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‘Ireland in Schools’ is frequently asked about the availability of some of the imaginative and challenging teaching materials used in schools in the Republic of Ireland.
Among the best known free resources are the teaching guides provided by the O’Brien Press, Ireland’s leading publisher of books for children and young adults, the more varied materials dowloadable from that ‘portal for Irish education’ scoilnet, and skool.ie which supports the Junior and Senior curricula.
Less well known, perhaps, are
1. the exemplars contained in the teachers’ guidelines published by Ireland’s
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA);
2. the work of the History In-Service Team supporting Leaving Certificate History; and
3. the projects developed for TeachNet Ireland, which funds ‘innovative Irish teachers throughout Ireland to publish curriculum units that demonstrate the integration of ICT into classroom teaching in a meaningful and practical way’.
Below are materials from two of these sources which can best help teachers in Britain who want to develop an Irish dimension in the curriculum. It isworth bearing in mind that primary in Ireland goes up to the age of 12,Year 7 in England and Wales.
Music
‘The Reel Thing’ - Traditional Irish Music in the Classroom
This is an excellent and comprehensive resource from TeachNet for those who want to make Irish music an integral part of the curriculum in Britain, not just something reserved for special occasions.
It seeks to help children appreciate and understand Ireland’s traditional music, its origins, tunes, instruments and styles. The resources - web links of famous musicians, past and present, and examples of the different instruments and types of tunes - can stand alone, while the teaching schemes can be readily adapted to the curriculum in England, Scotland and Wales.
Best of the rest (* = NCCA exemplar)
Art
Looking at & Responding to Paintings*
Cross-curricular
Louis Walsh Assignment - Managing a Pop Group's Tour of Ireland
Patrick Kavanagh Multimedia Schools Project
Dance
Two Irish Dances*
English
Irish Myths and Legends
Two Related Poems: W.B Yeats*
Poetry of Michael Longley
Religious Themes in School Leaving Poetry
Environmental Studies/Geography
Investigating Irish Bogs
History
Telling a Story: Brendan the Navigator*
Norman Ireland: Planning*
Normans & Ireland
A ‘Talk-through’ Lesson: 18th-century Emigration from Ulster*
An Integrated Approach: the Famine*
Role Play: the Famine*
Children of the Famine
Experiences of a fictional sister and brother from before the Famine to
their life in the New World, using real places and events.
1916: Seven Days in History
1916 Rebellion Walking Tour
Ireland - a 20th Century Timeline, with Changing Views of O'Connell Street
History around You
Local history in the North Mayo/West Sligo area
Using & Comparing Visual Sources*
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