From the archive: 2020 Home Learning: Some Helpful Websites
Hello everyone,
I am writing this at the end of the strangest week of my teaching career; schools have been closed to the majority of its pupils and many parents face the challenge of helping to continue their children’s learning from home.
I could write a whole blog about the huge challenges faced by pupils, parents and teachers during these unprecedented times, but instead I wanted to provide a list of just some of the websites parents could access to help support their children’s education from home. Some of these websites include games and interactive tasks, whereas others include resources which could be used to help further or extend a child’s learning.
Twinkl: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/parents/extra-subjects-parents/school-closures-category-free-resources-parents - this website is one of the most popular with teachers across the world. It provides a huge quantity of resources, worksheets and teaching ideas for most subjects in the National Curriculum. Most of these are normally accessed through a paid subscription, but Twinkl have now put together some free packs and resources to help parents during this time of widespread school closures.
Classroom Secrets: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ - another popular website with teachers, Classroom Secrets provides resources and lessons for primary level English and Maths. This is another paid subscription website which has now produced some free home learning packs in response to the current times.
Education Quizzes: https://www.educationquizzes.com/ - a great website full of short quizzes covering a huge range of subjects and age-ranges (from Key Stage 1 through to GCSE, and even including 11+ activities). There is a fairly decent amount of free quizzes, with the rest accessible through paid subscription.
MathsFrame and SpellingFrame: https://mathsframe.co.uk/ & https://spellingframe.co.uk/ - games aimed at Key Stage 2 children which help them test and practise a range of maths and spelling skills (I actively use MathsFrame with my class each week). Both websites have a very good range of free games, but also offer more via paid subscription.
Topmarks: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar - a useful website which has a good range of games and activities for Maths and English from a range of different websites and providers. Most seem to be free (but I cannot absolutely confirm).
Hit the Button: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button - a website I have mentioned before, this game is particularly useful for developing times tables and number bonds for children. An essential resource for children in primary school!
For anyone thinking more seriously about home-schooling as a more permanent education solution:
Oxbridge.School - https://oxbridge.school/ - a new company (with which I have been working recently) offering home-school solutions. Each subject fully resourced and easy to follow for you and your children, with additional support from a dedicated tutor. Courses range from primary up to IGCSE level.
Hopefully there is something here for everyone with which to get started, and I will try to post more suggestions on our Facebook page over the coming weeks. Please follow us to get updates and advice during this time of school closures, and get in touch if you have any questions at all.
In the meantime, stay safe and look after yourselves!
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