7 Best Websites & Ideas for a Virtual School Day (Especially During Weather Closures!)
Unexpected virtual school days can be stressful for students, teachers, and families—especially when they’re caused by weather closures and last-minute announcements. If you’re scrambling to plan meaningful online learning activities, don’t worry. I’ve rounded up my favorites: 7 reliable educational websites and virtual learning ideas that work across grade levels with low prep and high engagement.
1. EdPuzzle — Make Any Video Interactive
Best for: Grades 4–12
Why It Works for Virtual Learning: EdPuzzle allows teachers to assign videos with embedded questions so students stay engaged and accountable. You can use their library of pre-made videos OR make your own from a video you like on youtube.com
Virtual Day Tip: Choose pre-made EdPuzzle lessons to save prep time during emergency remote learning days.
2. PhET Interactive Simulations — Online Science Simulations
Best for: Middle School & High School Science
Why It Works for Virtual Days: These simulations let students explore real scientific and mathematical concepts through guided experiments. There are many worksheets already on the site that you can download to go along with the many simulations.
3. VirtualScienceTeachers.org — NGSS-Aligned Virtual Labs & Lessons
Best for: Middle School Science
Why It Works: Everything is structured for distance learning, including virtual labs, interactives, and assessments. No special materials required so these perfect for weather closures. My favorite is the periodic table escape room (found under the Chemistry drop down).
4. NatGeo Kids — Nonfiction Articles & Short Videos
Best for: Upper Elementary & Middle School
Why Students Love It: High-interest topics like animals, extreme weather, geography, and real-world science keep students engaged and curious.
Quick Reading Response:
Read one article and complete a 3–2–1: 3 facts, 2 questions, 1 connection.
5. CK-12 — Free Digital Textbooks, Simulations & Practice
Best for: Grades 6–12
Why It Works for Virtual Days: CK-12 offers free digital FlexBooks, concept videos, simulations, and auto-graded practice problems. Students can work at their own pace, making it perfect for asynchronous virtual learning.
Virtual Day Tip:
Assign a short FlexBook section + practice set and have students submit a screenshot of their score for easy accountability.
6. LabXChange — Virtual Lab Simulations for Secondary Science
Best for: MS/HS Science (especially Biology)
Why It Works: LabXChange provides virtual lab simulations, interactive modules, and curated learning pathways that replicate real lab experiences without materials. Students experiment, analyze results, and complete reflection tasks on bacteria, DNA, proteins, diffusion, genes….
Virtual Day Tip:
Assign a specific pathway (ex: “DNA to Protein”) so students are guided step-by-step without extra teacher instructions.
7. Blooket / Gimkit — Gamified Asynchronous Review
Best for: All Subjects & Grade Levels
Why It Works on Virtual Days: Kids stay engaged while reviewing content and teachers get data. Asynchronous modes allow for flexibility if power/internet is spotty.
Offline-Friendly Activities for Students With Limited Internet Access
Not all students have stable internet during storms. Here are a few low-tech or no-tech ideas that still support learning:
✔ Weather observation journals
✔ “3 Facts, 2 Questions, 1 Connection” article reflections
✔ Sketch-noting a science concept
✔ Home scavenger hunts (solids, liquids, gases, etc.)
✔ Read-and-respond activities
These are great for emergency remote learning packets too.
If you teach middle school science like I do, I also have digital-friendly activities like my Spy Search Cards (on life and physical science topics) that work well for surprise virtual days and student-led learning. Instead of hanging them up, just share out the pdfs of the student worksheet and the cards for the students to complete on their own.
Final Thoughts on Virtual School Day Planning
Whether you’re preparing for a snow day, hurricane day, or district-wide remote schedule, the key is to keep things meaningful and manageable. I hope these websites and ideas can save you some prep time while giving your students engaging lessons to work on!
