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Blackbird

Resident, and winter visitor from Norway, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Green-listed in Ireland. The European population has been assessed as Secure. The commonest and most widespread member of the thrush family In Ireland. The males's all black plumage and bright yellow bill is unmistakable, however females are much browner, with speckles on the upper breast and at first glance resemble a Song Thrush. Often cocks long tail when alarmed or when running along ground.

Blue Tit

A colourful, noisy, active little bird, commonly seen in gardens, especially at nut feeders and will use nestboxes. Bright blue crown, nape colllar, wings and tail and yellow underside. The white cheeks are bordered by a dark blue line - the line through the eye is separated from the blue cap by a white band - all producing a distinctive head pattern. Bill is short and stubby, legs bluish-grey. Very acrobatic, often hangs upside-down on branches pecking at buds or foraging for insects. Reqular visitor to peanut feeders and will use nestboxes. Occurs in woodland, farmland, gardens etc. Usually seen in small groups in winter and will team up with other tit species, Treecreepers and Goldcrests to form roving bands.

Cuckoo

Widespread summer visitor to Ireland from April to August. Despite its obvious song, relatively infrequently seen. In flight, can be mistaken for a bird of prey such as Sparrowhawk, but has rapid wingbeats below the horizontal plane - ie. the wings are not raised above the body. Adult male Cuckoos are a uniform grey on the head, neck, back, wings and tail. The underparts are white with black barring. Adult females can appear in one of two forms. The so-called grey-morph resembles the adult male plumage, but has throat and breast barred black and white with yellowish wash. The rufous-morph has the grey replaced by rufous, with strong black barring on the wings, back and tail. Juvenile Cuckoos resemble the female rufous-morph, but are darker brown above.

Song Thrush

Resident. Additional birds arrive from Continent in winter. The thrush most familiar to people. Roughly the size of a Blackbird, plain brown upperparts and buffish white underside, with prominent arrow-shaped black spots in lines down the breast and flanks. Legs pale pinkish-grey. Bounds along ground in search of worms. Males sit on high perch delivering song, which is loud and far-carrying. Usually occurs in ones and twos - never in flocks.

Wren

One of Ireland's smallest birds, also the most widespread, being found in almost all habitats including farmland, woodland, scrub, mountain and even on cliffs and offshore islands. Its small rounded body and tiny cocked tail are distinctive, however it can be a surprisingly difficult bird to see - more often heard than seen. The upperparts are reddish-brown and underparts paler with some greyish tones - faint dark barring can be seen at close range. There is a white stripe over the eye and the bill is fine and pointed.

Greenfinch

Green-listed in Ireland. The European population is regarded as Secure by BirdLife International. Has been affected by outbreaks of Trichomoniasis recently. A robust finch, with large head, massive bill and shortish tail. The plumage of both sexes is a mixture of greens and greys with splashes of bright yellow - the female being duller, browner and showing faint streaks. The tail is forked, dark at the tip and centre and yellow on the sides. Bill very thick at base, pale, with a pinkish tinge. Legs slightly fleshy pink. In spring, sings from high perch or in wavering songflight over territory. Found mainly in farmland and around towns and parks. A common garden bird, often occurring in large flocks.

Chaffinch

Our commonest finch - found in woodland, farmland, parks and gardens. In winter can form large flocks of hundreds of birds, especially in stubble fields and under beech trees. Male's breast, face and underside a pinkish orange-brown, becoming a darker, wine shade in winter. Nape and crown blue-grey. The female is much greyer, with washed out warm grey underparts. Both sexes display large white patches on otherwise blackish wings, both when perched and flying - this makes Identification very easy even at some range. Longish tail, which shows a dark centre and white outer feathers in flight.

Great Tit

The largest Irish tit - green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song. It is a woodland bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to become a familiar garden visitor. It can be quite aggressive at a birdtable, fighting off smaller tits. In winter it joins with blue tits and others to form roaming flocks which scour gardens and countryside for food.

If you enjoyed reading this article and listening to the different bird sounds you can find out more about the lush variety of birds in Ireland by visiting the Bird Watch Ireland website by clicking here.

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Know your birdsong! Click through our quick guide to the calls of common Irish birds

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Resident, and winter visitor from Norway, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Green-listed in Ireland. The European population has been assessed as Secure. The commonest and most widespread member of the thrush family In Ireland. The males's all black plumage and bright yellow bill is unmistakable, however females are much browner, with speckles on the upper breast and at first glance resemble a Song Thrush.

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Hit the Button is an interactive maths game with quick fire questions on number bonds, times tables, doubling and halving, multiples, division facts and square numbers. The games, which are against the clock, challenge and develop mental maths skills. An untimed, practise mode is available in our Hit the Button app along with lots more extra features.

The activities can be matched to appropriate mathematical ability. Regular use of Hit the Button can help students to sharpen their recall of vital number facts in a fun way and learning multiplication tables need not be boring.

AGE

6-11 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Times Tables Division Number Bonds Doubles Halves Square Numbers

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Hit the Button - Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds

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Quick fire questions on number bonds, doubles, halves, times tables, division facts and square numbers against the clock. Superb!

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Hi 3rd & 4th,
I hope you find some more activities that you will enjoy.

Take care and stay safe,

Jennifer Heneghan

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Practice your times tables and division facts. Who will be the tables champion when we return to school?

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Well Done

Completed

Well done for taking the time to practise the times tables. You should practise regularly and always aim to improve on your personal best.

Take note of the question that took you longest to answer. Can you think of a way of remembering that answer for quicker recall next time? Can you learn from your fastest answer? Do you have a trick for remembering that table fact so quickly? Here is a printable form to write your Tips For Remembering on.

The average time taken to answer the times table by all of the people who have ever attempted it is seconds.

There are other activities that will help you improve your mastery of the times tables. They can be found on our Times Tables page.

Tablesmaster is a great way to practise your times tables. Play it every day to help improve your numeracy skills, mathematical proficiency and mental strength. Here is a printable page on which you can record your personal best times for completing times tables activities.

This program is intended for upper Secondary/High school pupils/students for regular practice of those so important tables long after they have learned when they were younger. More Times Table practice activities can be found on our Times Tables page but if it is a mixed tables activity you need try Beat The Clock.

The data collected by the Tablesmaster program has produced some interesting Statistics which may help teachers focus learning on the more difficult or hard to remember multiplication facts.

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math maths mathematics times tables mental arithmetic multiplication facts numeracy

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A free online activity to help you practise a Times Table. Find out which multiplication fact you know best and which needs improvement. This page will generate a bar chart showing your speed for each times table and offer improvement suggestions.

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Learning to read with phonics? Click the '+' for advice.

Learning to read with phonics

If you live in England, your child will learn to read using phonics. Their school is very likely to use either the Letters and Sounds phonics framework or the Read Write Inc. programme. Check with your school if you're not sure which one they use.

Using Letters and Sounds?

If your child is using Letters and Sounds, you can find this list of eBooks by Letters and Sounds Phases useful. Bear in mind the following:

If you don't know your child's Phase, you can check with your school. As a guide, most Reception children will be on Phases 1-4 and most Year 1 children will be on Phases 4-5. Beyond Phase 5, your child will be able to decode most books.

In Letters and Sounds, there are 'sets' within the Phases - so your child might not know all the sounds in every book within their Phase.

Some series contain occasional 'tricky words' that your child can't decode using phonics. Use the inside front cover notes to teach your child these words before they start the book.

Find out more about Letters and Sounds >

Using Read Write Inc. Phonics?
If your child is being taught to read using the Read Write Inc. programme, you can find books suitable for them by clicking on the 'Levels' menu below and using the 'Read Write Inc.' filter to select the right level.

Find more support and resources for Read Write Inc. in our parents' guide to Read Write Inc. >

Looking for printed books for phonics practice at home?

Not reading to practise phonics?

Sharing books and independent reading

If your child is reading simply for enjoyment, comprehension, or practice, just browse the library or use any of the other filters. You can check which level is right for your child with this simple test from Read with Oxford.

Reading for pleasure

Are you a teacher? Find out about the Oxford Owl for School eBook library.

More available on Oxford Owl for School

Schools who are registered with Oxford Owl can provide pupils with access to an additional 30 Oxford Primary eBooks, plus a separate library of 50 Read Write Inc. titles all for free using a class login associated with their Oxford Owl for School.
How to set up a class login >

If you need more eBooks, Oxford Owl for School has introduced a new annual subscription of up to 550 titles. For more information, please visit the OUP website.

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Accessing your class eBook library from home

The class log in link has moved. If your teacher has given you login details to use your class library at home, please use the log in link at the very top of this page and select 'Students'.

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Songbirds

Levelled phonics books from the fabulous Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo.

Read Write Inc. Phonics

A step-by-step phonics programme to support reading. Learn at home with Read Write Inc. Phonics

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Free eBook library | Oxford Owl from Oxford University Press

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Learning to read with phonics If you live in England, your child will learn to read using phonics. Their school is very likely to use either the Letters and Sounds phonics framework or the Read Write Inc. programme. Check with your school if you're not sure which one they use.