In September we launched Phase 2 of Baile an Mhata, our Irish-language maths resource for primary schools. Phase 2 covers the Primary 5 fractions curriculum, with 12 teaching stories and accompanying practice games, all through the medium of Irish.
Before launch, we tested the resource with pupils and teachers at Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche in Castlewellan, an Irish-medium school with a strong record in digital learning, and two-time primary winner of the Northern Ireland Schools ICT Excellence Awards. What we saw changed how we built it.
A special thank you to the Primary 7 children of Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche in Castlewellan, who lent their voices to the video, and to the pupils and staff who tested Baile an Mhata in their classrooms and shared such useful feedback.
What we learned in the classroom
Our original teaching stories ran to around 40 pages each. We had designed them for pupils to work through on their own, followed by practice games. In the classroom, teachers used them differently. They used the story as a guided lesson on the whiteboard, typically covering 5 to 10 pages in a session, discussing each step with the class, before letting pupils practise with the games.
That’s a great way to teach, but our stories weren’t built for it.
What we changed
For Phase 2, we broke each story into shorter teaching segments, each focused on a single concept and sized to fit one guided session. The pattern is simple: pupils meet a concept through the story, with the teacher leading the discussion, then practise what they’ve learned through the accompanying games, either as a class or in small groups.
The result fits the way teachers actually work, and gives pupils a clear path from understanding a concept to practising it.
Built using Seedling Generate
Baile an Mhata is built in Seedling Generate, our authoring platform, which made it straightforward to restructure the content after testing. The same approach applies to any subject or language, and to any publisher who wants their digital resources to fit how teachers really use them.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh
Baile an Mhata was funded through a grant from Northern Ireland Screen, with the assistance and support of CCEA and An tÁisaonad, Coláiste Ollscoile Naomh Muire.
