Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum vs EL Education Curriculum
Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum
commonsense.orgEL Education Curriculum
eleducation.orgSide by side
| Figure | Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum | EL Education Curriculum |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · K-12 Curriculum Platforms | 7.9 (#13) | 8.9 (#2) |
| Audience | The curriculum is designed for grades K–12 and is offered to every district, school, and classroom. | The 2025 K–5 curriculum course lists teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders as its intended audience. |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States | New York, NY, United States |
| Purpose | The curriculum gives teachers a free, research-backed framework for building students’ digital literacy skills. | EL Education offers a standards-aligned K–8 Language Arts curriculum for educators and schools. |
| Security and privacy | Common Sense describes its Privacy Program as evaluating privacy policies to help parents, teachers, schools, and districts make informed choices about learning tools. | EL Education says it protects user information with appropriate physical security measures and keeps financial information in locked or password-protected files. |
Plans
Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum
- FreeFree
Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum pricing →
EL Education Curriculum
- EL Education Language Arts CurriculumFree
- EL Education Language Arts Curriculum digital resourcesFree
- K-5 Language Arts Curriculum 2025 Edition online course$350, paid once
- K-5 Language Arts Curriculum 2025 Edition professional learning course$350, paid once
In their own words
Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum
Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum is a free web curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12. It gives teachers a framework for digital literacy and well-being, with standards alignment and teacher tools. The program covers healthy habits, relationships and communication, privacy and safety, cyberbullying and online harm, digital footprint, and information and media literacy. Its offering includes more than 165 updated lessons, described on the About page as 170+ lessons. Lessons combine interactive activities and discussion guides, taking about 20 minutes for K–8 or 40 minutes for grades 9–12. Topics include AI literacy, social media, screen time, deepfakes, consent, and AI hallucinations. Schools may follow a complete grade sequence or select and reorder lessons. A free self-paced implementation course is available for teachers and administrators. Lessons can fit library, media lab, subject, advisory, health, or social-emotional learning programs. The curriculum was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in San Francisco.
EL Education Curriculum
EL Education Curriculum is a free, web-based K–8 Language Arts curriculum for educators and schools. It is standards-aligned and includes teacher tools and built-in assessments. The design draws on the science of reading and the science of learning and development. Students use complex, grade-level texts by diverse authors while building science and social studies knowledge. Original research and interdisciplinary investigations develop inquiry, analysis, critical thinking, and craftsmanship. Differentiated opportunities address English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and advanced learners. Connections to students’ communities support compassionate leadership and thoughtful citizenship. Grade-level index pages provide downloads such as Teacher’s Guide PDFs and Teacher Supporting Materials or Student Workbook Word documents. Creating an account provides access to hundreds of free resources. EL Education offers coaching and strategic planning for guided curriculum pilots. The digital resources plan costs nothing; some resources require an account. A 2025 K–5 professional learning course costs $350, paid once and provides 365-day access.