By: Derry Koralek, Ray Collins. Play is the work of children  through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.
After years of civil war, Ireland became a republic in 1921. At this time, Britain negotiated with Ireland to keep the six counties in the north-east of Ireland. These six counties now make up what is known as Northern Ireland or Ulster. The southern part of the island is the Republic of Ireland, or Eire.
The British controlled the area for about 750 years, until 1921, when they made southern Ireland a dominion. The link with the United Kingdom ended when Ireland became a republic in 1949. However, Northern Ireland, which occupies the rest of the island, has remained a part of the United Kingdom.