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10 Best ELA Tools for Elementary Schoolers
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ReadWriteThink
Excellent free resource for all things reading and writing
Bottom line: A language arts teacher's dream; lesson plans, professional development, and all-around quality support.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
BrainPOP Jr.
Top-notch videos and activities a boon for elementary school teachers
Bottom line: BrainPOP Jr. sets the bar for top-quality online learning supplements.
Grades: K–3
Price: Paid Classroom access is $175 per year for up to three devices and school access is $1,450 per year. Coding activities require additional subscription fees.
Epic! - Kids' Books and Videos
Free, expansive digital library unlocks treasure trove of books
Bottom line: This large collection of books and videos on a wide variety of topics is an easy -- and free -- enhancement to any classroom library.
Grades: K–5
Price: Free to try Free to elementary school teachers and school librarians in the U.S. and Canada.
Flocabulary
Delightful hip-hop-based platform teaches vocab across content areas
Bottom line: Flocabulary has the goods: It's savvy enough to keep kids focused, and teachers will love the engaging, multi-modal platform.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free to try, Paid There's a free 30-day trial, then it's $120 per year for an individual teacher or $2,000 per year for a school. School plan includes additional features like assignable activities and progress tracking. District pricing is available by request.
ReadWorks
Differentiate reading instruction with high-quality texts and lessons
Bottom line: The quality and scope of texts, lesson plans, assessments, and supports on this platform can help facilitate targeted reading instruction in any classroom.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
News-O-Matic EDU
Daily news stories and supplements keep elementary schoolers current
Bottom line: This highly useful current events platform can be a daily fixture of elementary school classrooms.
Grades: 2–6
Price: Free to try Contact for price quote. Volume educational discounts and licenses available.
Pixton
Popular comic creation tool well-tuned to classrooms
Bottom line: Students will be motivated to share subject knowledge using the fun language of comics.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free to try, Paid Free 15-day trial. Pricing varies, starting at $8.99/month for 25 students and increasing from there. School or district pricing available.
StoriumEdu
Collaborative writing game inspires purposeful storytelling
Bottom line: With some planning and customization, this unique card game can motivate thoughtful and sustained creative writing in your classroom.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free to try There's a 30-day free trial, and then it's $10 per month (billed annually) for a teacher plan. School and district plans available; contact for pricing.
ThinkCERCA
Well-structured lessons encourage deep analysis, thoughtful writing
Bottom line: This is a ready-to-go, research-backed resource that focuses intently on CCSS-aligned and AP-level critical reading and writing skills.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Free Basic version limited to four grade band-based differentiation levels, short reading lessons, and multiple-choice assessments. Paid Premium version adds 10 levels of differentiation (grades 3-12), more in-depth and varied lessons, writing benchmarking, rubrics, data dashboards, and more. Contact for a quote.
StudySync
Superb ELA/EL resource is a complete package
Bottom line: StudySync continues to thoughtfully grow its already robust platform, offering a complete secondary ELA/EL program that cleverly bridges reading and writing, online and offline work.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free to try A one-year subscription starts at $21.42 per student. The print student reading and writing companion units cost $10.20 per student per year, and the print bundles (including two novels) start at $31.11 per student per year.