Elementary School

Education news, analysis, and opinion about schools serving the lower grades, typically up to 5th, and their students
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Nintendo Switches, like the one the teenage boy is using above, are being used in the Denver Public Schools in an esports program designed to improve student engagement. Education Week recently talked to one of the educators involved in that program, who gave a presentation about it at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., June 28 to July 1.
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo
Classroom Technology Q&A How This District Is Using Esports to Increase Student Engagement
An education technology specialist discusses an esports development program she created.
Lauraine Langreo, July 9, 2026
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4 min read
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K-2 students at South Fayette Township Elementary School in Pennsylvania used data science to pick a name for a cow they adopted to follow at a local farm. A teacher from the school talked to other educators about how she used the cow to teach about data science, AI, and chemistry during the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on July 1, 2026.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Science How a Cow 'Moooved' STEM and AI Learning Forward
The farm animal helped K-2 students explore artificial intelligence, data science, and chemistry.
Alyson Klein, July 9, 2026
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3 min read
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Hundreds attend the ISTELive 26 + ASCD annual conference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. on June 29, 2026. Some educators at the conference discussed how they introduce AI to elementary students, breaking down specific lessons to illustrate the technology's potential and limitations, and boost students' AI literacy.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Lessons on AI for Elementary Students: 'Teach Them Good Habits Now'
Teachers want to help their youngest students become familiar with AI's potential—and its limits.
Arianna Prothero, July 8, 2026
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7 min read
English learners and early elementary students developing foundational literacy skills. Strategies designed for multilingual learners have improved engagement, confidence, and academic language for all students. Different learners.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion I Changed What Differentiation Means in My Classroom. Here’s How
The strategies that I first introduced for multilingual students ended up helping all my students succeed.
Jeremiah Asendido, June 12, 2026
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3 min read
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Students return from the Ephrata, Pa. district's "maker bus" to their classrooms at Fulton Elementary School as teacher Joel Bischoff leads them on April 29, 2026. The Ephrata district parks the mobile makerspace at each of its elementary schools a few weeks at a time to allow students to complete hands-on projects. The district has oriented its teaching around projects that allow students to demonstrate skills like empathy and creativity alongside content knowledge.
Scott Lewis for Education Week
Curriculum See the Retired School Bus That High Schoolers Turned Into a Mobile Makerspace
In a Pennsylvania district, students use a bus specially outfitted for them to work on creative projects.
Evie Blad, June 4, 2026
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1 min read
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A 4th grade student vies for the attention of a turtle during her class’s weekly visit to the Da Vinci Science Center on May 18, 2026, as part of the center’s partnership with the Allentown school district’s Central Elementary STREAM Academy.
Scott Lewis for Education Week
Science Can a Science Museum Reshape Learning? Inside One District's Experiment
A state-of-the-art science museum and a formerly under-resourced elementary school form a rare partnership.
Elizabeth Heubeck, May 27, 2026
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10 min read
Preschool students run on the new cushioned rubber surface while others use the double slide at Taft Early Learning Center in Uxbridge, Mass., on March 12, 2025.
Preschool students run on the new cushioned rubber surface while others use the double slide at Taft Early Learning Center in Uxbridge, Mass., on March 12, 2025. In Oklahoma, elementary schools will have to provide 40 minutes of recess daily starting this fall.
Brett Phelps for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement 40 Minutes of Recess Is Now the Law in This State
Elementary schools will have to provide 40 minutes of recess, after years of declining time nationwide.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 30, 2026
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3 min read
5th grade classroom in February. A morpheme word sort, sentence combining practice, and syntax surgery.
In a 5th grade classroom at Rock Rest Elementary, near Charlotte, N.C., students practice combining sentences and participate in "syntax surgery" to order the parts of complex sentence.<br/>
Madison Hart, Rock Rest Elementary
Reading & Literacy How a School's Language Lab Teaches Non-Phonics Reading Skills
In 'language lab,' teachers work on vocabulary and syntax to help students understand complex text.
Sarah Schwartz, April 15, 2026
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5 min read
Students eat breakfast and color in Topaz Stotts' second-grade classroom before school starts at Klatt Elementary School in Anchorage, Aug. 17, 2021. Debate over school funding is dominating the Alaska Legislature as districts face teacher shortages and in some cases multimillion-dollar deficits. Schools have cut programs, increased class sizes or had teachers and administrators take on extra roles. (Emily Mesner/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)
Students eat breakfast and color before the start of the school day in a second grade classroom at Klatt Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 17, 2021. Some districts around the country are turning to behavior tutors and similar staff roles to help address student behavior challenges and support teachers.
Emily Mesner/Anchorage Daily News via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement The School Role Helping Prevent Misbehavior Before It Starts
Experienced teachers can spot signs of trouble in students early in the school day.
Olina Banerji, March 13, 2026
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7 min read
Reading & Literacy Video Why One School Is Leading the Return to Cursive
Georgia has joined 20-plus states returning cursive handwriting to elementary school classrooms.
Kaylee Domzalski & Elizabeth Heubeck, February 24, 2026
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1 min read
Students celebrate at the end of basketball club at Adams Elementary School on Dec. 5, 2025.
Students celebrate at the end of basketball club at Adams Elementary School on Dec. 5, 2025. The Spokane district has significantly invested in extracurriculars to help limit students' screen time, and their elementary schools are no exception.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement ‘Great Lifelong Habits’: How This District Is Keeping Young Kids Off Screens
Can a massive expansion of extracurricular activities help build social-emotional skills in early grades?
Alyson Klein, January 26, 2026
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6 min read
A vector silhouette illustration of a young boy using electronic devices in various poses including laying down and using a tablet, crouched and using a smart phone, and standing taking a selfie. A multi-coloured wave pattern is the background.
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Classroom Technology How These Elementary Schools Are Teaching Students Good Digital Habits
Two schools are trying to instill smart tech practices in even the youngest learners.
Jennifer Vilcarino, January 22, 2026
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4 min read
Two girls using dice in math lesson.
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Early Childhood Play-Based Learning Yields More Joy, Higher Scores at This Elementary School
Teachers who have incorporated guided play into their lessons say they've seen students thrive.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 29, 2025
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7 min read
Flat vibrant vector illustration depicting science education and learning concept. Illustration is showing different ways of learning: listening, watching, observing, exploring, experimenting, asking questions, talking and communicating, reading, drawing, and writing. The female teacher is placed on the right side and there are also two pupils each one representing different theme; one girl asking question and learning by listening and a boy holding a hand up to answer a question.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Science Opinion Science Scores Are Down. But We Know What Would Improve Them
The when, where, and how of science instruction needs rethinking.
Emma Banay, Christine Cunningham & James Ryan, October 9, 2025
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4 min read