Free Homeschooling Resources

Free Online Resources for Homeschooling Your Middle and High School Students

The following is a list of free resources for (mostly) middle and high school that I have compiled over several years. This list is arranged by subject. Resources that are designated to be "STEM" are found in the category that most closely matches the majority of the content on the site, but be aware that all STEM disciplines are referred to at these sites. In the teacher resource section you will find just that - links that might help your day go easier! The If you find a link that does not work or one that leads to inappropriate content, please let me know in the comments so that I can update the list.

History
Literature
Grammar
Performing Arts
Math
Science
Languages
Visual Arts
Economics
Computer Science
Home Economics
Misc
Multiple
Teacher Resources

History/Geography/Am. Government/Current Events

• 100 Documents - covers US History – 100 milestone documents US; National Archives
• AP Study Notes (APUSH) - US Supreme Court Cases for APUSH exam 
• Civil War Curriculum - Elementary, Middle and High School; detailed lesson plans; from the Civil War Trust
• CNN Student News - 10 min broadcast M-F during school year; current events; teacher helps available
• Course Notes: US History Court Cases - US History; Important court cases; use for AP exam review 
• Digital History - US History Textbook; partnership w/U. of Houston
• Energy of a Nation: Immigrants in America - history of immigration in the US; 13 complete lesson plan and handouts
• Forumromanum - “Outlines of Roman History” text & timeline; “Private Lives of the Romans” text 
• History.com - Online history videos 
• iCivics - US Government – teaches through games. Middle & High
• Intelligence Squared - “Oxford Style” debates about current issues – see education tab for full list 
• James Madison’s Montpelier Center for the Constitution - Online course: Introduction to the Constitution; includes video, reading, assessment
• Learning Network, The - New York Times; current events; lesson plans; student comments; lesson plan archive 
• National Archives - US History; US Government; original documents;
• National Geographic Education - Geography activities, all grades
• Outline of US History - US History Textbook from State Dept. (I think)
• Stanford History Education Group - US & World History original document based lesson plans
• Students Friend - World History & Geography: Text,, lesson plans, study guides. 
• Student News Daily - High School; current events; quizzes & answers
• US Department of State - Diplomacy; has youth/education section
• US Geological Survey - Maps; Earth science; climate; geology, etc.
• UT Map Library - Online current & historical maps, Univ. of Texas, Austin

Literature

• Absolute Shakespeare - Shakespearean literature
• Adolescent Literacy - Grades 4-12; variety of resources from basic literacy through college prep 
• American Shakespeare Center - Free mini-guides to plays; full guides avail. For $ 
• AR Book Finder - Find books based on topic, keywords, etc. 
• Bartleby.com - “Internet publisher of literature & reference books” 
• Books R4 Teens - UT Austin: book reviews; summaries; teaching ideas for recently published teen lit. 
• Cliff Notes - Free Literature guides 
• Frankenstein - Correlates the novel to modern day scientific knowledge. Lesson plans, middle & high school
• Glencoe Literature Library - Literature – online study guides
• Invitation to World Literature - World lit. background & lectures 
• Norton Anthology: Western Civilization - Overviews; timelines; maps; quizzes; reading comp. 
• Pink Monkey - free online Lit. Summaries; over 460 Study Guides / Book Notes / Chapter Summaries
• Random House for High School Teachers - Literature: Teacher guides; reading group guides; author profiles; fiction, poetry, non-fiction; themes 
• Read, Write, Think - Lesson plans for reading & writing, K-12; student activities. Int’l Reading Association
• Science Fiction Flow Chart - Navigate NPR’s top 100 scifi/fantasy books 
• Shakespeare Online - Literature/Shakespeare 
• Spark Notes - Literature Notes/No Fear Literature/No Fear Shakespeare/Test Prep 
• Teaching Literature - High School Lit.
• Web English Teacher - Book report alternatives; info. about English Lit.; all grade

Grammar & Composition

• Citation Machine - Tool to generate correctly formatted references for MLA, APA, Turbia and Chicago
• College Writing Info - Online textbook; hosted by U. of Minnesota
• English 101 - Free grammar lessons; 6 modules; students work @ own pace 
• Guide to Grammar & Writing/Capital CC - Grammar & writing resource 
• National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) - Writing fiction; site has free workbooks for elementary, middle and high school that step the student through writing process 
• Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Purdue University; all areas/types of writing
• Paradigm Online Writing Assistant - Resources for different types of writing; grammar checker; how to choose topic, etc.
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Resources for all areas of writing 
• Research Paper Guide - From Auburn High School 
• Traditional English Sentence Style - Grammar & writing style workbook 
• UNC – Chapel Hill Writing Center - Writing, grammar, format, types of writing free handouts
• Vocabulary Coach - Vocabulary
• Writing in College: A Short Guide to College Writing - University of Chicago
• Zotero - Free tool to help you collect, organize, cite & share your research and notes 

Performing Arts (music/music appreciation/music history/acting/dance)

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences - Lesson plans on the art & science of motion pictures (cinematography, animation, light & sound, editing, etc.)
• Choral Wiki - Choral Public Doman Library; music history
• Classics for Kids - Radio show (listen online), music history, appreciation & activity sheets. Elementary.
• Jazz Profiles (from NPR) - Podcasts & reading re: Jazz
• Musopen - recordings, sheet music, and textbooks to the public for free, without copyright restrictions.
• Score Online - Free Piano Scores
• Teaching With Movies - Introduction to cinematic and theatrical technique; lesson plans based on movies and film clips. 

Math

• Alcumus - Math competition practice; supplement all high school math; from Art of Problem Solving 
• Blossoms (MIT) - Math & science video lessons for high school 
• Geometry Toolbox - Online tool for creating geometry constructions 
• MIT Blossoms - Math & science video lessons for high school
• Probability & Statistics - Free downloadable PDF; four modules: basic statistics concepts; the normal model; discrete probability distributions; correlation and regression; from The Actuarial Foundation 
• Principles of Accounting - Online textbook; fundamental accounting instruction for college-level students; partnership w/Utah State University
• Purple Math - Algebra lessons
• Regent’s Prep - Formula cheat sheets for Alg. 2, Trig & Probability
• Strategicum - Math; gifted; Olympiad
• Virtual Math Lab - West Texas A & M; beginning algebra; college algebra; Accuplacer; GRE tutorials
• Yay Math - Videos, worksheets, online quizzes for Alg 1 & 2; geometry

Science

• American Chemical Society (ACS) - Chemistry for all age groups. Information; experiments; careers
• American Physical Society (APS)  - Physics; high school teacher helps; unit studies; careers
• American Society for Microbiology -  Classroom activities K-12; career info; free posters
• Blossoms (MIT) - Math & science video lessons for high school 
• Chem1 Virtual Text - Can be used as a reference book or as a main text 
• Conceptual Physics - Supplemental lab activities for Conceptual Physics 
• CSI: The Experience - Video games to solve crimes; various resources for forensic education; from Rice University
• Discovery Education - STEM – lesson plans, etc. All grades; Discovery Channel
• Elementary Science Fair Planning Guide - Free download
• Epidemiology in Public Health Practice, Principles of - Free course from The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
• Envirothon Curriculum Guidelines - Environmental science course outline 
• Forensics Illustrated – Step Under the Tape - Online text, worksheets, quizzes, tests, etc. 
• Free High School Science Texts - Grade 10-12 science & math texts; royalty free; open; Geared to S. African Schools 
• Ga. Public Broadcasting - High School Chemistry & Physics; free to Ga. teachers, otherwise $. 
• Goldie’s Room - AP biology teacher posts notes, videos, etc.; biology video archive 
• Guest Hollow - Printables; curr.; resources; free biology course 
• Home Scientist, The - Downloadable books: DIY Guide to Home Biology, Chemistry, etc. 
• How to Write Lab Reports for Biology - From Union College 
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Free DVD’s on medical issues; biology; science
• LabWrite - Steps you through preparing for a lab and writing the lab report; from North Carolina State University
• Mini Med School - U. of Colorado Medical school lecture series; free enrollment; registration required before year begins; simulcast, must watch live; notes & FAQ for lectures available
• NASA Educator - Science 
• New Leaf Publishing Group - Study guides to accompany many science programs. Christian, creationist viewpoint.
• Online Writing Lab: Lab Reports - How to write lab reports; Reed College 
• Online Biology Textbook - Biology text from Estrella Mountain Community College
• Physics Classroom - Tutorials; teacher helps; worksheets; videos; lessons; online text 
• Physics Central (APS)  – all age groups; info.; experiments; contests 
• Plants Database from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Searchable database for plant characteristics, photos, classification. Fact sheets & planting guides, invasive & endangered lists, etc.
• Saylor Academy - Free marine biology course
• Science Buddies - Free science fair project tools, ideas and resources for serious students 
• Student Guide: How to Do a Science Fair Project - Mass. State Science & Engineering Fair; high school level; downloadable 
• University of Maryland Medical Center - Videos: variety of medical topics; doctors; surgery
• Vision Learning - From National Science Foundation; science modules – all disciplines (use instead of text); animations

Languages

• BBC Languages - Language courses
• DuoLingo - Free language classes: Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese, Itallian 
• Lifeprint - Free ASL courses – 2 levels

Visual Arts (Art/Art Appreciation/Art History/Design)

• Asian Art Museum - Online collection of Asian art, art history, education page
• Chuck Green’s Idea Book - Graphic design tutorials
• Creative Live - Online creative classroom/photography/graphic design/business
• Deep Space Sparkle - Art Lesson Plans for K-6
• Design Squad Nation - Design; engineering; interactive; contests; projects 
• Dick Blick Art Lessons - Lesson plans complete w/videos & supply lists; all grades; correlated to standards
• Getty Publishing - Free downloads of hundreds of art books
• Google Art Project - Online collection of works from around the world. Curated. 
• Graphic Reporter, The - Graphic Design tutorials & downloads
• Jerry’s Artarama - 1000+ instructional art videos
• Meet the Masters - Free .pdf download of art appreciation talks 287 pages
• Mrs. Brown’s Art Class - Art curriculum and lesson plans for K-5 
• National Gallery of Art - Education portal with lesson plans for art history and art activities 
• National Gallery of Art – Kids (NGA Kids) - Create online art; activities; art history; art guides 
• National Gallery of Art Learning Resources - Resource library; downloads; items available for loan 

Economics & Personal Finance

• Building Your Future: Financial Literacy Curriculum - High School; Covers banking, financing, investing, paths to employment. Free PDF downloads. From The Actuarial Foundation
• Center for Economic Education - James Madison University K-12 – economics lesson plans by grade 
• Hands on Banking - Intro to banking courses, personal finance, from Wells Fargo; kids, teens & young adults; entrepreneurship course 
• Money Math - Workbook; financial literacy
• Practical Money Skills for Life - financial literacy curriculum for 9 – 12 graders; 22 free, standards-aligned lessons; use in sequence or individually. Has all grades. 
• US Department of The Treasury - Lesson plans; kids zone; educational info. 

Computer Science & Engineering (all disciplines)

• Code Academy - Courses on a variety of programming lanuages
• Computer Science Unplugged - CS activities teach concepts; sponsored by Carnegie Mellon Univ.
• Design Squad Nation - Design; engineering; interactive; contests; projects 
• eGFI - Am. Society for Engineering Ed. Teacher site;K-12 Lesson plans; activities; STEM 
• Engineering is Elementary (EiE) - STEM; lesson plans for children
• Free Tech Books - Lists free online computer science, engineering and programming books, textbooks and lecture notes
• Invent with Python - Computer Science; online programming tutorial
• KT Byte - Free onine Java tutorials & textbook
• Try Engineering (IEEE) - Career exploration; lesson plans re: engineering in classroom; physics, chemistry, bio.

Home Economics/Consumer Sciences

• California Nutrition Curriculum - Free K-12 lesson plans online from the Dairy Council of California
• Craft and Fabric - Free online sewing for beginners book
• Culinary Institute of America (CIA) - Online cooking tutorials
• Epicurious - Online cooking tutorials, arranged in topic channels: around the world in 80 dishes; techniques; holidays, etc.
• Food Science - Home Ec. From the Illinois State Board of Ed.
• HEARTH - Home Economics Research, Tradition and History; from Cornell University
• Jamie's Home Cooking Skills - cooking skills, activity sheets, recipes from Jamie Oliver
• Kids Sewing Projects - Lessons & projects, starts w/preschool 
• Sew-loutions - Downloadable .pdf on all things sewing – tons of info “Your Guide to Successful Sewing”
• Williams-Sonoma - Online video tutorials for recipes, cooking techniques, demos 

Misc. Subject & Topic Resources (subjects and topics that don't fit neatly into other categories)

• Please Convince Me - Christian apologetics
• Backpack Missions -  Object lessons to teach about cultures & mission work – NAMB 
• Basics of Effective Learning - Study Skills from Bucks County Community College 
• Brakes - In person defensive driving; $99 deposit, can be returned @ end of class 
• Career Zone - State of CA: career exploration including interest surveys
• Cmap - Free concept map software; great for studying 
• Compassion International Home School Lesson Plans - Culture, geography, spiritual growth w/hands on activities & resources
• Modern Formal Logic Primer, A - Free online logic textbook
• National Park Service - Wide variety of info: videos; educator info; student info 
• Nobel Prize - Lessons & games on research of prize winners; videos of prize winners 
• Publications USA - Free publications from the US government; downloads; treasure trove of info on a wide variety of topics
• StudyBlue - Build note cards; mobile apps 
• Study Guides and Strategies - Tips & tools for studying any topic, comprehensive 
• StudyNotes.org - Online resource to aid prep for AP, SAT, ACT exams. Contains notes, outlines, note cards, etc. 
• Study Skills Lectures - Long Beach CC; search for Scott Brubaker; 1st one is Active Listening 
• Suntrust Center for Financial Education Online Learning Center - Wake Tech CC; videos, self-quizzes, basic financial management.
• TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) - Various topics; superior speakers; excellent 
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Dept of Labor) - Occupational outlook handbook; career guides; labor statistics 
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA – US Dept. of Labor) - Safety & health training courses 
• US Dept. of the Interior - Teacher resources; kid info.; links to bureau’s w/in DOI
• YouCat - Newman; online catechism based on the new youth catechism of the Catholic Church 

Multiple Subject Resources (cover two or more subject areas)

• Academic Earth - Repository of various free university courses; arranged by subject 
• ALEX – Alabama Learning Exchange  - Online lesson plans; all subjects 
• Annenburg Foundation, The -  Math, science, history video series’ for HS and adult learners; subject training videos for teachers 
• AP Study Notes - Study notes, outlines, etc. for various AP exams 
• Book Boon - Download free textbooks, business & travel
• British Library - Teacher resources: lit; history; art; culture; research 
• CK-12 - STEM subjects; flex-books (textbooks)
• Course Notes - All subjects; includes AP; course notes, vocabulary, outlines, etc. 
• Curriki - Lesson plan/curriculum sharing for K-12. Math, LA, Science, History
• Easy Peasy All in One High School - Site with shared homeschool lesson plans for various courses 
• edX - Online classes: Harvard, Berkley, MIT, Univ. of TX. Features: self-paced learning; online discussion groups; collaborative learning; assessment; online labs. Completion certificates. Includes AP courses
• Forum Network - consortium of PBS and NPR stations; offers live and on-demand lectures by some of the world’s foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers and community leaders
• Gateway to 21st Century Skills, The - US Dept. of Education; activities, lesson plans, online projects, etc.. All subjects.
• Ga. Public Broadcasting Education - Variety of subjects; teacher helps; home school section for Ga. residents 
• Goodwill Community Foundation - Basic Skills: Reading; Math; Computer Literacy
• Homeschool Share - Free, collaborative site; unit studies for PK-5th
• Harari College Worldwide - Specialize in humanities, all courses free, includes AP 
• Harvard @ Home - Many topics; video lectures; not full courses 
• Hippocampus - All subjects; video content by subject and topic
• Infocobuild - Portal to open courseware
• iTunes U - More than 350,000 free lectures, videos, films, and other resources; international 
• Khan Academy - Any – free teaching videos 
• Library of Congress - All 
• Library of Congress - Teacher Resource Page 
• Librivox - Free recordings of books in the public domain
• MIT Open Courseware - Free lecture notes, videos and exams 
• MITx - Free online MIT courses; no credit, certificate avail.
• National Repository for Online Courses (NROC) - Library of online course content for college, high school, AP
• Open High School of Utah - Charter high school that makes lesson plans, assignmetns, videos available to public; all subjects 
• Open Yale Courses - Introductory courses from Yale 
• Open Culture  - Library of various free university courses, videos, films, etc.; arranged by subject 
• PBS Learning Media  - videos, interactives, audio, photos, and in-depth lesson plans
• St. Jerome Classical School - Educational Plan for this Catholic, Classical school; scope & sequence 
• SAS Curriculum Pathways - Resources for multiple subjects 
• Schmoop - Learning guides, High School subjects; appeal to teens 
• Smithsonian Education - For educators – lesson plans searchable by subject/grade 
• Smithsonian Institute - For educators 
• Smithsonian Institute - For kids 
• Sophia - Online learning tutorials, videos; all subjects 
• Teacher Vision - Lesson plans, worksheets, all subjects
• Udacity - College courses; free; business; computer sci, design, math, science 
• University of California Irvine - Open courseware all subjects
• UC Berkley - central service for online video & audio; all subjects 
• UC College Prep - Open access lesson plans for AP courses; K-12 courses; virtual labs all subjects 
• University of Notre Dame Open Courseware - All
• Video Lectures - free and open access educational video lectures repository; science; from worldwide  events 
• Virtual Homeschool Co-op - Variety of courses, all free
• WikiBooks - Open content textbook collection that anyone can edit 
• Wolfram Alpha - Any – online computational knowledge engine 
• Yale Open Course - All 
• YouTube EDU - All; various university & other organizations

Teacher Resources

• Appitic - Directory of educational apps complied by Apple Distinguished Educators. Includes SPED/Autism
• Engrade - Online grade book; homework calendar; quizzes, etc.
• ERIC – Education Resources Information Center - an online digital library of education research and information 
• Ethics in Education - Ethics course based in history; MS & HS; free student workbooks 
• Google Apps for Education - Various classroom mgmt. tools
• Hot Potatoes - Create worksheets; tests, etc. 
• Moodle - Free Learning Management System; teachers create sites
• Plagiarisma - Plagiarism checker
• Teascript - Transcript Generator