Home-Schooling Help: Secondary Edition

With home-schooling back on the agenda, you’re probably on the lookout for some interesting and educational ways to keep your teens on track.

Whilst you’ll likely have work supplied by the school, it’s nice to dip into other resources to top up their learning, or just change things up a bit. Here’s a list of top home-schooling resources for Secondary-aged children.

The Story Starter

If your child needs a little imagination boost for their creative writing lessons, try Story Starter. This handy tool generates the first sentence of a fictional story which children can then expand on. Great for KS3 onwards.

BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize offers lessons full of videos, quizzes and practical activities covering English, Maths, Science, History and Geography. All you have to do to get started is pick your child’s year group (from year 7 to year 9) and choose a subject.

There’s also a Revision App for 14–16-year-olds which is available on iOS and Android. The app includes GCSE flashcards for Maths, English, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Combined Science, Geography, History and PE.

The British Museum

Even though the actual museum is closed, The British Museum have created an interactive learning tool to allow you to explore history across five continents: Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceana. Pick from themes such as Art and Design, Religion and Beliefs, and Trade and Conflict to learn about all aspects of the artefacts currently housed at the museum.

What Was There

What Was There is an interesting interactive tool that lets you explore different cities across the globe in different time periods via photos taken at the time. While not necessarily an educational tool on its own, it may inspire your children to think about what their own area was like in the past, and aid both History and Geography projects.

Internet Geography

Internet Geography is a GCSE-level resource which covers the AQA syllabus, including physical landscapes, natural hazards, population and urban issues. The site also houses mock exams, quizzes and case studies. Each week there is a free homework task, Geography in the News, that encourages children to engage with news stories that have a geographical element.

Twinkl

Originally designed as a hub for teachers, Twinkl has adapted itself for home-schooling with lesson ideas, activities and videos for KS3 and KS4. You’ll find worksheets and guides for English, maths and science, as well as languages, art and design, humanities and more.

BBC Teach Live Lessons

The BBC’s fun and engaging Live Lessons help bring your subjects to life. Great for KS3 and KS4, there are episodes on literacy, numeracy and science. You’ll also be able to watch curriculum-based programmes on your TV from Monday 11th January. BBC Two will cater for secondary students with 2 hours of programming daily to support the GCSE curriculum, including adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays alongside science, history and factual titles.

TTS

While not free, TTS have a range of purchasable book packs to set reading goals and homework, creative writing, phonics and a guide for teaching children with dyslexia. All aimed at secondary students studying at KS3 and KS4 level.

We know home-schooling can be a bit daunting, for you and the kids, especially with GCSEs and other exams on the horizon. But hopefully these resources can help to make the whole thing a little less stressful.