ICT Unit 1D To describe objects using key words
Linked to English Year 1
Integrated Task
Prepare a topic bank of classroom objects. Discuss with the children what the objects are used for. Ask them to group the objects, eg group all the mathematics apparatus or the art materials, and to consider different ways in which the objects could be grouped.
Can some objects be grouped in more than one category? Encourage children to consider why we need to use labels. Do some areas of the classroom need instructions, eg only three children in the home corner?
Ask the children to write simple labels or instructions for the objects, using a word bank if necessary, and then to place them appropriately around the classroom. Which labels can they read?
Learning Outcomes
- recognise that objects have properties
- provide information about objects by writing simple instructions and labels for classroom use
ICT Unit 2A To use ICT appropriately to communicate ideas through text
Linked to English Year 1
Integrated Task
Explain to the class that they will be building on their experience of recording the bean-growing activity in science and writing instructions in English. Remind them of the difference between writing fact and fiction.
Ask the children to write the instructions for planting a bean. Discuss what vocabulary is needed and prepare either a word bank, eg bean, jar, blotting paper, cotton wool, water, or a printed list for those children who need it. It may be helpful to produce the instructions in the wrong order and ask the children to sequence them using an interactive whiteboard or data projector. Encourage them to re-read their work on screen to make sure it makes sense. Remind children to use the ‘enter/return’ and ‘backspace’ keys if they make mistakes.
When children have finished, ask them to read their instructions out loud to a partner. Are they in the right order? Have they left anything out? As a whole-class activity, children could read the instructions together and comment on similarities and differences between their versions.
Learning Outcomes
- develop their text on screen
- use appropriate techniques to ensure that their writing is clear, well presented and error-free
ICT Unit 2C To use appropriate search techniques to find information to use straightforward lines of enquiry.
Linked to English Year 2
Integrated Task
Tell the class that they are going to use a CD-ROM-based dictionary to find definitions. They will be applying their reading skills to the task. Prepare a list that includes nouns, adjectives and verbs.
Using an interactive whiteboard or data projector, show the class how to search alphabetically, using the ‘back’ or ‘home’ buttons to return to the index. Explain that some words will have hot spots/hyperlinks to linked words, eg yellowcolours. Demonstrate that information can be connected in different ways at the same time. Encourage children to recognise that words can be found both by searching alphabetically and by making connections.
Ask the children to group their definitions according to different criteria, eg in alphabetical order, by groups of adjective s. Some children will be able to sort according to initial letter, some the first two letters and some the first three.
When the children have finished, ask them to read their definitions out loud to a partner. Are the definitions the same? As a whole-class activity, children could compare their search techniques to evaluate the most effective techniques for locating information. When might we use a print rather than a CD-ROM-based dictionary?
Learning Outcome
- use appropriate techniques and straightforward enquiries to locate information on a CD-ROM-based dictionary
ICT Unit 3A - To combine graphics and text to communicate information
Linked to English Year 3
Integrated Task
Explain to the children that they are going to use ICT in two different ways. First, they will work together in pairs or small groups to write a short play script for a traditional story or fable using ICT. They will follow this up by working together to produce either a programme or flyer for their play; this should include pictures and different font effects.
Ask the children to work collaboratively, sharing ideas. Encourage them to re-read what they have written, and amend it to correct errors. Discuss how some sentences could be improved. Show how a sentence can be changed without deleting it. Remind them that they should make their amends using correct key combinations, and to save their work. Encourage them to use different coloured text to highlight different characters, stage instructions, etc. Remind them to use question marks and exclamation marks appropriately.
Next, the children create their programme or flyer advertising the play. They should keep it very simple, eg use only a picture and titl e. Encourage them to select and insert appropriate pictures from a prepared bank of images. Children should choose appropriate font sizes, colours and styles.
Finally, discuss with the class the purposes of using ICT in the two different tasks. Discuss the advantages of using ICT to draft and redraft the script as opposed to writing out ideas by hand.
Show the class some examples of the programmes or flyers using a whiteboard or data projector, and ask children to explain their choices of font size, colour and layout. What have they learnt? What might they do differently next time?
Learning Outcome
- use ICT to refine and edit text
- combine graphics and text to produce a programme or flyer for their play
- show sensitivity to the needs of the audience
ICT Unit 3E - To gather, exchange and develop information using e-mail
Linked to English Year 3
Integrated Task
You will need to establish a partner for this work, perhaps a class in another school or within the school. Remind the children about your Internet Acceptable Use Policy and the importance of safe and discriminating online behaviours, eg never give out your home address, never respond to nasty or suggestive messages and always report these to your teacher. Tell the class they are going to write book reviews for other children.
During literacy lessons, the children will be writing book reviews based on evaluations of plot, characters and language. Ensure that they know who their audience is, eg a year 3 class in a local school, a grade 2 class in the USA .
Use ICT to bring this work to a published form, discussing the relevance of layout, font, etc to the audience. Save the work with appropriate file names.
Use your e-mail service to send a covering message, with the saved book reviews as attachments. Ensure that the partner school knows when to expect the work, and when a reply with comments is expected.
Read and respond to the comments made by the other children.
Learning Outcomes
- create and respond to e-mails and attachments in order to gather information and communicate with others
- show sensitivity to the needs of the audience
ICT Unit 4A To use ICT to organise, reorganize and analyse ideas and information to edit text and use a variety of presentation techniques
Linked to English Year 4 and Design and Technology Year 4
Integrated Task
Ask the children to work in pairs to recall the steps they took when making their product in design and technology. Explain that they will be producing a set of clear instructions so that someone else could carry out the same task. Remind them of the conventions they have come across in their reading. Consider the target audience, eg younger children in another class, parents reading the school magazin e, and remind children of the need to ensure that their presentational style reflects this.
Discuss the key features of instructional texts, eg an informative title, a list of the materials needed, clear instructions, appropriate diagrams. Remind the children of the need to use imperative verbs at the beginning of sentences, eg put, take, cut, and to use time markers, eg next, after, meanwhile.
Ask the children to expand and refine their instructions, and to use appropriate effects to engage the reader’s attention, eg illustrations (such as digital camera images taken while making the products).
Ask the children to work together to make numbered notes of the steps in the activity, and to save their work. They should review work in progress and modify it, based on discussion with their partner.
Show examples of work in progress to the whole class, using a data projector, and ask children to evaluate each other’s work. Have any steps been missed out? Are the instructions clear and easy to read? How could they be improved?
Learning Outcomes
- organise and reorganise text on screen
- use appropriate techniques to ensure that their instructions are clear, well presented and free from errors
ICT Unit 4A To use ICT to organise, reorganize and analyse ideas and information to edit text and use a variety of presentation techniques
Linked to English Year 4 and citizenship unit 7 ‘Children’s rights – human rights’
Integrated Task
Based on work carried out in circle time, children may have considered wants, needs and rights and the differences between them. They may also have gathered information about children’s organisations from a variety of sources. Tell them they are going to use ICT to write their own charter of children’s rights. Remind them of the need to select a style and vocabulary appropriate to their audience. Discuss the techniques they will need to use in presenting an argument and linking points persuasively.
Ask the children to work in pairs to develop their charter of children’s rights. Encourage them to sequence their points in order to present a logical and persuasive argument. If they refer to source information, they will need to consider how statistics and graphs could be used to support their argument. Remind children about copyright when taking information from the web, and that using other people’s ideas, words or images can be a breach of their rights (intellectual property rights).
Show examples of work in progress to the whole class, using a data projector, and ask children to evaluate each other’s work. Which charters are the most effective? Why?
Children should modify their work in the light of others’ comments.
Learning Outcomes
- organise and reorganise text on screen
- use appropriate techniques to ensure that their instructions are clear, well presented and free from errors
ICT Unit 4A To use ICT to organise, reorganize and analyse ideas and information to edit text and use a variety of presentation techniques
Linked to English Year 4
Integrated Task
Explain to the class that they will be using the techniques they have learnt to produce newspaper articles. Ask the class to recall what they have learnt so far.
Ask children to review the work they have been doing on a particular history study unit. Explain that their newspaper articles will bring together the key points in the unit. The articles must be factually correct, lively and interesting. They must also use appropriate presentation techniques.
Put the children into pairs to write their articles. They should amend their articles over a period of time, saving the work as they go.
Explain to the class that they need to identify the key points, experiment with sequencing and modify the text to make it more interesting. Ask them also to identify any headings, sub-headings and key pieces of text and to use appropriate effects to make these stand out.
Learning Outcomes
- organise and reorganise text on screen
- use appropriate techniques to ensure that their writing is clear, well presented and free of errors
ICT Unit 6A To use a multimedia authoring program to refine and present a story in different forms for a specific audience
Linked to English Year 6
Integrated Task
Read a suitable fiction text with the class, showing the illustrations in large format or using a data projector with scanned pages. Explain the objectives and main writing outcomes to the children.
Children work in groups to re-read the text. They use large sheets of paper to write their first responses to the story on, eg theme, characters, setting, their feelings, surprises in the story. In a further lesson, carry out a similar activity, concentrating on characterisation and the author’s techniques for developing this.
Drama: Children work in groups to prepare a feelings tunnel of a couple of characters. (This is a dramatic technique whereby children whisper the main character’s thoughts as he or she is being played by another child. They form a tunnel for the main character to travel through.) This could be recorded on video for later discussion and work on characterisation, and could possibly be included in the presentation.
Ask the children to work in small groups to use what they have learnt to create a multimedia presentation, retelling the story from the viewpoint of one of the characters. They can use their own illustrations or scanned illustrations from the book. They should also use sounds – either recordings of their own voices or sounds imported from a CD-ROM or the internet. They should consider the use of animation and the timing of their graphics and writing to increase dramatic impact. Remind the children of the work carried out in year 5 on adverbs to improve the quality of their writing.
Show examples of work in progress to the class, and encourage children to modify their work in the light of others’ comments. Consider how easy the work is to read and understand. Does animation help or detract? How successfully does the presentation capture the audience’s attention?
Learning Outcomes
- design multimedia pages with graphics and sounds to retell a story, considering dramatic impact
- show sensitivity to the needs of the audience
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