Below is a list of websites that may be useful in the coming days and weeks. We will continue to add to them as we find new ones, there is also more in our NEWS section or they can be found by clicking the words "School Closure" on the website menu. Please also see images at the bottom of the page.:
A non-exhaustive list that might help those affected by school closures due to coronavirus, compiled by home educators.
Feel free to share.
ONLINE Book Companies
GENERAL
Fiona Farry (@ffarry1 on Twitter) is principal at Cloughfin NS in County Donegal and has kindly put together an excellent range of digital resources for different class levels.
Note: Padlet is a little slow at the moment so give the pages a few seconds to load.
- BBC Learning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/
This site is old and no longer updated and yet there's so much still available, from language learning to BBC Bitesize for revision. No TV licence required except for content on BBC iPlayer.
- Futurelearn
https://www.futurelearn.com/
Free to access 100s of courses, only pay to upgrade if you need a certificate in your name (own account from age 14+ but younger learners can use a parent account).
- Twinkl
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/
This is more for printouts, and usually at a fee, but they are offering a month of free access to parents in the event of school closures.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
MATHS
ENGLISH
Spelling
Writing
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WriteReader.com is a free, simple digital book creator which works on tablets and laptops by visiting www.writereader.com
Children can add text, images, voice recordings and speech bubbles. This tool has a built in search mechanism for images which are copyright free and safely sourced.
Teachers can create an account for students who just need the class code and their username to log in (no email address required). When using a teacher account, all student work is visible live on the class bookshelf. You can turn on or off the feature where students can read eachothers books.
Parents could create an individual account for their child for home use.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ20ikUtidw&t=8s
Books
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Audible have announced that all their children’s audio books will be free to listen to - may be good to pass on To other families.
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Fantastic news from Libraries Ireland. It is now possible to set up an account and start using the Borrow Box app straight away to access digital books and audiobooks. Sign up here: https://t.co/ulfNYdRM4P?amp=1
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The Reading Academy aims to support struggling readers including those with dyslexia. They offer supports for teachers and parents and run courses also. Their course aimed at parents has been made free for the moment to support school closures.
Have a look at their website to find out more: https://thereadingacademyonline.com/ It is the first course listed which has been made free.
- British Council
https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find
Resources for English language learning
- Oxford Owl for Home
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Lots of free resources for Primary age
- Teach Your Monster to Read is now being offered free for iOS.
From the developer: As a result of school closures and disruption due to coronavirus, we have just launched an app promo for a limited time, hoping to help children continue learning to read while at home.
Here are the download links and promo for each respective platform:
App Store (FREE):
https://itunes.apple.com/…/teach-your-monster-t…/id828392046
Google Play ($0.99/£0.99)**:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…
Amazon Appstore (FREE, starting Thu 19 Mar):
https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Monster-to-…/…/B01HDXUH0O/
**Due to Google Play Store policy disallowing a new sale to start within 30 days after the completion date of the last sale, we’re unable to give it away for free because we just recently ran a free promotion. We have therefore set the price at 0.99
Sight Words
Here are some sight words apps:
IRISH
SESE: Histoty, Science, Geography
PE
ART
CHESS
GAMES/COMPUTER PROGRAMMING