Our Best Links for Learning How To Code--Learn in just one hour!

I'm so glad you so liked coding this morning. And I'm so impressed with how well you worked in pairs to learn together... you were great! This video is a cool one that encourages us all to give it a go... give it an hour!

And so here are the links for you to get really good at coding by yourself.

1. The Games We Played This Morning (You Choose Which... I recommend the Grades 1-3 game for everyone to begin with) thanks to twynker.com
2. Next week we're going to go on to the Learning Section of Code.org, where we'll get to control an Angry Bird! :)  
3. And when you've finished that, then you're ready to code to create your own game with the Flappy Bird! (Tip: look at the 2 minute video first [it's in the bottom left corner])
   (THIS is the game that I created... have fun!)
4. And for the one or two of you who get really really good (maybe more of you???) then I recommend the Code Academy page which is meant for grown ups to learn, but maybe you can give it a go? I'd say you're well able for it. 

Why code? Well, in this video will-i-am reckons "Great Coders ARE today's rock starts... that's it!". If you want more reasons, well, it's art (it's YOU who is CREATING, not just using), it's fun (you get to build great things), it's problem-solving (you get to expand your brain so you can solve real-life problems easier and quicker), and it's YOU who is IN CONTROL!

Yes, it's "hard" at first but so is everything. Stick with it, that's the way to become good at anything.

'Work' You'll Enjoy For Your Strengths and Needs

So, like we have learned, we all have strengths. We all have needs. We are all unique. We are all intelligent in many ways. 

Think of YOUR strengths, YOUR needs. 

What ones do you want to 'work' on right now? YOUR choice...

1. Maybe do "a little, a lot", which means do 30 minutes now, and take a break, 30 minutes later today, and take a break, and so on; OR
2. Maybe do a different "a little, a lot", with 30 minutes today, 30 minutes tomorrow, 30 minutes the day after, and so on... make it a great habit for yourself

First of all, before you try out MY links, give yourself a present and click here on Scoilnet and try out the links on the right hand side, sorted by subject. Enjoy!

Now, here are some of MY great links sorted by subject (just a few links per subject)...

Drama

I love when people IMPROV, but sometimes you can't beat a good script... 

• Use this site to find a script you like and then practice being one or all of the characters. Think: just how would each person say their line... what tone, what speed, what feeling... and how would they move their body? 

Music

• Love the orchestra... have fun exploring and discovering the gorgeous different sounds (thanks to Carnegie Hall). If you've already been on this trip, learn the same things in a different way at the San Francisco Symphony (orchestra)
• Try out their Music Lab to explore just what is it that makes music music!

PE/Physical Education

PE is hard to do in the home... but not impossible! 

• Here's a great five minutes of fun dance to try your best with. Enjoy!

ICT/Computer Skills:
During your life, you'll be typing maybe 100 times more than you'll be hand-writing. Wouldn't it be good to be good?

• Ten-Finger Typing from typingweb.com Can you improve your speed each day? Yes, you can. Now, no cheating! Ten fingers to do it right. Within a little while you'll be up to 20 words per minute, and maybe even faster! School record... 39 words per minute. 
• Already pretty good at ten-finger typing? Go straight on to the Most Common English Words typing. 

English Reading: 

• Tumblebooks and more--isn't it great that all these books are FREE! What are your favourites? Maybe tell the rest of us on our kidblog
• If you can have no problems with these BBC KS1 activities then you know the basics
• These BBC KS2 activities are harder! See what you can learn/practise. 
• Don't forget scoilnet!

Irish Reading and Sounds

• Simple Books in Irish with Sounds (Click on the boxes at the top to switch story)(Have the sound turned on!)(Try this one for your first story, about a dog called Brian's life)
• Don't forget scoilnet!

English Writing
The best writing site I've found... just in one site we can learn about how to write better... better arguments(!), better reports, better recounts... better! All on the the BBC KS2 English Writing site. And, if you want to make sure you know the basics, use the bbc ks1 site!

Vocabulary (The Words We Use)
How good are you at finding the right word to use at the right time? We ALL need practice at this. First we have to understand new words, and then it's so important that we USE them.

• This wonderopolis.org website has a new page every day with a new Wonder of the World... look on the right hand side to see the meanings of 'tough' words. It'd be best to write down new words and add them (when you can) to your Vocabulary notebook.

Religion
As Christians the key to following Jesus' example is (1) know about Jesus and (2) pray -- open your heart to God.

• The Lego Movie is out at the moment in the cinemas. Here Lego Men tell the life of Jesus and here Lego Men tell of the dangerous adventures of Jesus Apostles after they received the Holy Spirit. 
• The 5-minute meditation video with sounds of peaceful bells that we love (maybe use this when praying or to prepare your self to pray -- it calms you, it "stills your mind", meaning it helps you "shut up" (!) your noisy mind so that you can experience the beauty and peace of life all around you and in you right now)
• Prayers you could say that are said all over the world by Catholics
• Images of the Holy Spirit you could practice drawing
• A four-minute youtube cartoon about the life of Pope Francis
• Don't forget scoilnet!

Maths/Engineering/Construction/Science

• Here's the bridges game! :)
• And 23 (23!) more games like that: which one do you think we should all get time to play in ICT Class?  
• By the way, here's a NEW Irish site about bridge building that tells you everything you could want to know including "Bridges of Dublin" and Disasters!
• Curious about any thing? Got questions about any THING? That's what SCIENCE is all about? And here's MOLLY to answer your questions! What's the thing that most wow's you? 
• Ready for learning more about other animals in this amazing world: Is there a better site than the National Geographic for this?
• The amazing BBC KS2 Science site, with facts, videos, and games. (If you want to understand easier stuff, choose the BBC KS1 science site.) 
• Don't forget how good mathletics is for your maths :) 
• The amazing BBC KS2 Maths site, with lessons, videos, and games. (If you want to go easier, choose the BBC KS1 maths site.)
• Here's a post I already have up on this blog, giving you some of MY favourite links to great Maths sites
• And here's Maths Attack, an Irish Maths game that's quick and -- for me -- hard! What's your highest score? 
• Don't forget scoilnet!

Geography

• On another post, I've put my best geography and maps links for you. 
• Maps are really important. Here are maps showing how Dublin has grown from nothing.
• The stunning Google Earth (you might already have it downloaded onto your computer).
• And here is everything-geography from the BBC!
• Don't forget scoilnet!

History
History is HUGE! There's so much it's hard to put in enough links. Which do you find most amazing?

• the BBC site for primary school children or 
• the Channel 4 site? 
• Don't forget my links for World War One!
• Don't forget scoilnet!

SPHE

We all know how important it is to make the best decisions for our selves. 

• How well do you know about putting the best food into you, the best fuel, to power your life, to make you power-full!
• How well do you know what to do if you are being cyber-bullied?
• You'll all be leaders in your lives, including in the classroom. Here's ten ideas on how to lead others: all different ideas, much to think about: What IS a good leader? What does he/she do? 
• Choosing Positive Thoughts and not getting stuck in situations with negative thoughts: this little video is simple but it's simply brilliant too (did you see the bit with Nelson Mandela?)

Art

Art is hard to do on a computer. So don't! Do it yourself at home without the computer!! Or, if you really really want to do it on the computer, try these... 

• Create a collage using The Collage Machine (from the USA's National Gallery)
• Practice your drawing using one of your favourite uncles, Fred
• My favourite... Brushter! Have fun! (Try out all the different brush sizes, brush types etc at the bottom... it's [almost] just like the real thing!)

Have you ever heard any child ever say they're bored? 

With the web and all the great stuff above, could they be bored? (If you do have a younger brother or sister who's saying that, just show them this post and let them loose to enjoy themselves!)