Recommended Apps and Websites

Gaeilge

-Cúla 4 app: Excellent for younger pupils for Irish vocab – very child friendly. There are also videos of your children’s favourite cartoons here as Gaeilge which would be useful to watch occasionally to keep up with Irish.

-Duolingo app: most suitable from 2nd class upwards. Excellent app. Tests your child Irish ability level at the start and they work away at their own level for 10mins daily.

Maths

-Mathduel app: For tables. Fun and interactive.

-Khan Academy app: Useful for maths for older pupils especially.

–Matific are offering free access for 60 days to its digital Mathematics resources for primary schools.

Literacy

-Starfall app: For spellings. Again, very child friendly and useful to keep spellings progressing without feeling like schoolwork.

-Jolly Phonics App: to keep up phonics learning for infant classes.

-Dolch words Apps (there is a wide range available): for the development of sight words.

-Nessy Apps: for reading for pupils with dyslexia or difficulties.

-PinkFong app: Digital stories for infant classes. Excellent and engaging.

-Toontastic: probably the best app ever for digital storytelling – pupils can devise their own digital story, picking a range of characters, settings, even musical background. They plan a beginning, middle and end to their story and can record their own voices to tell the story.

-Puppetpals: similar to toontastic – useful for younger pupils. They can record themselves telling the story also.

-All pupils in the Republic of Ireland have open and free home access to a collection of all eBooks from World Book Online at Scoilnet- World Book.
-Britannica is offering free access to its Science and Humanities LaunchPacks to all Scoilnet users during the school closure period.
–Children’s Books Ireland provides access to reading materials, guides and lists.
–Libraries Ireland, the national library system, is providing free online access to eBooks, audiobooks, online magazines and newspapers.
–Amazon is giving free access to books and audio stories available.

–Teach Your Monster to Read, available in both website and app, supports children in learning to read.

General Online Resources

-Kahoot app: for general knowledge and quizzes.

-Lightbot app: Coding app – super for all ages.

–National Geographic Kids has a wide range of videos, games and quizzes which relate to History, Geography and Science.
–Dorling Kindersley has videos, fun facts and quizzes on a range of topics, especially on the area of SESE.

–GoNoodle provides videos of dances, exercises and physical activities. It is used in schools to keep children active.
-This Irish visual arts website I Am An Artist has short videos, slideshows, lessons and projects for primary school pupils.

Publishers’ resources
-Folens is offering free access to all of its eBooks and resources.
–CJ Fallon is offering free access to all of its online textbooks.
–The Educational Company of Ireland is offering free access to all of its eBooks and digital resources.

National Council for Special Education resources
The NCSE website outlines a wide range of resources suitable for children with special educational needs. The site has a new dedicated resource section to support home learning during this time that includes Online Resources for Teachers, Online Resources for Parents and useful apps for home use. There are also links to many useful educational websites to direct parents, guardians and teachers towards further online supports.
NCSE’s network of advisors also remain available via NCSE’s online application form to provide support and advice by telephone and email to schools and teachers of pupils with SEN. The form is available here.

Griffin Occupational Therapy Resources

Griffin Occupational Therapy have free resources to support families during the current lockdowns.

They will be releasing more content on YouTube to support students at home (and students in school). There will be three five minute videos a week including

·    Sensory breaks which are perfect for students who need a quick break between learning activities

·    Movement cartoons designed to help students with their coordination and balance

·    Fine motor activities like dough disco.

Click on the link to access their Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDF9vM1Qdz5CKKl9y_c2bw?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=sendy&utm_campaign=Schools_Jan21_LDResources

ADHD App

The Changing Lives Initiative have developed an App to help families understand what ADHD
is and provide practical strategies and tools for parents to use with their children. The App
is particularly relevant for parents who have concerns about their child’s behaviour but are
not yet sure if their child may have ADHD. The App is also very useful for those working
with children, in helping them understand ADHD and how they might support children who
have issues with inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. The App can be downloaded for
free at https://changinglivesinitiative.com/portal-capture

Television resources
The RTE Homeschool Hub, a teaching initiative for primary school children covering elements of the primary school curriculum, can be accessed at RTE Learn. This is broadcast from 10am-12pm every weekday on RTÉ 2.
Cúla 4 ar Scoil, a school program through Irish for primary school children covering elements of the primary curriculum can be accessed at TG4 Cúla 4. TG4 Cúla 4 provides a range of daily programmes and competitions. This is broadcast at 10am every Monday-Thursday on TG4.
World news in many languages from the BBC is a useful resource for EAL pupils.