Focus on Fuaimeanna

This post focuses on the impact of explicitly teaching fuaimeanna in Gaeilge.

From my own experience, it is an area of Gaeilge that I take for granted especially in the senior end of the school, often presuming that the children understand . However, a couple of years ago when teaching 4th and 5th, I quickly realised that I needed to be more explicit in my teaching of fuaimeanna, just as I would in English.

The benefits were evident in the children's reading fluency and pronunciation. It also really aided their spellings both in written tasks and the weekly scrúdú.

In my class, I used display posters, which I referred to almost daily. I also used these cartaí during Gaeilge stations: matching the fuaim to the correct flashcard.

They are available in 3 different versions on my TPT store: the posters, the matching cards and a set which has both (cheaper as a combo!).  Click on any of the images below to be redirected to download.

  
Any other tips for teaching fuaimeanna in Irish? Add them in the comment box below!

Sense-ible Spellings

This year some of the classes are following an individual spelling programme.  It will be based on unknown basic sight words, Brendan Culligan's corewords and the children's own personal choices.  These are the blank copies that we use to record their spellings each week.

To help with their spellings, I created these spelling boxes for them to practice.  They are made from old biscuit tins.  The base contains play sand and the lid holds the magnetic letters.  They can be stacked and stored easily when we are finished by popping the lid back on.

The children love them and are keen to use them each day! 

Other strategies we use are:

• spelling out loud as they trace the letters on their hand 
• writing on the whiteboards as they spell them 
• writing a word on another child's back and they have to guess which word it is!

Feel free to comment below with other spelling suggestions.

Recount Writing Resources

I use the following resources to structure how I teach the genre of recount writing with my class.

This year, I am working as a Special Education Teacher but many of the templates will be useful to help children to sequence their ideas before writing.  

Simply click on each image below to access the resource.

Display Posters 

The poster set includes how to structure a recount, the types of recounts and some useful connectives they can incorporate into their writing.  I display this in the classroom for the students and add their samples of recount writing to the display board.

Planning Templates

There are 4 different planning templates included to suit the needs of the children, giving them the opportunity to get their thoughts together before writing a recount.  

Checklists

These can be downloaded for free on my TPT store, by clicking on the image below.  I usually stick them into the copies and the children can use them to self-assess any piece of recount writing they complete.

Recount Writing can be linked nicely to a classroom timeline of events that occurred throughout the year.  Read more about this here.

Check out other posts on writing genres by clicking the link below.

Narrative Writing Post

Lollipop Stick Questions

I made these to use with some of the children I work with this year.

Rather than writing answers to questions based on a text, we will use these sometimes.  I made them thanks to posters from A Crucial Week, which I laminated and popped onto jumbo lollipop sticks.

I like to turn them upside down and allow the child to choose one.  I then use the question word to ask them a question based on the text we have read.  The children love to take on the role of the teacher and ask the questions too!

They could easily be used to discuss pictures too.

Example Questions:

- Who helped with the costumes?
- When was the concert on?
- Where do you think the children are?
- What is your favourite costume in the picture?
- Why do you like this costume?