39 Peer-Recommended Resources for Special Education Teachers

New Jersey Alternate Route candidates specializing in Special Education recently recommended free web resources that they’ve consulted when preparing lessons and engaging, relevant activities for students. Their suggested resources are a part of our blog series featuring go-to-Websites, blogs, and other online teaching and reference materials for helping our state’s youth achieve the NJ Student Learning Standards. More than 300 teachers participated in this professional swap and share, with many contributing lesser-known resources that even seasoned educators will be excited to discover.  Read why Special education educators love the resources they recommend.   

Achieve 3000

"This site can be used for ELA and/or Social Studies. There are multiple articles to read.  When students take the first benchmark it levels them automatically. Each article addresses the same topic but is leveled for different abilities. So, when they are reading an article, it is modified to each student's level. There is a poll question before reading and one after reading. There are multiple choice questions and an open-ended question.  As they read different articles and improve their abilities, it constantly adjusts the level for them."
-Robin S., Grades K-5

ADDitude - Inside the ADHD Mind

"ADDitude provides resources for parents and professionals, including teachers, working with children identified as having ADHD. They offer a free newsletter with the latest articles and ADHD research and frequently host free webinars on ADHD and related topics, such as trauma, emotional regulation, and comorbid disabilities common with ADHD, such as conduct disorder and dyslexia."
-Kristen T., Grades 6-8

AFIRM modules

"The benefit of this site is that Special Education teachers can get free training on Evidence Based Practices (EBP) to implement inside their classrooms. The EBPs are used in the autistic population but these are considered best practices that can be used for any special learner."
-Letecia D., Grades K-5

American Council of the Blind

"Provides resources for teachers. Tips on how to accommodate students with blindness or visual impairments in the classroom. It also provides education resources for students and parents."
-Sarah T., Grades K-5
 

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

"Provides resources and articles for teachers, specialists, and students with disabilities relating to speech and language."
-Sarah T., Grades K-5

Arcademics

"These are math games I sometimes allow my students to play in small groups. They are all math-related, and the students really seem to enjoy them!"
-Kenneth K., Grades K-5

Autism Internet Modules

"Although very specific to students on the spectrum, this site contains a vast array of modules that provide different ABA focused interventions for students; much of the interventions can be used within the classroom to help students with special needs."
-Rachel  S., Grades K-5

Blooket

"This site gives the students the ability to interact with one another while playing a game that pertains to the lesson and gives them incentive to want to continue to learn and play at the same time."
-Christina R., Grades 6-8

Boom cards

"This site allows me to download decks of educational activities for my students to utilize."
-Dawn V., Grades 9-12  
 

CK12

"The site provides free resources such as digital textbooks, content application simulators, and adaptive online practice that is easily accessible to teachers and students. The site is also consistently updating with new materials, and all materials are easily transferred to educational platforms such as Google Classroom."
-Victor C., Grades 9-12

Clever

"The benefits of using the Clever site are that you can download apps that can be used for supplemental or complementary learning. Most of the apps on this site provide computerized assessments so that the teacher can identify the level the students are on. The apps also help build lessons which the students work on to grow their skills and knowledge. Teachers can import the students' names and accounts from Google classroom which then allows the teacher to monitor the students' progress and time on the site. The site provides immediate feedback for the teacher so that adjustments can be made if needed."
-Letecia D., Grades K-5
 

Cool Math

"Cool Math has lessons and games for your students to play. It works on math skills as well as critical thinking. It is used to teach strategy or to practice math concepts. I like to use this website on Fridays, as a Friday Funday. The games reinforce math skills while allowing students to have fun."
-Diane L., Grades 6-8
 

Cyber Civics

"The benefits of cyber civics for the global and digital citizenship class that I teach is that it gives explicit lessons that I can teach with PowerPoints. They are all about how to be safe online and being a good person online- how to comment in a nice way, how to design safe websites, it's a great site."
-Gianna D., Grades 9-12 
 

Discovery Education

"This content went along with the holiday observance theme for the week's lessons, Halloween for example. Incorporating content applying a holiday observance theme like Halloween provides a strategic way to get the students involved in the lesson.  Searching for the content needed for the lesson was easy and the site also made it simple to copy the link to share with the students."
-Jaime B., Grades K-5

"This site provides teachers with resources in curriculum, professional development, virtual field trips, daily learning activities and STEM activities."
-Kristy M., Grades K-5
 

EdPuzzle

"This is great for all ages, and all subjects. Students can watch and rewatch then answer questions as they go along. I find this helps them retain the information in several different ways."
-Christina R., Grades 6-8
 

Edutopia

"Edutopia has a combination of videos and articles that are informative and easy to locate to the web site."
-Robin P., Grades K-5

Epic

"Books can be read by students, to students and in Spanish."
-Feriza I., Grades K-5
 

Flocabulary

"This site allows you to play music with content area information for your students to learn. You can also have students complete quizzes and come up with their own song lyrics."
- Jaclyn R., Grades K-5

Go Noodle

"GoNoodle is a site with many different videos for brain breaks. There are ones that are fast moving that you can dance to and can exercise to. There are ones that are calming and for meditation. They make for a great way to break up learning in the classroom. They offer students a way to take their minds off working in a fun way. The videos can be as short as one minute long to ten minutes long."
-Robin S., Grades K-5

HOLT

"This is a great website for ELA, especially if you teach with novels.  You can search by novel title. They have most of the popular novels read in middle school and high school. When you click on the novel you want, it gives you a list of super helpful resources. They have introductory information, character summaries, graphic organizers, worksheets, summaries, whole group activities, and tests for each book too."
-Nancy S., Grades K-8

Intervention Central 

"This website has articles that have great ideas for how to work with special education students. These concepts and tips can be used for general education students as well. For example, the Class Pass is used so students can take a break before getting frustrated or as a reward."
-Michael S., Grades 9-12
 

I-Ready

"I-Ready provides students with both math and reading lessons. They base the lessons on the student’s ability at the moment when they take the test. They provide excellent information for teachers to see where a student excels and what they need more help with."
-Kenneth K., Grades K-5

Learning A-Z

"Create spelling lists and activities for practice."
-Feriza I., Grades K-5

Liveworksheets

"Real time worksheets on many different levels and subjects. You can create your own account that allows kids to receive and complete worksheets from home which are then emailed directly to you as the teacher. They worksheet assignments are also graded for you.  You can create your own; you can use what is there; you can print them out to us in person. Fun and engaging worksheets! Totally free."
-Kimberly J., Grades K-5

Math Antics

"If you teach math, this site is fantastic!! It has videos, exercises, worksheets-and answer keys all in separate sections for each math topic. Everything from basic numeracy skills to algebra."
-Nancy S., Grades K-8

N2Y

"Standards based curriculum created specifically for lower-level learners.  Includes many accommodations, including text to speech and highlighted text.  The site has activities and aligns to specific state standards, plus it’s fun and engaging and tracks students from PreK to transition."
- Kimberly J., Grades K-5

Nearpod

"This link allows teachers to post on Google classroom and assign learning task for students to complete on their own. In the current times, Nearpod is useful for students on quarantine or unable to attend in person classes."
-Jaime B., Grades K-5

"This site has lessons designed for every grade level. It is a very useful and effective tool."
- Lashanda P., Grades K-5

"This site has interactive lessons for you to do with your students. You can create your own lesson or use one of the lessons in their library. You can also edit lessons to suit your needs."
- Jaclyn R., Grades K-5

Newsela

"Newsela is a current events resource which has up to date news for the students. It is often written for kids and easy for them to follow along."
- Lashanda P., Grades K-5
 

Practical Money Skills

"There are multiple benefits to this website. I love that there are articles on financial literacy topics pertaining to students. There is great information in the calculation section that discusses saving for a car, saving for a house and how to save for other goals. I try and get my students to read more things in the news since they're older, and this site helps."
-Gianna D., Grades 9-12
 

ReadWorks

"This is a great site that will help with student's reading comprehension skills. There are so many different levels of texts. Students read a passage and then answer questions about what they read. Since the text can be broken down for all types of readers, it makes it easier to differentiate instruction."
-Tracy E., Grades K-8
 

ReThink Ed

"The site provides evidence-based tools and training to support the teacher and whole school community.  It provides resources in Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health, and Special Education."
-Kristy M., Grades K-5

SuperTeachers

"Superteachers offers a wide variety of worksheets for every subject."
-Amanda M., Grades K-5
 

Teachers Pay Teachers

"This site is so helpful for learning materials, ideas, and resources.  Although an account is needed and it charges a small fee, it is all posted by teachers in order to help other teachers."
-Rachel S., Grades K-5 
 

Teachervision

"Teachervision offers articles that are easy to read, yet informative and written from a teaching perspective."
-Robin P., Grades K-5

TeachHub

"TeachHub provides classroom resources, lesson ideas, and professional development courses. What I especially like about this site, however, is that they offer writing prompts on various themes and at different grade levels, for a terrific way to integrate writing skills in subjects outside of ELA."
-Kristen T., Grades 6-8
 

Tinkercad

"This site offers free, online software that allows each user to create 3D renditions and models. There are built-in lessons and materials that can be utilized by educators. This site allows for cross-cutting concepts and opportunities for multi-content collaboration."
-Victor C., Grades 9-12
 

TypingTest

"This site allows your students to work on their keyboard skills. TypingTest.com tracks a student's keyboarding skills speed and accuracy. Students enjoy trying to beat their best score. Practicing this skill will help them in high school, college or even the job market."
- Diane L., Grades 6-8

Worksheet Works

"This worksheet allows you to create custom handwriting sheets.  It offers regular print, dotted print, and cursive."
-Amanda M., Grades K-5 
 

Xtra Math

"This is a great math site to help the students with their math skills of adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division. I have found that most of the time, students that are struggling with math struggle because they do not know their facts. By implementing 10 minutes a day of practice, teachers can help students improve their skills and make their math time more about new content that focusing on their facts."
-Tracy E., Grades K-8
 

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