52 Special Education Resources to Increase Student Engagement

Rutgers Alternate Route special education teachers curated this A-to-Z list of resources to make your teaching experience smoother and more efficient. These favorites are designed to bring excitement and engagement to classrooms of all ages and abilities.

You’ll find a variety of interactive platforms, like IXL, i-Ready, and Prodigy, that make learning more accessible and enjoyable for students. These tools offer fun activities and adaptive content, helping students grasp concepts at their own pace. Resources such as Renzulli Learning and TeachTown are excellent for differentiating instruction and making complex ideas more understandable for every learner.

Our recommendations come straight from teachers who have been in your shoes and know what works. Whether you’re looking for practical strategy books, classroom management apps, or supportive online communities, these resources are here to help you succeed. Explore our list and discover new ways to make your classroom more dynamic, inclusive, and effective.

9 Classroom Management Tips for Teaching High School
The site provides 9 classroom management skills that can be useful for high school teachers. Most of the skills would be useful for all grade levels. (Erick L. 9-12)

ABC Mouse 
This site teaches numbers, addition and subtraction, shapes, patterns, measurements, and more through fun games and creative activities. (Roneesha S. 6-8;9-12)

Achieve 3000
This website is good to see what level students are performing at (what skills they have mastered and what they still need to work on) and gives resources and tools for differentiating instruction.  This website is good for looking for alternative resources to help the different learners in your classroom. Simpson M. K-5

Art Class Curator 
Art Class Curator has many tips and resources for Art teachers. I like that it has 82 questions to ask about a work of art. We're always looking to use questions for deeper meaning and these are helpful. (Cynthia O. 6-8)

Autism Partnership Foundation
Provides insights into behavior management, specifically with students with autism. (Kelsey M.  K-5)

Boddle Learning
It is a great interactive math platform where teachers can create assignments with questions associated with specific skills that are taken from the common standards. (Ashley C. 6-8; K-5)

BrainPop
This site provides a wide range of educational videos that allow students to remain entertained and engaged while still learning. (Robin G. K-5)

Classroom Screen 
Allows you to use an abundance of different options; allows for directions to be given, increases productivity, has a bunch of different tools, has a noise level monitor, allows for you to have multiple screens to allow you to have multiple sets of directions ready for students and yourself, very interactive, has noise level symbols and work symbols and traffic lights (Celeste J. K-5 6-8)

Coolmath
This site provides many games that can help students work on their math facts and fluency skills in a way that is fun and interactive. (Ashley C. 6-8; K-5)

Council for Exceptional Children
The pedagogical grounding my district uses in the approach to special education. Many resources are available for teaching children with special needs. (Rachel F. K-5)

Do 2 Learn
Diverse resources and free downloads. Practical and customizable. (Stephanie T. K-5)

Dreambox
This is an awesome diagnostic-based gaming site to help students receive tailored math instruction. (Rachel F. K-5)

Edutopia
This site features case studies highlighting innovative and evidence-based teaching practices that work in education. It is super helpful for any teacher, SPED or not! (Jessica P. 6-8; K-5)

Edpuzzle 
The benefit of Edpuzzle is that it allows the teacher to upload a video and include questions based on the video. It also tracks the class performance as well as the individual performance of each student, so that you can see their progress and where they may need more support. (Chasmar McKoy. 9-12)

Everfi
While mainly focusing on Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, it provides online courses that students can do at their own pace and many are available in Spanish 
(Gayle W. 6-8)

EmpowerED
Lessons, classroom tools, and articles that connect the classroom with real-world applications/life skills, following their focus on "Principles + Markets = Mindset" (Gayle W. 6-8)

Helpful Professor 
Definitions and Examples that are helpful to understand the profession of teaching. (Adero S. 9-12)

How to be a Better English Teacher
The site provides helpful strategies for how to be a more effective teacher, no matter what subject you are teaching. (Erick L. 9-12)

Interdisciplinary Education: An Overview 
This article helped me understand the benefits of teaching multiple subjects together, rather than separately. It showed me that by connecting subjects like math, social studies, and language arts, I can help my students think critically and solve problems in a more creative way. The examples, like using math to understand genetics, helped me see how I can make lessons more interesting and show students how different subjects can work together to solve real-world problems. (Rodriguez C. K-5)

IXL
This website offers fun activities that students can use. (Jessica B. K-5)

iReady 
This website creates an individualized learning path that meets students' specific needs. It also creates small groups and provides specific lessons to target skills that still need to be worked on.  This is a great resource to see where your students are performing and gives you specific resources to strengthen those needs. (Marjhani S. K-5)

Jeopardy Labs
Fun Jeopardy-type game to play with the class. (Theresa W. 9-12)

Kahoot!
This site can be used as a review game for students before a test. It allows the students to see questions on the smartboard and then answer the questions via their Chromebook or iPad. This encourages students to learn the information for their test. It can be utilized in groups/ teams or by individuals. (Adeline K. K-5)

Magma Math 
Able to monitor student work and activity. Actively be able to problem solve when students have potential issues. Differentiation is also possible through this site. (Jacob S. K-5)

Magic School AI
While learning to write IEPs, Magic School AI is a great tool to aid in writing clear, concise goals and objectives. In addition, it can level readings in passages. (Emily B. 6-8)

Marble Jar
Great resource for rewarding positive behavior (Liska S. K-5)

Math Worksheets 
Although this is a math site I found it very helpful in the past. Free printables for all grade levels. (Mecal J. 6-8)

Math Playground
Math Playground contains several interactive games, puzzles, and logical activities, tailor-made for school classes. For Grade 3 math, it provides really exciting and engaging activities in the fields of multiplication, division, fractions, and basic geometry. Furthermore, most of the modules contain types of visual aids and game-based learning that help students grasp concepts in a fun and interactive way. In this way, it proves to be particularly helpful for reinforcing classroom learning. (Joel Andre P. 6-8)

National Geographic
Teaching resources/media and professional development. (Mariah M. 6-8; 9-12)

NASA 
NASA’s website is a great resource to find out more on Earth related topics. They make it kid friendly for students to navigate and learn on their own as well (Noelle D. K-5; 6-8)

National Education Association 
NEA’s website offers a range of resources tailored to different grade levels and needs, with a specific focus on supporting teachers in special education and promoting best practices for inclusive education. (Lemard K. 9-12)

Nearpod 
I like Nearpod because you can search lessons by subject and grade. I also like that you are able to create your own lesson on the site. (Vanessa A. K-5; 6-8)

News2You
This site allows articles that are adapted for students in special education who read and understand at different levels. It helps teach about current events, holidays and more in a way that proves beneficial and entertaining to my students. It also has other resources like educational games related to real-life skills, like sorting laundry and creating grocery lists. (Robin G. K-5)

NewsELA
Newsela has a wide variety of fact-checked news articles in the core content area subjects. In addition, it includes current events and fun-read articles to encourage students to be civically engaged. The articles come with custom questions/ quizzes to gauge reading comprehension and can be leveled by reading level. I use the articles for emergency lesson plans. (Emily B. 6-8)

Prodigy 
Great resource for fun educational games kids love. (Erum K. 6-8)

Readworks 
ReadWorks offers free reading comprehension passages at different reading levels, making it perfect for LLD students who need differentiated texts. It also provides audio versions of stories and vocabulary support, helping struggling readers engage with the content in multiple ways. I can use this site to assign texts that match individual student needs while still focusing on comprehension skills. (Nafeesa I. K-5)

Renzulli Learning 
Renzulli Learning allows students to build a better understanding of content by allowing them to research many different subjects. The site also provides step-by-step processes to complete the project. (David F. 6-8)

Research Autism 
The site provides many different resources for self-contained autism classrooms. Some of which are a “safe guide to autism” and webinars. (Jessica B. K-5)

Social Thinking 
It has a number of lessons on social-emotional learning. Presentations and activities are all included.  I am doing a lesson with my class on becoming social detectives and the lessons are engaging and the students have been applying the concepts outside of class. (Rebecca P. K-5)

SplashLearn 
SplashLearn offers a personalized learning experience for math through fun and colorful games. It covers topics appropriate for Grade 3, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and time. The platform adapts to students' progress, providing challenges at the right level to keep them motivated and improve their skills. Additionally, it includes reporting tools for teachers to track student progress and identify areas that may need extra support. (Joel Andre P. 6-8)

Storyline Online 
Storyline Online offers free read-aloud videos featuring actors reading children’s books aloud. Each video includes captions, allowing students to follow along with the text while listening. This is a great tool for LLD students, as it reinforces reading fluency and improves comprehension through both visual and auditory means. (Nafeesa I. K-5)

TeachTown 
The TeachTown resource provides a structured approach to the topic, allowing students to explore the life cycle of a chicken in a clear and organized manner. This structure aids comprehension by breaking down complex information into manageable segments, making it easier for students to understand and retain the content. TeachTown often includes interactive elements, such as quizzes and activities, which engage students and encourage active participation. By interacting with the material, students are more likely to grasp key concepts, enhancing their comprehension skills. The platform frequently includes visuals, diagrams, and multimedia that illustrate the life cycle, making abstract concepts more concrete. Visual representations can be particularly helpful for visual learners and can enhance overall understanding for all students. TeachTown allows for differentiation in instruction, enabling teachers to provide targeted support based on individual student needs. This ensures that all students can engage with the material at an appropriate level, further enhancing comprehension. (Alexis B. 6-8)

Teachers Pay Teachers
This site has many resources available that were made by teachers. If this site can't provide something for you, it can help spark an idea. There are free items as well as items you can pay for here. (Adeline K. K-5)

The Autism Helper Blog
This site provides a wealth of information and resources for teaching individuals with disabilities (specifically those with Autism but can apply to students with any developmental disability). Blog topics include academics, behavior, communication, and seasonal activities posted by a community of professionals working in special education. I have found these blog posts and linked resources extremely helpful for my current teaching position. (Jessica P. K-5; 6-8)

The Toolkit 
Excellent Resource for keeping students on track and providing guidance on how to teach your subject (Liska S. K-5)

The UDL Guidelines 
This site explains the ways that UDL works and gives guidelines for teachers to follow so that they can provide quality instruction to all students (Justin R. 9-12)

Think Pair Share Alternatives
This site provides some different alternatives to think pair share, which can be used to make sure students remain on task and provide different means of engagement for learners who need other ways to express themselves (Justin R. 9-12)

Understanding Autism
This resource allows teachers to learn more about autism spectrum disorder so they can better assist neurodiverse learners. (Kelsey M. K-5)

Unschooled Art
Unschooled Art is a great site for video tutorials, lesson plans, getting ideas for topics and there is a part to read about how Art teachers can apply for grants and funding. (Cynthia O. 6-8)

Vooks 
Vooks brings books to life with stories that move. My students love these as a new way to look and listen to a story. (Lauren C. K-5)

Wit and Wisdom 
It is a curriculum site. Able to differentiate on different levels. Able to identify students who are struggling and may present learning/reading disabilities. (Jacob P. K-5)

WordWall 
Online platform to make fun, engaging games for your classroom. (Lauren C. K-5)

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