Outside Tools and Resources

We have found other online resources that are very helpful for beginning English levels. These may not be as flexible or open as the H5P exercises or readers, but they might be a good fit for many contexts.

Additional Resources List

1. Vocabulary Spelling City
2. Classkick
3. Padlet
4. Readworks
5. Additional Sites

Vocabulary Spelling City

PCC has provided students with access to premium accounts to use Vocabulary Spelling City, a third-party website that teaches vocabulary, spelling, and phonics through games and online activities. Instructors create a teacher account and then can copy existing themed word lists drawn from TeachABC English or generate their own word lists.

With a premium account, teachers can set up student accounts and give them individual usernames and passwords. Teachers can then issue assignments that specify word lists and activities. After students complete the assigned activities, they can continue to use the word lists in other games. These activities are flexible and can contract or expand to fill the time available. Word lists can be shared with other teachers.

Without a premium account, teachers should be able to work with word lists and share them with students, but students will not have their own logins or the ability to track their progress.

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ClassKick

ClassKick is a free third-party website that allows instructors to design activities similar to a collaborative whiteboard space with options for typing, drawing, audio recording and work with images.  Instructors who are new to ClassKick can watch an an introductory video here.

Students do not need to create accounts; instead, the teacher creates an account and then gives a direct link or class code to students in order to access individual assignments.

These ClassKick activities have been used along with the Digital Workbook materials in the past. As ClassKick continues to evolve, they may or may not continue to be accessible.

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Padlet

Padlet is a free, interactive, multimedia sharing space that could be used for communal show-and-tell activities, etc. The teacher could pose a prompt, and students could reply with text, images, video, audio, links, etc. Students can then leave comments on each other’s posts or simply give a thumbs up or emoji. Padlets can be archived and revisited. Students do not need to create accounts.

We love using Padlets to get students sharing content with each other and commenting on each others’ posts. It can be a great way to document their learning and interests throughout the term.

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Readworks

ReadWorks is a free third-party website that can be used for sourcing reading material. A curated reading list for Level 3 students features an informational text and a literary text for each module, frequently connected to the overall theme of the module. Each reading includes an image, the text, an audio file, selected vocabulary support, and a short set of comprehension questions. Students do not need to create individual accounts; they use a single classroom ID and password. Instructors or tutors can quickly grade responses that are not automatically scored and then give feedback.

Teachers follow the instructions on ReadWorks to set up a classroom and roster, and then they choose texts for assignments. Then instructors give students their classroom code and password to complete the assignments. They are organized by module. In our in-person class, each module aligned to one week of class. They were chosen to align (or at least complement) the grammar and other activities from that week’s class. The types of texts include informative and literature genres.

ReadWorks Selections

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Additional Sites