One topic, one session

Lesson plans

Each plan takes one topic and one or two sayings and puts activities from the library in order: a warm-up, a main activity, a conversation and a way to finish. Use them as written or swap in an activity your group prefers.

Starting well
A good beginning
Why does the start matter so much?
A session on why a good start matters, with a class story and freeze frames.
Tús maith leath na hoibreWell begun is half done.
45 min · 7–9, 9–12 yrs
Welcome and hospitality
Everyone is welcome
How do we make someone feel welcome?
A playful session on making people feel welcome, from a circle game to role play and colouring.
Céad míle fáilteA hundred thousand welcomes.
45 min · 5–7, 7–9 yrs
Friendship
Friends again
How do friends make up after a falling out?
Young children use puppets to explore falling out and making up.
Ní buan cogadh na gcaradA quarrel between friends does not last.
40 min · 5–7, 7–9 yrs
Home and family
No place like home
What makes a home feel like home?
Children look closely at their own home and family and make something to show what home means.
Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féinThere is no place like home.
45 min · 5–7, 7–9 yrs
Effort and practice
Practice makes progress
Is anyone born good at something?
Older pupils explore three sayings about effort and turn the idea of slow improvement into a comic.
Den cheird an cleachtadh; namhaid don cheird gan a cleachtadhPractice makes perfect.
50 min · 9–12, 12+ yrs
Calm and listening
Quiet time
What can we hear when we are quiet?
A calm session for young children about the value of being quiet and listening.
Is binn béal ina thostSilence is golden.
35 min · 5–7, 7–9 yrs
Stories and travel
Stories and journeys
Why do travellers have the best stories?
A session about the stories journeys give us, with a story circle and a road to colour.
Bíonn siúlach scéalachThe traveller has the tales to tell.
50 min · 7–9, 9–12 yrs
Teamwork
Stronger together
What can we do together that we cannot do alone?
A hands-on session on why some things only work when people pull together, built around a short proverb about unity.
Ní neart go cur le chéileThere is strength in unity.
50 min · 7–9, 9–12 yrs
Patience and timing
The right day for it
When is the right time to do a job?
A hands-on test of why some jobs need the right moment, with a paper roof and a fan.
Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scolbThe windy day is not the day for thatching.
55 min · 9–12, 12+ yrs
Opinions and argument
Think it through
Are old sayings still true?
Teenagers test old sayings against their own views in a kind, structured debate.
Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinteHealth is better than wealth.
55 min · 12+ yrs
Belonging and kindness
We shelter each other
Who looks after us, and who do we look after?
The class builds a shared handprint tree and talks about the people who look after us.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoineWe live in one another's shelter.
45 min · 5–7, 7–9 yrs

Preview edition. These plans have not yet been tried with a class. Timings are estimates; ages are suggestions. No curriculum alignment is claimed.