The Primary Planet (Irish Newspaper for Children)

When I started in a new school this year, I first came across 'The Primary Planet'. It has been used in the school for the past few years in the senior classes. It is a 40 page monthly newspaper for children containing articles from sport to international and national news and everything you can imagine in between.

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I thought I would put together a few things I like about it in case anyone is looking for an engaging supplementary resource for their class next year.

1. Topical issues

Each month the articles relate to events happening in Ireland and around the world. The current issue has articles about the formation of a new government, the upcoming Census, movies currently in the cinema and all the latest in the sporting world.

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2. Caters for all interests

The newspaper is very varied and contains something to interest all children, be it Science, technology, showbiz or sport. Even my most reluctant readers are always asking when the next edition will be in!

3. Downloadable teachers resources/planning sheet

On the website, the teacher can download extra resources (quizzes, activity sheets) as well as a detailed planning sheet which contains the relevant strands and strand units. This is particularly helpful to me when completing my monthly plans as the strand units are to hand!

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4. Competitions

My class particularly enjoy entering the various competitions run monthly by 'The Primary Planet'.  A theme is chosen each month for a poetry competition so it is a good incentive for children to take on the role of a poet! A few children in my class had their poems published in an issue and it led to great excitement in the school and was a great confidence boost for the children also to see their work published.

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5. Early finisher activity

Sometimes Early Finisher Activities can be mundane and repetitive. With 'The Primary Planet', children love to pick it up after completing a piece of work and have a browse through it.

6. Challenging vocabulary

While it is specifically written for children in the senior classes, the articles do contain challenging vocabulary which the children are now starting to use in their own writing.

7. Links to Curricular Areas

It covers most, if not all of the curricular areas monthly. It even has a 'problem page' dealing with some issues that may arise in the senior classes. We often use it as a stimulus for Circle Time or an SPHE lesson.

At first, I thought it would be difficult to integrate another resource into an already overloaded timetable, but the children really take the lead with The Primary Planet and use it independently aswell.
The main benefit I have seen is that children who don't particularly like to pick up a book and read find 'The Primary Planet' interesting, accessible and can't wait to get the next issue.

Have a look at their website to see if it would be a beneficial resource for your class.

http://www.theprimaryplanet.ie/

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