-depth look. You'll definitely want to check out the San Diego Zoo as their site for kids includes behind-the-scenes videos and stories, as well as a variety of printable activities and online games. Check out our full list of virtual zoo goodness.

3. The Aquarium

It's a similar story with aquariums. You have your pick of live webcams, but our favorites are the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager webcam (wait for the whale shark!) and the "Jelly Cam" at Monterey Bay Aquarium (so soothing). The Seattle Aquarium even has a 30-minute video tour. Want more under-the-sea fun? Here's our ultimate list of virtual aquarium field trips.

4. The Farm

The classic preschool field trip goes online! You can have your pick of dairy farm field trips, but we like this one from the Dairy Alliance and this one from Stonyfield Organic. Farm Food 360 gives students the opportunity to immerse themselves in Canadian farm and food tours-from raising pigs to making milk and cheese. We're also loving these virtual egg farm field trips from the American Egg Board.

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5. An Art Museum

We found 20 art museums with virtual tours, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art's # MetKids and its awesome Where's Waldo? setup. And you can't miss the world-famous Louvre in Paris (no passport needed!). Check out the current virtual tours: Traveling Materials and Objects, the Advent of the Artist, the Body in Movement, and Founding Myths: From Hercules to Darth Vader!

6. A National Park

From webcams at Hawaii volcanoes to a virtual run along the rim of the Grand Canyon, you have tons of options here. Our top pick would have to be Yellowstone. The interactive maps are a great way to see the Mammoth Hot Springs and Mud Volcano, but we think kids will be psyched about the Old Faithful Geyser livestream and the opportunity to make their own predictions for its next eruption. Check out everything the National Park Service has to offer virtually.

7. A Planetarium

Through Stellarium Web, kids can explore over 60,000 stars, locate planets, and watch sunrises and solar eclipses. If you enter your location, you can see all the constellations that are visible in the night sky in your corner of the world.

Take your students on a virtual field trip of a recycling center and a modern landfill. Plus, there's a full-on curriculum that includes lesson plans, take-home handouts, and more.

Nickelodeon teamed up with two astronauts on the International Space Station to demonstrate how slime reacts to microgravity and had kids reproduce those same demonstrations back here on Earth. It makes for an amazing 15-minute virtual field trip.

The Nature Conservancy has a brand-new virtual field trip entitled "You're the Scientist! Citizen Science, Frogs & Cicadas." Check out their full library of videos on topics like climate change and water security.

Discovery Education hosts a variety of virtual events -each with a companion guide with hands-on learning activities. Current offerings include "Making a New Life: The Courage of a Refugee" and "The Future Is Now" (architectural and engineering innovations). Stay tuned for their upcoming civics virtual field trip, "The American Ideal."

This virtual field trip from Great Lakes Now has three components: coastal wetlands, algae, and lake sturgeon. Each video is a quick five minutes long.

Explore online exhibits and discover the history and evolution of play. Check out board games that changed play, sports video games that shaped digital play, and the making of Monopoly to name a few.

Kids can learn about the most recent Census and how census data is collected and used. This virtual field trip also features interviews with subject matter experts and an interactive challenge.

The "Museum of We the People," the Constitution Center serves as a "headquarters for civic education." Check out the Interactive Constitution section, and be sure to watch the virtual tour.

Houston, we have a virtual field trip. Three, actually. All with companion educator guides. The star of the show is the behind-the-scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center.

Boise State put together this fully interactive virtual field trip with text, photos, audio, and video about the history of music. The four featured music locations are: Vienna, Austria; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia.

This living-history museum provides a look into life in an early American community. The website offers five different webcams featuring areas such as the tavern and the armory.

This virtual experience of George Washington's home is incredibly well done. Enter the different buildings-from the opulent mansion to the chilling slave quarters-and click on different items for video and text explanations.

This virtual tour comes with a real tour guide! Blaine Kortemeyer is the Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education, who lends his expertise on the building of this national monument. The 3D Explorer is also an excellent tool.

Take a visit to the National WWII Museum for "a cross-country virtual expedition to discover the science, sites, and stories of the creation of the atomic bomb." Don't forget to download the classroom guide!

For a look inside the iconic building, check out the 360° tour of some of the most historic rooms of the People's House, from the Situation Room to the Oval Office. Examine each room and check out the contents up close.

The National Museum of Natural History's virtual experiences are self-guided, room-by-room tours of permanent, current, and past exhibits. Be sure to send kids to the second floor Bone Hall so they can take a look at all different kinds of skeletons.

A collaboration with over 1,200 leading museums and archives, Google Arts & Culture is an incredible storehouse of monumental works of art. We recommend the Street View and Play sections.

Boasting the world's largest collection of 360° image videos, 360 Cities provides kids with the opportunity to see stunning panoramas across the globe, including their video of the ice floe on the Vistula River in Poland.

It's the official residence of the Queen of England, and boy, is it opulent! Get a peek inside the gorgeous Grand Staircase, White Drawing Room, Throne Room, and Blue Drawing Room.

See one of the wonders of the world with this amazing, thousands-year-old fortification system known the world over. This virtual tour has four scenes available (you have to pay to get access to all 14). The bird's-eye view of Mutianyu pass is a highlight.

Most of us recognize the giant stone statues of Easter Island, but what's the story behind them? Nova's online adventure "Secrets of Easter Island" delves into the mystery with a virtual tour.

National Geographic lets you explore the world's largest cave, located in Vietnam. Use the interactive map to enjoy the fully immersive experience (sound on!).

You don't need a time machine! Discovering Ancient Egypt has a ton of free resources, but it's the interactive pyramid map and 3D temple reconstructions that really give it a field trip feel.

Virtually visit Turn Back the Clock, a museum exhibit that ran for two years at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Through compelling personal stories, innovative interactive media, and pop culture artifacts, the exhibit takes guests through seven decades of history-from the dawn of the nuclear age to significant policy questions our leaders face today.

No, really! You can absolutely "go" to the red planet. With Access Mars, you can see the actual surface of Mars, recorded by NASA's Curiosity rover. Trust us-don't skip the intro. And if your kids liked that, check out this 4K tour of the moon. These may go down in history as some of the best virtual field trips your students get to experience.

Take a virtual tour of this historical battleship located on the Camden waterfront. This battleship has traveled more miles than any other!

No need to travel to Rome! Take in the amazing art and architecture located in the Vatican Museums with these 360-degree views.

Download the app and climb aboard the virtual tram line! Take a virtual walk through the Space Center Houston with informational stops along the way.

Virtually visit museum rooms in the famous Louvre located in Paris. Even check out The Louvre kids' site for student-friendly galleries and stories. You can't visit The Louvre without seeing the Mona Lisa, so check out their immersive Mona Lisa experience available in the app store.

This interactive tour of Ellis Island lets students explore places like the Baggage Room and the Stairs of Separation through short stories, historical photographs, videos, and audio clips. Students can also hear the stories of real kids who recently immigrated to the United States, explore colorful charts and graphs with immigration data, and watch a 30-minute movie that includes a Q&A with National Park Service Rangers who explain what coming to America was like for many immigrants.

38. Plimoth Patuxet Museums

Travel back to the 17th century with options for free, on-demand, digital resources or a live, 1-hour virtual school program led by a Plimoth Patuxet Contemporary Indigenous Museum Educator. Students explore Wampanoag daily life and history; discover the real history of Thanksgiving and the legend behind it; meet a 17th-century Pilgrim; get an interactive sneak peak into 17th-century wardrobes; and learn about simple machines and water power at the Plimoth Grist Mill. There are also options for virtual hands-on history workshops, including Wampanoag Pottery and Write Like a Pilgrim.

When you can't visit the museum in person, 3D virtual field trips to the Children's Museum Houston are the next best thing. All videos are produced and curated by museum educators and feature hands-on activities that can be done in the classroom. Topics include nutrition, math, states of matter, forces and properties of water, and more.

Beyond the Battle Field is a virtual field trip for grades 2-8 hosted by Lauren Tarshis, author of the I Survived historical-fiction series for kids. Students will meet a museum educator as well as the museum curator, and explore artifacts and documents from the American Revolution. Plus they'll hear the stories of teens who served during the war. There's also a Classroom Kit available with a vocabulary list and discussion questions by grade level.

If you liked this roundup of the best virtual field trips and want more resources like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

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40 Amazing Educational Virtual Field Trips

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You can't always get there in person, but lots of places will let you "visit" online. These are the best virtual field trips out there!

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This discussion technique gives students the opportunity to respond to questions and/or discuss information with a variety of peers in a structured manner. Students form two concentric circles and exchange information with a partner until the teacher signals the outer circle to move in one direction, giving each student a new peer to talk to.

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This comprehension strategy activates students' prior knowledge, builds curiosity about a new topic before learning about it, and then checks for understanding after the topic is presented. Before beginning the lesson, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts within the new content and choose whether they agree or disagree.

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This partner strategy allows students to work together to solve a problem or respond to a question. Students walk around the room while having a structured talk with a partner, providing an opportunity to move and process their learning.

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SOR What to hold on to and what to shred (focus on BK and Vocabulary)

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This ode to the timeless magic of summer evenings spent outside will remind kids of the fun and friends that wait just outside their doors and leave adults smiling with nostalgia for their own dusk explorations.

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Decodables e-Library | Just Right Reader

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Decodable books reflecting the diversity in our schools, delighting readers with laugh-out-loud stories, including interactive reading lessons, and following a rigorous phonics progression.

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DecodableReads™ are short, engaging stories that reinforce consistent, common vowel patterns in words and high-frequency words. Read more about the rationale behind DecodableReads: Scope and Sequen…

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Free decodable comics for applying phonics skills.

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All texts currently on this website were created to support various versions of Focus on Early Learning, the PK through second grade curriculum of the Boston Public Schools. These texts were specifically written and illustrated to be culturally relevant and empowering to children in Boston.

Who should use Beyond Decodables?

Beyond Decodables are best for children working on applying phonics skills to decode words (K-2nd). Check the scope and sequence and the back page of each book to see if it is right for your students. Parents, you can use these books, too! Our Parent Guide is coming soon!

When during the day should I use Beyond Decodables?

Beyond Decodables are meant for small group and independent reading. Remember, the goal is for children to actively decode the words in these books, so you need to give them the chance to individually encounter and decode each word. For children who may need more support, we recommend considering using a different text or echo reading. Check out our lesson templates to see how to teach using these texts.

What do I need to change about my reading instruction to use Beyond Decodables?

There are a few ways your teaching might need to change to get the most out of these books. First, focus at least some small group reading lessons on applying phonics to read words in texts by following our templates and using Beyond Decodables. Second, change your prompting to focus on "Look at the word" and "Slide through each sound" instead of "Check the picture." Third, consider a new way of evaluating children's reading, like Drs. Nell K. Duke, Alessandra E. Ward, and Rachel Klingelhofer's Listening to Reading Protocol (available on Dr. Nell K. Duke's website). All of this and more in my new book, Reading Above the Fray. Find it everywhere books are sold.

Text are all about animals, their features, and their habitats.

*We also include consonant digraphs and suffix -s ending.

Texts are about economics, innovations, and inventors (and other persistent characters)

Also includes the beginning of the text series, Genius Gia, following one main character, Gia, as she learns about light, sound, and scientists/innovators

Texts are about innovations and inventors

Also includes two text series:

Genius Gia texts follow one main character, Gia, as she learns about light, sound, and scientists/innovators

The Magic Compass texts (digital/print is the same pdf) follow two siblings using a compass to navigate in their neighborhood

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Free Kids Books with Decodable Words | Beyond Decodables | Teacher Resources

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Beyond Decodables provides access to free kids books online with a focus on phonics and diversity. Kids books include decodable words related to CVC words, consonant diagraphs, CVCe Words, Multisyllabic Words, Consonant Blends, and Long Vowel Patterns.

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SPELD SA Phonic Book Sets

About the series

The SPELD SA Phonic Book Series complements the teaching of reading and writing using a structured synthetic phonics approach. SPELD SA aims to help Aboriginal students engage with phonic books by having characters, content and settings that reflect Aboriginal communities.

We understand that the content, settings and characters may not reflect all Aboriginal people and their experiences but hope that Aboriginal students learning to read can find some familiarity in and connection with these books in their literacy journey.

About the cover

Elizabeth Close is an Anangu woman from the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara language groups in the APY Lands in outback South Australia. She was born in Adelaide and spent much of her upbringing in remote communities, learning her language and receiving cultural education.

'This artwork represents the literacy and numeracy learning journey, and the path towards independent learning. The circles represent the collaborative learning and supports around children with specific learning difficulties, including children, schools, families, SPELD SA and others.'  Elizabeth Close, Artist.

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Our Phonic Books support the teaching of reading by using a structured synthetic phonics approach (Sounds-Write and Jolly Phonics series). They are designed to build on the pre-reading skills of oral language and phonological awareness needed for reading success.

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Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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Small Group Decodable Lesson Plan Template