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10 Best ELA Tools for Elementary Schoolers

Building a strong foundation in reading, writing, and other ELA topics will provide students with the communication skills they'll need in all other subject areas. These elementary school-focused apps and websites offer engaging, well-designed experiences that appeal to younger kids' playful sensibilities and rich curiosity. There are reading tools that'll help students see the wonder and joy of books, writing and creation tools that unlock student imaginations, and proven instructional and assessment resources for teachers.

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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

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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.

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Epic! - Unlimited Books for Kids

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–6 Price: Free to try Free to elementary school teachers and school librarians in the U.S. and Canada.

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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.

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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

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News-O-Matic: School 2018-2019

Flexible, interactive daily stories for elementary school students

Bottom line: Engaging, high-quality news stories help students learn about the world.

Grades: 2–5 Price: $19.99 Volume educational discounts and licenses available.

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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.

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Shadow Puppet Edu

Resource-rich video slideshow maker a gem for a variety of classrooms

Bottom line: Easy-to-use free tool is a must-have for elementary classrooms; just keep an eye on sharing and privacy.

Grades: 2–12 Price: Free

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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.

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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.

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10 Best ELA Tools for Elementary Schoolers

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