Looking for distance learning resources for teachers and parents, including virtual gift ideas for teacher appreciation week? Stressed about how you and your student(s) will be able to adapt to online learning?
If you answered yes to one or both of the above questions, then this blog post was made with you in mind. The best part is, you don’t have to stress yourself trying to search all over the internet for resources.
Just look below for a list of articles for free online distance learning resources for teachers and parents, as well as teacher appreciation week gift ideas!

To My Teachers

I imagine you are stressed enough as is without having to worry about finding distance learning resources for teachers.
As former high school ELA teacher for five years, I know that if I were still teaching right now, I might find it difficult to adjust my lessons to be ready for distance learning. So, I tried to put myself in the your shoes, and think about how I would adjust the curriculum for online learning if I were still teaching. If you are a parent reading this, think about how you can apply what you are about to read below with your own students at home!
As districts struggle trying to take traditional classroom schooling to online learning, you may have to go through different trainings, and processes may change multiple times before the right one is discovered.
So, it is important to remain flexible with yourself and your students.
With flexibility comes differentiation, so be sure you are aware of how you will be flexible when it comes to what you are assigning to students.
Think about:
- How can you adapt a lesson for it to work online and paper copy?
- How can you adapt a lesson that addresses the needs of students who learn at different levels?
- How can you be flexible with how students turn in homework?
- How can you be flexible in how you teach students, and how will you keep a healthy balance? (mixture of video recordings, discussions, and self-guided work)
- What will you do for those students who need extra help?
Students are used to seeing their teachers daily, thus it is even more important that they see you in some capacity through video. Not only is this important because it gives students a piece of what they are used to in traditional school, it also allows you to be able to actually teach concepts to help students with their assignments.
You could also use this to hold group discussions with your students, or even create a lesson where a component is for them to have to submit a recording (such as a speech, read a poem, do a presentation, etc. ). Just be mindful of how you can adapt this for students who do not have internet access.
You may find yourself having to adjust your lessons to make them more self-guided. What this means is basically creating even more detailed and thorough assignments that students can complete without needing the traditional amount of instruction that would be given in the traditional school.
Below you will find examples of activities I used with my GT ELA students that were more independent and self-guided. Of course if I were to use these for online purposes, it would still need to be adapted, but it is a great example to see how you could structure an assignment to be more self-guided!
- The Odyssey Reading Guide
- Romeo & Juliet Reading Guide
- Signposts
- Signpost practice
- Discussion Questions (pay attention to assessment questions on second page)
A great way to build a community with online learning is using discussion boards/forums. This is a great way for students to interact with each other in a meaningful way. It’s also a way for you to gauge their understanding of the material and concepts being taught, depending on how you use the discussion.
You can either post questions for students to answer or have students create discussion questions for their peers to respond to and vice versa.
It is even more imperative to have clear expectations for your students in an online learning setting. Those expectations should be the first thing you teach and discuss with your students.
Consider even doing a eLearning etiquette lesson, so students are aware of your dos and dont’s with anything to they do on the platform.

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Tips, Tricks & Advice

1. Coronavirus Distance Learning & Virtual Teaching Tips
https://bowtieguyandwife.com/blogs/news/corona-virus-distance-learning-school-learning-tips
2. Distance Learning Tips From One Teacher to Another
https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/distance-learning-tips-from-one-teacher-to-another
3. 4 Tips for Teachers Shifting to Teaching Online
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-tips-supporting-learning-home
4. Distance Learning Tips for Teachers
https://www.simplykinder.com/distance-learning-tips-for-teachers/
5. 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course
https://www.washington.edu/doit/20-tips-teaching-accessible-online-course
6. Helping teachers and students make the switch to remote learning
7. Online Learning in the Wake of COVID-19
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/online-learning-wake-covid-19/
8. COVID-19 Distance Learning
https://beehively.com/distance-learning-tips
9. Resources For Teaching and Learning During This Period of Social Distancing
10. Coronavirus Closures? Online Learning Tips for Teachers and Schools [interview with an American Teacher in China]
11. Tips for Engaging Students in Meaningful Discussion
https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/12/tips-for-engaging-students-in.html
12. 5 Tips to Make E-learning As Engaging As Classroom Training [Infographic]
https://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/elearning-engaging-as-classroom-training-infographic
Free Resources

1. Companies Offering Free Subscriptions and Content for Teachers & Parents Impacted by COVID-19
2. Newslea
https://newsela.com/about/distance-learning/
3. Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak
4. 2020 COVID-19 Remote Learning
https://www.doe.in.gov/elearning/2020-covid-19-remote-learning
5. Edtech companies offer free tools to colleges affected by COVID-19
https://edscoop.com/free-edtech-resources-colleges-universities-affected-covid19-coronavirus/
6. Distance learning solutions
https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures/solutions
7. Free Online Learning Resources For Schools Affected by Coronavirus/COVID-19
8. Explore distance learning resources for schools affected by COVID-19
https://edu.google.com/latest-news/covid-19-support-resources/?modal_active=none
9. Free, Emergency Virtual-Learning Resources for Every School
https://britannicalearn.com/covid-19-free-resources/
10. Coronavirus Help: Free educational resources for kids stuck at home during COVID-19
11. Updated: 35 free K-12 resources during coronavirus pandemic
12. Teaching Through Coronavirus: What Educators Need Right Now
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/teaching-through-coronavirus-what-educators-need-right-now
13. 130+ Amazing Online Learning Resources
https://www.weareteachers.com/free-online-learning-resources/
14. Resources for Teaching Remotely
https://www.cec.sped.org/Tools-and-Resources/Resources-for-Teaching-Remotely
16. Some useful resources to support learning in the time of COVID-19
17. 20 Free Tech Tools for Online Teaching
https://writeonwithmissg.com/2020/03/14/20techtoolsforonlineteaching/
18. Distance Learning and You
https://www.thecoloradoclassroom.com/2020/03/distance-learning-and-you.html
19. Updated: Free Resources for Schools During COVID-19 Outbreak
Teacher Appreciation Week

Do you know an amazing teacher who you want to shower with gifts during teacher appreciation week, but are struggling with figuring out how to accomplish this due to school closures amidst the COVID 19 pandemic?
Here are some great ideas for virtual gifts to give during teacher appreciation week! Be sure to click on each to access the dropdown menu :-).
Use a site such as Hallmark eCard to make personalized thank you cards that you can send virtually to the special teacher in you and your child’s life!
Here are some ideas of what your student (and you if you choose to make one as well) can include in the card:
- Why the student is thankful for the teacher(s). This could be a list of things or one specific thing.
- Favorite memory
- Positive things about the teacher
- How the teacher has helped the student/you.
Other websites you can use to create an eCard:
- Greetings Island
- CrossCards
- Punchbowl
- Blue Mountain
- JibJab (you can even make a Video eCard!)
Another option is to have your student write a letter to the teacher on the computer including the same information above and sending it to the teacher online via e-mail!
Some ideas for eGift Cards are:
- Music subscription to platforms such as Apple Music or Pandora.
- Digital Subscriptions to platforms such as Amazon Prime, Playstation, Newspapers like the New York Times, and more!
- Streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+.
- Online learning platform such as Masterclass.
- Food: favorite restaurant, eateries, grocery stores, etc.
- Major online retailers.
- Ebooks through Google Play or Kindle.
An amazing place to find a large volume of virtual gift ideas for teacher appreciation week is Etsy!
Simply search for terms such as “teacher appreciation gift virtual” or even “teacher appreciation editable printable” to the vast amount of gift ideas!
Have your student create a video expressing their appreciation for their teacher(s).
The video can include:
- Why the student is thankful for the teacher(s).
- Favorite memory with the teacher
- Positive things about the teacher
- How the teacher has helped the student.
A great way to show your appreciation for the teachers in you and your student’s life is to share this resource with them!
While this post has 36 links to tips, tricks, advice, and free resources for distance learning, the links themselves lead to EVEN MORE resources for teachers that can help make the transition to online learning less stressful and overwhelming! So, gift them with free resources by sharing this post!
You may also want to consider giving your favorite teacher a gift card for Teachers Pay Teachers, an online marketplace where teachers can purchase lesson plans, games, activities and more!

MJ
