Skip to main content
close
Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable contrast.
Education Station

Families Resources

Connecting families and children with
lessons, research, and activities in support
of an anywhere learning environment.

Questions?
Call BPL Youth Services
at (614) 231-2878

LEARNING RESOURCES
Bexley City Schools
Powerschool & Canvas
A Powerschool and Canvas help page provided by Bexley City Schools.
General
Academic Search Premier
Full text for scholarly and academic magazines and periodicals - covering nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts and literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more. Conduct research for your next term paper. Discover in-depth articles on hundreds of subjects.
Amazing Educational Resources
A huge database of resources (lesson plans, activities, videos, etc.) covering a wide variety of topics, from Spanish to Biology.
CDC: Back to School Planning
Checklists to help caregivers prepare for in-person, hybrid, and virtual learning situations.

Common Core Works
Partners with teachers to provide roadmaps for learning from home and homeschooling. Various ages.

EBSCOhost Databases
Complete range of citation and full-text reference content available from the EBSCO publishing company. Individual database services are also listed separately. This 4-min. Flash video provides instructions for basic searching. Select a single database for searching. Search multiple EBSCOhost resources at once. See what’s available from EBSCO.
Enchanted Learning
A huge free collection of lesson plans, activities, and other resources for teachers and homeschooling parents.

Explora
Explora is EBSCO's interface for Schools and Public Libraries. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction.
Fun Brain
Features a variety of learning resources and educational games for different grade levels and topics.
Google Classroom Tech Tutorial
Short video tutorial about Google Classroom.
Watch this resource

Google Tech Toolkit
A more comprehensive set of tutorials for families and guardians about google tools.
Biography Reference Bank
Virtually every course of study — from history to science to literature — is ultimately tied to the study of people. Biography in Context delivers outstanding research support with nearly a million biographical entries spanning history and geography.
ERIC
ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, contains more than 1,300,000 records and links to more than 323,000 full-text documents dating back to 1966.
The Homeschool Mom
Popular homeschooling website with access to various resources, such as lesson plans and activities.

Khan Academy
Free, online lessons on a wide variety of topics, from math and science, to art history and life skills. Available for all ages.
LinkedIn Learning - Online Courses
With your Bexley Public Library card you can access thousands of free, online courses from experts on such topics as business, web development, information technology, job searching, photography and more through LinkedIn Learning, an award-winning online education service. After you've logged in with your library card number and PIN, you will be prompted to create an account with Linkedin.com/learning/. You'll use this profile to create playlists, manage your course history, keep notes, and track your Certificates of Completion.
Ohio Department of Education | Learning Standards
Direct link to the Ohio Department of Education learning standards (as well as their own collected resources).
Ohio Department of Education | Parent & Caregiver Resources
Resources provided by the Ohio Department of Education to support remote learning. Includes instructional websites, tips and resources to support learning, and community services

Ohio Department of Health Resources | Parents and Families
Information for parents and families that includes activity ideas by age group.
PBS Crash Course
A collection of videos and other media designed to give a succinct overview of a variety of topics.
Quizlet
Allows students to make flash cards and play learning games to help solidify various concepts. Also allows students to browse other students’ resources.
Scholastic Learn-at-Home
Scholastic has collated a number of free resources for families learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Smithsonian has collected numerous resources related to their various museums and have them available for use.
Starfall
A well-known and effective K-3 math and reading resource with games and other activities.
TED-Ed
\Lets you build a lesson around any TED talk, TED-Ed resource, or YouTube video. You can also find and use existing lessons on a variety of topics. A great resource for any teacher, homeschooler, parent, or student.
ThoughtCo.com
Features a collection of virtual field trip links, such as the White House, the International Space Station, and more.
Today Show Parenting Guides
Tons of resources for homeschooling, homework help and beyond for a variety of age ranges.
Wide Open School
Free, collection of online learning experiences for kids curated by the editors of Common Sense. Available for all ages.
World Book Early World of Learning
Three interactive learning environments for preschoolers and children in early grades. "Trek's Travels" offers narrated stories, interactive games, and original videos that teach early childhood themes, including numbers, shapes, colors, opposites, and more. "Welcome to Reading" develops and strengthen phonics, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and comprehension skills. "Know It" offers a richly visual first encyclopedia.
World Book Kids
Thousands of colorful illustrations, diagrams, and maps enrich thousands of articles selected for appeal and curricular standards, with teacher guides, provide instructions and stimulating ways to use content in the classroom setting or for homework. World Book Kids is designed especially for younger users, English-language learners, and reluctant readers. The site offers simple navigation, easy-to-read content, bright colors, and a graphical design.
World Book Online
Resources include encyclopedic content, e-books, multimedia, a vast collection of primary source documents, and a wealth of research tools that allow students to customize and save their work.
World Book Student
Tailored for students in elementary and middle schools, World Book Student includes all the articles from the print versions of the World Book Encyclopedia, plus thousands of additional articles, learning resources, and research tools. World Book Student is also optimized for tablets for the ultimate mobile research experience.
Understood.Org
Resources compiled by Understood.org, a free online resource that seeks to empower parents of children who have learning and attention issues.

Very Short Introductions
Very Short Introductions provide intelligent and serious introductions to a huge range of subjects. In this digital resource, hundreds of titles can be searched at once, opening up new pathways across subjects. Students can use Very Short Introductions to consider study options, embark on a new module, topic, or essay, or revise a particular subject. Teachers and other educators can assign chapters, or whole books to students. Adult learners can also gain new insights through an introduction to a topic.
Language Arts
826 Digital
A writing program with tons of resources (lesson plans, activities, etc.) for use in teaching writing fluency.
Education.com
Collection of various resources for teachers that can be adapted to a homeschooling curriculum.
Literary Reference Center Plus
Literary Reference Center is a full-text database that combines information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals as well as original content from EBSCO Publishing. It contains full text for more than 31,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, nearly 100,000 articles/essays of literary criticism, more than 159,000 author biographies (including more than 22,000 in-depth bios), 450 literary journals, more than 632,000 book reviews, more than 69,000 classic and contemporary poems, more than 18,000 classic and contemporary short stories, more than 5,600 author interviews, more than 8,200 classic texts and much more.
Newsela
Literacy aid that collates news articles and categorizes them by grade-level appropriateness for use in classroom literacy activities.

Novelist K-8 Plus
NoveList K-8 Plus is a comprehensive reading resource for fiction and nonfiction. With its fun and intuitive interface, and extensive proprietary content, NoveList K-8 Plus will help you integrate reading across the curriculum and support your young readers.
PBS For Students
A collection of videos and other media designed to give a succinct overview of a variety of topics.
Reading Eggs
Subscription based with a 30-day free trial. Uses games and activities to teach kids how to read. Bryan’s nephews love it.
ReadWorks
A comprehensive program for building literacy. Works especially well with grade-school students. (K-5)
Storyline Online
A literacy-themed summer camp program which has since branched out. It features numerous video and blog posts for use with literacy learning.

Math
Bridges Math
Classrooms may be different this year, but math learning can continue! The Math Learning Center (MLC) is providing resources for all students to use independently or with support from family members or educators.
Corbett Maths
Free, England-based resource with math videos, math practice questions, and worksheets with answers.
Cuethink
A National Science Foundation–funded program helps students strengthen math skills. Based on George Polya’s four-step problem-solving approach. Offers a free trial of many of their features.
Dragonbox
A series of math apps and collected lesson plans and blog posts to help adults teach their children math. Offers a free trial.

Figure This
Designed to encourage families to practice math together. Offers math games in a variety of types, and even offers challenges in Spanish.

Greg Tang Math
Offers a wide variety of free lesson plans and math activities, created and curated by acclaimed youth mathematics author, Greg Tang.

Hot Math
Provides homework assistance for high school and college students, by walking through examples of various math problems.

Illuminations
A free website from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that has lesson plans, activities, and games for use.

Illustrative Math
Offers a variety of well-vetted lesson plans, videos, and activities for free.
Jefferson Lab
Offers a variety of well-vetted, fun math games.

Learn Zillion
Cloud-based math learning program that offers support for both homeschooled students and students in a mixed classroom/homeschool setting. Many of the resources are available for free, with some behind a premium access paywall.

MobyMax
A program designed to close learning gaps. Offers full curriculum, one test a year, and reports on student progress.
Math Game Time
Offers math games across a variety of grade levels and topics.
Math Help
Offers full lessons with videos, guided practice, and interactive self-tests for students.
Mr. N365
Tons of math games, workshops, and practice modules, as well as worksheets and other printables!
Ninja Maths
Australia-based site that gamifies learning math. Offers resources for math competitions between more than one student.
Numeracy Ninjas
A free intervention tool designed to fill gaps in students’ learning.
PBS Math Club
From PBS Learning Media, it offers a video blog that teaches middle-school level Common Core standard math concepts.
Science
Brainpop
Offers videos, games, and more to help students learn about a ton of different topics, but especially science. Aimed at elementary students. Offers a free trial period.
National Science Foundation
A collection of National Science Foundation materials for teachers and families.

NSTA
The website for the National Science Teaching Association contains lesson plans, articles, and videos for teaching use. There are also webinars and resources for teachers on topics like distance learning.

Periodic Videos
Hosts a ton of videos covering topics in chemistry.
Science 4 Us
Database of lesson plans, activities and more for a variety of age groups.
Science Buddies
Offers a variety of teaching resources, including lesson plans, activities, and more.
PHet Colorado
Has a wide variety of simulations and videos that cover many topics across a wide range of grade levels.
Planting Science
Offers a fully-stocked toolkit of resources (lesson plans, articles, even some basic curriculum) for teaching botany.

The Sci Show
A Youtube channel hosting a ton of informative science videos across a wide breadth of topics.
SERC @ Carleton
A great database of resources on teaching Earth science.
Understanding Science
A fully-stocked resource about truly understanding science. Contains lesson plans, articles, videos, and more. Geared towards high-school.
Social Studies
American Heritage
A collection of American History lesson plans and other resources put together by the American Heritage Educational Foundation.

American Memory
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
Children and Youth in History
Primary research sources and media focusing on childrens’ experiences during major historical events worldwide.

CultureGrams
Maps, statistics, photographs, and cultural information on 190 countries and all 50 states. Research country information for school reports. Find authentic native recipes. Learn about local customs when planning travel destinations.
Digital History
A huge cache of audio/visual resources for use in teaching various grade levels of American history.
Eyewitness to History
A collection of primary resources/first person account of important historical events for use in lessons.

HeritageQuest
HeritageQuest® Online is an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources for more than 60 countries, with coverage dating back as early as the 1700s. The collection can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past, while also providing a comprehensive treasury of genealogical sources rich in unique records, local and family histories, and finding-aids.
Ohio History Central
An evolving, dynamic online encyclopedia from the Ohio Historical Society. Find information, images, timelines, maps, and documents about Ohio’s history, geography, geology, animals, and American Indian populations.
Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook
Project to bring together digital versions of historical collections from more than 330 archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums. Search or browse more than 26,000 primary sources dating from prehistory to the present. Take the Ohio Memory Challenge. Read essays about Ohio topics. Create your own scrapbook.
Guest Hollow
Free resource for 3rd grade American history.

History.com
History Channel’s collected videos and other primary documentation from a variety of global historical events.
National Park Service
A collection of resources for teachers covering the historical importance of national landmarks.
Picturing America
Picturing America was a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that brought masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Though their project is over, many of the resources are still available.

Stanford History Education Group
A collection of World history lesson plans for a variety of age ranges and time periods.
Teaching History
Lesson plans, activities, videos, and more are available to help teach various facets of world history.
Young Heroes of History
Lesson plans and booklists of historical fiction centered around the Civil War era of American History.
Foreign Languages
DuoLingo
Offers comprehensive courses in a ton of different languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and more.

Memrise
Offers a variety of activities to help the student learn various languages, including French, Spanish, and more.
Transparent Languages
Transparent Language Online provides a fun, effective, and engaging experience for learners of all levels looking to build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in a foreign language. Combining robust courses, supplemental vocabulary, extensive grammar resources, and mobile apps, Transparent Language Online is the most complete language-learning system. With over 100 languages to choose from, including English for speakers of over 26 languages, there is something for every learner. Best of all, with enhanced support for mobile platforms, learners can enjoy the freedom to learn at home, in the library, or on the go.
World Book Spanish
This is part of World Book Online Reference Center that is a Spanish-Language encyclopedia called Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos. It contains 2,200 articles and more than 600 illustrations.
Music
Chrome Learning Lab
A great hands-on site for learning musical concepts that ties these concepts to topics in math, science, and more.
Qello Concerts
Qello Concerts is the only place to watch over 1700 of the most amazing live moments in music. It's the world's largest collection of full-length concerts and music documentaries streamed on-demand to just about any digital device. It's like a never-ending concert ticket. Available through the Libby App.
Art
Oxford Art Online
The foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, covering both Western and non-Western art, encompassing all aspects of visual culture. It features articles about topics as varied as Fauvism and Frida Kahlo, bibliographies for further research, and thousands of searchable images. Oxford Art Online is a living resource, with scholars and specialists from around the world continually reviewing and updating existing content and contributing new articles.
Physical Wellness and Mindfulness
GoNoodle
An extremely popular classroom app for promoting movement integration and mindfulness learning.
Additional BPL Online Resources
More Resources
Check out BPL's full list of online resources, links and databases.