64 Resources Elementary Teachers Use to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Elementary teachers rely on a wide range of instructional resources to create engaging, standards-aligned lessons that meet their students' diverse needs. From literacy and mathematics to science, technology, and classroom management, digital tools and educational websites help teachers save planning time, differentiate instruction, and provide meaningful learning experiences. 

Many of these resources also offer professional development opportunities, interactive activities, and ready-to-use lesson materials that support effective teaching across grade levels. 

Below are 64 resources recommended by elementary teachers in the Rutgers Alternate Route Program to enhance classroom instruction and promote student success.

15 Worksheets
Teacher Name: April Santiago
Grade: K-5; 6-8

"You can find 15 worksheets for 1,000s of content areas, units of study, or lessons! I use them for all my lessons."
 

ABCya
Teacher Name: Christopher Kitchen
Grade: K-5

Educational games for grades PreK through 6 that will keep kids engaged and having fun."

Boddle Learning
Teacher Name: Brianni Thomas
Grade: K-5

"The benefit of this site is that it gamifies math and reading concepts and skills and makes it more engaging for students."

Better Lesson
Teacher Name: Ugochukwu Anodu
Grade: K-5

"BetterLesson is a great site that I use because it provides valuable tools for lesson planning and instructional development. One helpful resource I’ve used is the “Anchor Chart Strategy.” Through this, I learned how to create effective anchor charts and why they are essential for literacy instruction. Anchor charts provide visual references during practice and help encourage active student engagement."
 

BrainPOP ELL
Teacher Name: Maia Franco
Grade: K-5

"This site has WIDA testing for ELLs and recommends lessons and resources for students to improve their English language fluency, including speaking into the computer. I like this site as a reading center activity for my ELLs who are low and are not able to work with an interventionist during that period."

BrainPOP
Teacher Name: Katherine Cupo
Grade: K-5

"BrainPOP provides students with videos on the content they are learning, and then assesses the students' understanding. I use this for science, and the videos provided are very kid-friendly and entertaining."
 

Canvas
Teacher Name: Gregory Orlando
Grade: K-5

"Canvas is a drawing app that is excellent for young artists. However, I also use it as a proxy "whiteboard" that is compatible with my laptop's stylus and can be projected onto my Promethean Board. You can also import images and write and draw over them, so I use this a ton for teaching Math concepts like counting, fractions, and area."

Class Dojo 
Teacher Name: Olivia Salazar
Grade: K-5

"This website is a great form of classroom management. You can award students points for positive behaviors. Also, their families can connect to the classroom and see their student’s progress."
  

Colorín Colorado – Instrucción temprana de alfabetización en Español
Teacher Name: Narcisa Delgado
Grade: K-5

"Colorín Colorado provides educators and families with practical strategies and resources for teaching reading and writing in Spanish to young learners. It offers classroom and at-home activities, guidance for supporting bilingual students, and tips for differentiated instruction. This site helps teachers address diverse literacy needs while fostering language development and early reading skills in Spanish."
 

CommonLit
Teacher Name: Jason Ordonez 
Grade: K-5

"CommonLit is an excellent resource for providing high-quality, leveled reading passages that build comprehension skills such as sequencing, cause and effect, and identifying main ideas. It offers both fiction and nonfiction texts with built-in comprehension questions, discussion prompts, and writing extensions. The platform also allows differentiation by Lexile level, making it easy to support struggling readers while challenging advanced students in my third-grade class."
 

Curriculum Associates
Teacher Name: Marina Holmes
Grade: K-5

"This site provides information on a range of topics like the science of reading, differentiating instruction, math, etc."

Discovery Education
Teacher Name: Cameron Burton
Grade: K-5

"This site contains several resources of use for K-12 students. I use it mostly for its puzzlemaker tool, which is a free tool that allows you to create custom word searches, Sudokus, math puzzles, etc. I use these to create fun and engaging early finisher work or review materials."
 

DOGO News
Teacher Name: Eric Swiontkowski
Grade: K-5

"DOGO News has many science articles available with reading levels appropriate for elementary students. Many of the articles contain videos that help promote understanding of the topics. I use these articles to teach my students about current events and also to give them options of science articles to use during ELA assignments."
 

Education Week
Teacher Name: Jacqueline Kocur
Grade: K-5

"Provides Education news about teaching and for teachers alike."

Education
Teacher Name: Marina Holmes
Grade: K-5

"This site provides worksheets, activities, and hands-on, printable, student-facing resources for pre-K to eighth grade and across myriad subjects."

Edutopia
Teacher Name: Kyle David
Grade: K-5

"The article about Cold-calling is very informative. Moreover, Edutopia has various other education articles."

Epic!
Teacher Name: Laura McCarthy
Grade: K-5
 

"Epic! offers thousands of books across genres, helping students stay motivated and build reading stamina. It supports diverse learners and includes read-to-me books and audiobooks, making it accessible for emerging readers and English learners."
 

Ezpzlearn
Teacher Name: April Santiago
Grade: K-5

"The site has kids' songs, shows, crafts, activities, and resources for teachers & parents! You can explore themes, interact with the site, and print worksheets."

Flocabulary
Teacher Name: Maia Franco
Grade: K-5

"This site is helpful for introducing new concepts to my students in a fun way through rhyming songs and raps. Following the engaging video, I assign the various vocabulary and read and respond to questions with the students to reinforce the information from the video. This is particularly helpful for ELLs who are developing their English vocabulary."

Funbrain
Teacher Name: Donovan Fisher
Grade: K-5

"Funbrain is for grades PreK-8 and contains games, reading, videos, and math worksheets. It is easy to navigate and download worksheets. Games and stories are age-appropriate."

GoNoodle
Teacher Name: Angelina Murtagh
Grade: K-5

"GoNoodle provides movement and brain break videos that help students stay active, focused, and engaged during lessons. I enjoy using both the dance break videos and guided meditation videos in my classroom to refocus students between lessons."
 

Greg Tan Math 
Teacher Name: Michelle Avendano
Grade: K-5

"Greg Tang Math offers engaging math games, interactive lessons, and printable resources designed to strengthen number sense and early numeracy skills."
 

Happy Hearts in First Grade
Teacher Name: Christopher Ha
Grade: K-5

"Focuses on modeling (“I do / we do / you do”) and giving students multiple entry points. Emphasizes designing lessons that move from whole-class to small-group differentiated work. Good for designing your whole-group introduction, then transition into differentiated centers or guided groups."
 

Illuminations by NCTM
Teacher Name: Michelle Avendano
Grade: K-5

"The site provides engaging digital manipulatives and games that help Kindergarten students explore foundational skills such as counting, comparing numbers, and recognizing patterns."

IMSE
Teacher Name: Nyasia Diaz 
Grade: K-5

"IMSE is the Institute for Multi-sensory Education. This program and website focus on ELA practices, particularly phonics. I received a wonderful training in their Phonics program, and the free resources have really helped me keep my students engaged and practicing their skills."

IXL
Teacher Name: Alyson Allen
Grade: K-5

"Allows the teacher to assign specific lessons, tailored to each student, while monitoring progress in real time. Teachers can provide interdisciplinary focus and support by assigning a relevant math IXL skill, for example, during a science lesson."
 

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel
Teacher Name: Angelina Murtagh
Grade: K-5

"Jack Hartmann offers many free interactive songs that teach math and literacy concepts, such as counting, addition, and number patterns. I enjoy using these videos as a warm-up for my math lessons so students can practice counting."
 

Kathleen Jasper
Teacher Name: Wanda Bunch
Grade: 6-8

"Teaching approaches and professional instruction."

Khan Academy
Teacher Name: Yazmin Hernandez
Grade: 6-8

"The benefits of using Khan Academy include a free, accessible, and self-paced learning experience with a focus on personalized learning paths through videos and interactive exercises. It provides instant feedback, allows for repeated practice to ensure mastery, and offers progress tracking for students and teachers. Additionally, it helps students accelerate learning, develop autonomy, and master new skills."

K to 5 Learning
Teacher Name: Ashley Morales
Grade: K-5

"This one is specific for lower elementary school teachers. I find that they have a lot of useful grammar exercises on there and science experiments that my kids enjoy."
 

Lalilo
Teacher Name: Sowmya Seshadri
Grade: K-5

"Lalilo is an adaptive literacy platform that builds foundational reading skills through engaging, personalized phonics and comprehension lessons. It supports differentiation by adjusting to each student’s progress and provides teachers with data to monitor growth and target instruction."
 

Learning Ally
Teacher Name: Tsetan Namdol
Grade: K-5

"Text-to-speech audiobooks for diverse learners."

Learning
Teacher Name: Jenny Amato
Grade: K-5

"This website allows me to provide the students I see with various technology skills. This includes keyboarding, trackpad skills, etc. This website is engaging for children to go on to assist their learning by supplying them with fun videos and games to gain more skills."

Literacy Shed
Teacher Name: Jason Ordonez
Grade: K-5

"The Literacy Shed uses short, engaging videos and visuals to develop reading and writing skills through storytelling. It’s especially helpful for visual learners and English language learners because the animations allow students to infer sequence, cause/effect, and character motivation without relying solely on text."

Lucky Little Learners
Teacher Name: Belinda Hecht
Grade: K-5

"Lucky Little Learners (LLL) provides a wealth of resources and support for K–2 teachers. Benefits include: Extensive Teaching Resources: Lesson plans, worksheets, games, and assessments to save planning time. All Access Membership: Unlimited downloads of current and future resources, plus VIP access to new releases. Teacher-Created Content: Practical materials designed by experienced educators. Professional Development: On-demand training to improve instructional strategies. Supportive Community: Access to a private Facebook group for collaboration and idea sharing. LLL is a convenient, time-saving resource that supports effective teaching and professional growth."
 

MagicSchool
Teacher Name: Ania Pierre Louis
Grade: K-5

"MagicSchool helps save time. Teachers can use it to generate worksheets, write lesson plans, and write notes to parents. Teachers can use the "standard Unpacker" to break down a standard when using the spacing method of teaching. The site has 80 tools to choose from."
 

Math Antics
Teacher Name: Sharyss Sanchez
Grade: K-5;6-8;

"The Math Antics website offers fun and easy-to-understand videos and materials that help students in grades 3 to 8 learn and review different math skills. It’s especially helpful because it uses clear visuals, gives focused practice, and allows students to learn at their own pace."

Matific 
Teacher Name: Zahkee Williams
Grade: K-6

"It provides learning games for students to engage with more complex material in a fun way. The games can be catered to grade level."

Miss Giraffe's Class
Teacher Name: Christopher Ha
Grade: K-5

"Breaks down how to show students how to identify the part that will complete ten and then add the remainder. Includes activities and visuals—helpful for differentiated centers. Helpful for “intermediate” students who are ready to move beyond simple counting-on."

Mystery Science
Teacher Name: Rasheedah Canty
Grade: K-5

"Short, inquiry-based videos answer real student questions (“Why do we sneeze?” “Why is the sky blue?”) using kid-friendly explanations and visuals. They’re excellent for sparking curiosity, integrating science into morning meetings, or launching a science unit. No login is required for many of the resources."
 

Napkin AI
Teacher Name: Cody Coles
Grade: K-5

"Useful for creating infographics or concept maps to help you or your students who are visual learners organize and store information."
 

NASA STEM resources
Teacher Name: Sarah Falk
Grade: K-5

"This site has science lesson plans and resources. It is perfect for supplementing physical or earth science lessons."

New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Teacher Name: Keishonda Crews
Grade: K-5

"This site is beneficial because it is good to be reminded of the standards we use for teaching our students."

OER Commons
Teacher Name: Dawes Sonya
Grade: K-5

"Offers educational collaborations worldwide."
 

Quill
Teacher Name: Crystal Us
Grade: K-5

"Offers free literacy activities focused on writing, grammar, sentence structure, and reading‑comprehension skills for elementary through high school."

Raz-Kids
Teacher Name: Kimberly Wares
Grade: K-5

"Raz-Kids is a fun site where you can choose which games you play about what you learned that day, plus it gives you free books for them to read or listen to when they are done."
 

Read Write Think
Teacher Name: Izabella Morra
Grade: K-5

"The benefits of this site are that teachers can grow their craft in reading and writing. It gives different sources like authors and reading lists for students, along with linking those things to go along with a history or science lesson."

Reading Rockets
Teacher Name: Tuhina Eyasmin
Grade: K-5

"This site focuses on early literacy development and offers research-based strategies for teaching reading, writing, and phonemic awareness. It’s ideal for Elementary grade levels and provides practical videos, lesson ideas, and interventions for struggling readers, including those with special needs."
 

Savvas Insights – Estrategias para la instrucción diferenciada en el aula de Español
Teacher Name: Narcisa Delgado
Grade: K-5

"Savvas Insights offers practical strategies for differentiating instruction in Spanish classrooms, including dual-immersion settings. It provides tools for adapting language and content, using visual supports, and reinforcing vocabulary in multiple formats. This site helps teachers meet the diverse needs of students while promoting engagement, comprehension, and effective language learning."
 

Scholastic for Teachers
Teacher Name: Kayla Harrison
Grade: K-5

"My school has a subscription, and they give us weekly lessons with videos and even some hands-on activities. A lot of cool science stuff too."
 

Smithsonian Learning Lab 
Teacher Name: Lysnel Valentin
Grade: 6-8

"I can use Smithsonian Learning Lab to bring history and science to life through authentic artifacts and primary sources, such as early human tools and fossils. These materials help students make real-world connections to lessons like the Neolithic Era while deepening my own content knowledge."
 

Splash Learn
Teacher Name: Zahkee Williams
Grade: K-5

"This site provides math games and worksheets to assist in the learning process of students for all grades, but can be specified based on content, grade area, and standard. The website is free for teachers as well."
 

Starfall
Teacher Name: Kimberly Wares
Grade: K-5

"Starfall is a fun and academic game that allows children to learn while also having fun. It helps students practice letter recognition, sounds, and simple reading in a fun, visual way that keeps young learners motivated."
 

Super Teacher Worksheets
Teacher Name: Sarah Tucci
Grade: K-5

"This website is super helpful for getting worksheets for centers and for getting reading passages with comprehension questions for small group instruction."
 

Teach Starter
Teacher Name: Ashley Morales
Grade: K-5

"Has resources for every grade and subject. Also has labels and signs for classroom management. You pay a price for each month, and you have access to unlimited information."
 

Teach Writing 
Teacher Name: Jacqueline Kocur
Grade: K-5

"Offers free resources and articles for teachers in writing instruction and has articles on differentiating writing instruction."
 

Teach Your Monster
Teacher Name: Cody Coles
Grade: K-5

"Great for early elementary (both math and ELA) in helping kids learn basic skills in a game-based model. I like it better than Starfall. It is also for beginners and very low readers. All students enjoy it."
 

Teachers Pay Teachers
Teacher Name: Leslie Feinson
Grade: K-5

"Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is a marketplace that provides a wide range of resources created by teachers and often aligned to state standards. The platform is extremely easy to navigate and allows teachers to find engaging, differentiated activities and ready-to-use worksheets. This site is a valuable time-saver when it comes to lesson planning and also allows for more creative lesson planning."
 

Teaching Channel
Teacher Name: Cody Coles
Grade: K-5

"Teaching Channel has useful tips, tricks, and information for educators in a 'bite-sized' format."

TeachShare
Teacher name: Monique Tawiah
Grade: K-5; 6-8

"You can easily ask prompts, and the platform will output them. (i.e., Math assessment based on a specific NJSLS learning standard.)"

The Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge Lesson Bank
Teacher Name: Anna Queisser
Grade: K-5

"It has creative lessons that link art with academic content in meaningful ways. It shows how art can be used to build cultural awareness and deeper understanding while still staying aligned with standards."
 

UFLI 
Teacher Name: Belinda Hecht
Grade: K-5

"The University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) provides research-based resources to support early literacy instruction. Benefits include evidence-based programs with structured lessons for phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency. Professional Development: Training and resources to help teachers implement effective reading instruction. Free, Accessible Materials: Lesson plans, decodable texts, and instructional tools for classroom use. Early Intervention Focus: Helps students build strong reading skills before difficulties escalate. Ongoing Research: Continuously updates programs to support all learners, including those with reading challenges. UFLI is a practical, science-backed resource to help educators improve student literacy outcomes."

Wayground
Teacher Name: Tierney Robinson
Grade: K-5

"This is basically like friendly competition between students. The competition aspect really engages the students’ attention and helps them recall material that they learned from other lessons."
 

WeWillWrite
Teacher Name: Jessica Perrone
Grade: K-5

"My students really struggle with writing and don't look forward to it. After introducing WeWillWrite in my classroom, my students get excited about writing, which allows them to practice a variety of different writing techniques. I've also seen a huge improvement in their writing."

If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter or sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter to receive more information and stories from the field of education.