Alexander First School
Acquire knowledge, prepare for the future, research in action
Home Learning Resources and Links
In addition to the learning packs, live teaching and pre-recorded lessons provided for pupils, below is a selection of links and resources to support pupils whilst time home learning.
School is not responsible for the content of external websites. Please supervise your children.
Maths
The White Rose Maths Team has prepared a series of five maths lessons for each year group from Year 1-8. They will be adding five more each week for the next few weeks. Every lesson comes with a short video showing you clearly and simply how to help your child to complete the activity successfully.
I See Maths – For the duration of the school closures, Gareth Metcalfe from I See Maths will challenge and inspire primary mathematicians of all ages. There are lessons and maths games for all year groups.
Hamilton Trust (home learning section)– downloadable resource packs with guidance. The packs can form the backbone of children’s learning at home and are stand-alone or usable alongside other materials. Five weeks of daily resources from Reception to Year 6.
Mathematics Mastery – downloadable guidance and resource packs for parents and pupils from early years foundation stage, key stage 1 and key stage 2.
Nrich – a range of activities. Some are interactive and some are to be completed offline. Activities are categorised by age range and suitable from early years foundation stage to key stage 2
The NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) are offering support to parents / carers. This letter signposts the two new areas of the website, which are free to access and do not require a login.
Numberblocks – videos for numeracy development designed for children aged 0 to 6. There are fun activities that can be applied to everyday life and play.
Additionally, the following sites provide more choice and offerings:
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games
Reading and Storytelling
This section of our website is designed to shares some of the wonderful resources currently available to support your child’s reading development.
Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading.
Storyline Online – this wonderful resource streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Kevin Costner and dozens more.
Storytime with Nick – films of well-loved stories read by Nick Cannon, a trained actor and teacher and a wonderful storyteller. New stories are added to this YouTube channel at 2pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and all the previous recordings are also available.
Phonics
DfE’s daily phonics lessons – Reception & Y1 – Keep your child’s phonics learning on track with the DfE’s daily lessons. During the summer term, you will be able to access for your child a daily phonics lesson introduced by celebrities, including children’s TV presenters, which adds an exciting addition to the lessons.
Three sets of lessons will be available each day:
- 10am – Reception – Suitable for children who can blend and read words such as ‘fish’, ‘chat’ and ‘rain’
- 10:30am – Y1 – Suitable for children who can confidently blend and read words such as ‘stamp’, ‘chair’ and ‘green’
- 11am – Learning to Blend – extra blending practise for children in Reception and Y1
Further information can be found in this useful letter letter.
Additional resources include:
eBooks and Recommended Reading Lists
The Book of Hopes– words and picture to comfort, inspire and entertain. Completely free for all children and families, the extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children’s writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.
BookTrust – a site with recommended booklists, categorised by age range and topic, including fiction and non-fiction. Family activities are included in the ‘Home Time’ section.
Audio books
Audible – all children’s audiobooks and stories are available for free while schools are closed. They can be streamed on a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Suitable from early years foundation stage to key stage 2 and no registration required.
Elevenses with the World of David Walliams – one free audio book reading is available to listen to every day. You can also catch up on previous chapters and there are fun activities too. Suitable for key stage 2.
The Children’s Poetry Archive– an archive of spoken poetry recordings. Children can listen to poems read out loud. Poems for early years foundation stage to key stage 2.
e-Safety
Think U Know – each fortnight, new home activity packs are released containing simple 15 minute activities that you can complete with your child. This will support their online safety at a time when they are spending more time online at home.
Video chatting: a guide for parents and carers of primary school-age children– Parent info have produced this useful guide for parents.
Latest government support for parents and carers to keep children safe online – advice and guidance to help parents and carers to keep children safe online during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Virtual days out
UK attractions and landmarks
Stone Henge – The English Heritage site boasts an official virtual tour that offers 360 degree views, as if you were standing in the middle of the mysterious stone circle.
It’s an interactive offering, so you can click on specific points and learn more about the history, without missing out on highlights that a guided tour would have pointed out.
Buckingham Palace – The Queen’s residence. Explore the magnificent building via virtual tours. The first tour will take you to the Grand Staircase with further tours of the White Drawing Room, the Throne Room and the Blue Drawing Room.
The Roman Baths – Bath’s most famous attraction offers a virtual ‘walkthrough’ of the iconic Roman baths and architecture. Explore the Great Bath, heated rooms and plunge pools and the terrace, or learn more about the fascinating history with a virtual tour of some of the museum exhibitions.
Giant’s Causeway – The National Trust offers a 360 degree panoramic virtual tour of the spectacular landmark in Northern Ireland.
London Zoo – bringing the zoo to you. Regularly updated so there’s always something new to enjoy. Discover London’s virtual zoo today!
- Webcams and live streams
- Animal antics
- Zookeeper videos
- Behind-the-scenes updates
Mental Health and Well-being
Want some ideas?
TTS Activity Books – these activity books provide curriculum-focused independent learning resources for the Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2. With over 40 easy to use and clearly explained tasks which are free to download and print.
Oxford Owl for Home– a wealth of free resources and activities – lots of new eBooks to the eBook library, plus extensive support if you follow the Read Write Inc. Phonics reading scheme. With maths, spelling, phonics & games, there is something for everyone.
BBC Bitesize – a wealth of video links, programmes, quizzes and activities that related to the aspects of the curriculum. This excellent education package now includes daily lessons featuring celebrities and teachers.
twinkl home learning hub – for new ideas, activities, pack and even live videos, all updated daily.
25 non-screen activities – a range of fun activities that children can do at home.
Websites for Science
Writing and Grammar Websites
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar
PE and Fitness Ideas