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    children age 6-12

Treasure chest of resources for children age 6-12

Inspiring stories about language learning

Here you will find successful language learning experiences that make language learning inspirational for young learners.

The secret agent’s handbook of language challenges 

The handbook, developed for the European Day of Languages, offers a wide range of challenges to keep language learners motivated – in particular during a prolonged period away from the ‘physical’ language classroom. The handbook can easily be used by parents, teachers and/or students/children directly.

Taking on the role of a ‘secret agent’, the learner has a mission to complete which involves successfully carrying out as many of the 50 challenges as possible. The challenges focus on different basic skills and are set at different levels of difficulty. 

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Resources for inspiring language learning 

Here you will find concrete ideas from different contexts (such as projects, websites, games, books, ICT etc.). We hope that these resources will help you to create an inspiring language learning environment for your child.

Green-schools Stay Home - Biodiversity week 6

This website provides really interesting information and activities on the environment and how we can understand, support and enjoy the beauty and benefits of nature.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12


ESA Expedition: Home, you and your family

ESA is the only space agency in the world that covers the whole range of space activities: exploring our Solar System, unlocking the secrets of the Universe, monitoring space and protecting our planetary environment. ESA Education is launching Expedition: Home, a one-stop website for kids and parents to do fun space-based activities and keep learning while at home. Expedition: Home provides:
• A special selection of hands-on space activities: Build, Experiment, Move, Watch, Draw & Colour, Program, and Explore
• Fun with Paxi, an alien mascot, with interactive media and mini lessons for the younger explorers
• A meeting with an ESA expert each week who helps you to learn about their fascinating work
• Games
• Teaching and Learning resources

Language of the website: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch
Age range: 6-12


Art

History and art combined in a story. FInd out about Native Americans and how they used dreamcatchers. Learn how to make your own dreamcatcher.

Language of the website: English (short introduction in Irish)
Age range: 8-12


Science for kids with Emma Bothma

Every day, Emma Bothma, science and maths teacher, shows young children how to do exciting experiments using very simple things like paper clips, thread, water, etc. If you like exploring and finding out how things work, do visit Emma’s twitter site for a new idea every day.
The Leakproof Bag: When science and magic meet we can get really exciting results. What do you think will happen if you push a pencil through a bag filled with water? Why don’t you visit this website and see if your prediction is correct? This is a simple but very exciting experiment you can do at home.

How to grow a rainbow: Make your very own rainbow and make someone smile when they see it in your window! It is very easy to do. Grow your own Hanging Crystals: Make your own stalactites and stalagmites! 

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


Draw with Ed Vere: How to draw a cheese thief … or a monster … or

Ed Vere, a famous illustrator of children’s books, combines an atmospheric commentary and clear instructions as to how to draw a clever cheese thief. All you will need is paper and a pencil … and, very importantly, you don’t need to understand English to do this; just look at Ed Vere and do the same. Visit this site to get lots of exciting ideas and instructions about drawing different characters.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 8-12 


How to draw faces

Martin Brown gives encouraging and confidence boosting techniques in relation to drawing skills. The steps involved in drawing faces are presented in a simple and easy to follow manner. Visit his You Tube site for more ideas.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 8-12 


Painting with Nicola – a lavender pot

In this video we learn how to paint a ‘Pot of Lavender’ using water-based paint. Use of colour and simple painting techniques are clearly explained. The finished product can be used as a painting to hang on the wall or as an attractive image on a greeting card. Most importantly, the style of teaching is relaxed and encouraging.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 8-12 


Well being@home

On this website, you’ll find ideas and tips to stay healthy and safe at home, to alternate learning and leisure. Different sections of the website deal with different topics:

• Sensible handling of video games and social media
• Dealing with everyday rituals
• Dealing with fake news
•  Finally endless TV watching – a dream for everyone?
•  Keeping mental health in mind
•  How do I talk to my children?
•  Young people in confinement
•  Stress influencing our eating and drinking habits
•  Curious to learn!

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


Make an animated movie

Make your own animated movie! This website is an introduction to how you can tell a story through an animated movie. The website consists of a series of missions which guide you through the various stages of creating an animation: creating a story, drawing up a story board, designing characters, creating a background and adding text or sound, recording and editing the movie.

Language of the website: English, Dutch
Age range: 6-12 


Pobble 365 – an image a day

This website provides a new weird, wonderful or thought-provoking image for each day of the year to inspire children to write a creative story. For each image there is also a set of activities to encourage children to think about language, support their understanding of grammar and punctuation and develop their vocabulary.

This website can be used by a variety of ages as a stimulus for story telling or story writing. The activities are aimed at older primary school children.

Although the website is in English, you do not need to know English in order to create the story. Just look at the picture and use whatever language you want to tell the story!

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


National Geographic: Learn at Home

This curated collection for learners in grades 3 to 5 (children aged 8 to 10) can be implemented at home with minimal supplies and includes engaging, fun, and skill-building lessons in social studies, geography, science and more. It offers a wide range of interesting activities including relevant guidelines.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


Home School Hub - Learning at home

RTÉ Home School Hub presents short class segments to help children continue learning while schools are closed. All topics of the primary school curriculum are included.
1. Each day 3 new lessons are presented live at 11.00 am to 12.00 noon (Ireland) /10.00 am to 11.00 am (mainland Europe). These programmes cater for children aged 6 to 12.
2. Previous lessons can be found on the RTE player.
3. Children can upload and submit their own work to the programme.
The teachers are bilingual and use both the Irish and English languages.
LINKS:
RTE live: https://www.rte.ie/player/onnow/66546216064
RTE Player: https://www.rte.ie/learn
RTE interactive: https://www.rte.ie/learn/2020/0329/1127121-share-your-content-with-the-home-school-muinteoirs/

Language of the website: English, Irish
Age range: 6-12 


Squishy Circuits

This site shows how art, science and technology combine to allow exciting outcomes. Using play dough, some batteries and a light bulb, watch the video and see the exciting result. Children use their imagination to create different scenarios using these basic tools. Presentation is in English.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


Draw with Don

Don Conroy has relaunched his popular classes where he demonstrates how to draw cartoon images of animals, people, events, etc. All you need are pencils and paper. Don provides easy to follow instructions in English.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 6-12 


Les p’tites histoires: Stories for children age 6 to 10 told in French

The website invites children to weekly discover short stories in French: A one-minute story on Tuesdays and a ten-minute story on Thursdays. A real discovery for everyone who wants to discover the French language in a playful way! Moreover, the website offers a collaborative list with ideas from parents on how to spend time with your children using online resources.

Language of the website: French
Age range: 6-12 


Interesting links for children age 3-12

Distance Learning: Free Digital Reading Resources for Multilingual Learners

These multilingual reading resources are designed to help multilingual learners with their reading skills. Books and stories in a wide variety of languages give you the opportunity to explore new places, meet new characters and discover new languages.

Language of the website: English
Resources: wide variety of global languages
Age range: all ages


Relaxation activities for children

The UK webpage Save the children supports children to learn, grow and to be safe and healthy. This section of the webpage offers simple relaxing exercises such as Lazy Cat, the Turtle, Lemon etc. to support the child´s well-being and concentration on learning.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12


Scavenger hunts for young and old

In times of COVID-19, making learning playful and exciting is more important than ever. Scavenger hunts offer many opportunities to discover and re-discover and environment you thought, you’d know well. All you need is a list of elements you’re supposed to find in the kitchen, the living room, the bath- or bedroom, in the garden, the forest … Language happens spontaneously when you’re in search of the items on your list, describing them, asking questions etc.

The English blog “primary playgrounds” offers a whole range of scavenger hunts to be played and played again.
https://primaryplayground.net/scavenger-hunts/
The German blog “Schnitzeljagd Ideen” offers a scavenger hunt for colours (Regenbogen-Schnitzeljagd) for young children age 3 to 5.
https://schnitzeljagd-ideen.de/regenbogen-schnitzeljagd/

Language of the website: English, German
Age range: 3-12


The Fable Cottage

Traditional fairy tale stories retold in modern language and available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German, created for language learners with videos to have visual clues and translation (to English) available.

Language of the website: English, Spanish, Italian, German
Age range: 3-12


Global Storybooks

A multilingual literacy resource for children with African stories in many different languages and at different levels. Children can read, listen and download the stories in forty different languages.

Language of the website: stories are available in 40 languages
Age range: 3-12


Education Nation: Top Remote Learning solutions that you can use for free

Concerning closing the schools during the crisis, teaching and learning have moved fully online. To support both teachers and parents in this new situation, Nordic countries have opened up their e-learning solutions for the world for free. Here you have 40+ remote learning solutions from Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden that you are welcome to use.
The webpage offers also remote learning webinars for parents.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12


PowerLanguage for families

Learn a Language as a family! The PowerLanguage team would like to offer their support to children and their families whilst they wait for the reopening of schools. Why not take this opportunity to learn a new language together? Have fun!

The site offers successful French / Spanish for Families courses with no subscription fee until the end of June 2020.

Languages of the website: English, French, Spanish
Age range: 3-12


Top Marks

Topmarks is a leading independent educational website for children, teaching professionals and parents helping teachers and parents save time finding excellent online educational resources. The section Parents´ resources offers a range of inspiring simple activities for e.g. Learning numbers, Learning letters and words, Learning to read, Learning through cooking, Toys and games, Sand and water play etc..

Language of the website: EnglishAge range: 3-12


Welcome to ABC Creative Music Online

This site introduces creative music-making with an emphasis on engaging children in enjoyable musical activities. Children learn to create, perform and enjoy both on-screen and using downloadable handouts. Presentation is in English. Suitable for a wide range of age-groups.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12


At Home with Weaving Well-being

This is a free activity journal to help children to enhance their mental wellbeing through a range of activities. It is most suitable for children aged 8 to 12 years old but can be adapted for younger or older age groups. The downloaded journal can be printed. No printer? No problem! All you need is a blank sheet of paper, and a pen/ pencil. This free journal is written in English.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12 


Supporting your kids during the corona virus crisis

This section of the UNICEF’s website, available in 5 languages, is dedicated to ways in which parents can support their kids through the phase of confinement due to the coronavirus disease outbreak. Parents will find advice on how to deal with emotions of their children in this new and sometimes very difficult situation.

Language of the website: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish
Age range: 3-12 


Fun at home with authors and illustrators

UK's largest reading charity BookTrust provides families and children age 4 to 12+ with a large offer of free online English books, videos and games. Children are invited to read and listen to stories, test their knowledge about books, draw pictures of their favourite characters.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12 


Common sense media: Coronavirus support

Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Lots of outstanding free options of great educational games, apps and websites. Since the subjects here range from reading to math skills, kids can find all sorts of fun practice for all kinds of topics. These resources are either completely free or full of quality free content for kids to explore. They'll learn while being entertained! .

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-12 


Storytime: Chris Riddell reads Once Upon a Wild Wood

Once Upon a Wild Wood describes the journey of Little Green Raincape as she travels through the woods. Here she meets well-loved characters, e.g., Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs, from well-known fairy tales. Plenty of time is given for children to observe the beautiful illustrations in the book. This is a story that would be good for developing children’s English language skills.

Language of the website: English
Age range: 3-8