Lab lessons with Juniors

I was working with a computer lab teacher today looking at ways to work with students. She had a class of Year one students came in!

You need to put some sanity saving measures in when working with a class of 5 and 6 year olds in a lab. They can't sit for long, because they are too excited, so it is best to get them on the computers straight away. If possible don't have them sharing as their collaborative skills at this age aren't that great!
Beforehand you will have needed to teach a couple (or more) of more able students to help the others to log on, and then click on the programme they are going to be using i.e KidPix or Paint. Let them go for it, experimenting with the tools or doing their favourite thing. Once everybody is logged on and in the programme, THEN you can start to add some order to your lessons.

The following are the stages you could go through with Juniors
These happen over several sessions!

• free play
• while they are in free play, work with individuals showing them a new tool i.e dragging background pictures and adding stamps
• show them the typing tool and type their name (you will need a display on a wall that shows the Upper and Lower case letters for those who haven't mastered them yet)
• type the words they know how to write (have high frequency words on the wall for students to look at)
  
• first official lesson can be drawing a picture about their topic or what they are writing about in their classroom LIMIT THE TOOLS! Pencil and Paint Can ONLY
• Repeat this session many times but bring something new in when the students look ready for it like typing your name (I also teach new things to students who look like they are capable of it as I walk around)
• next session might be typing a sentence
• at some stage teach the more able students how to save (they will help you to save students work)

• once the students are used to all these steps then you might introduce a new programme/Application
• at the same time talk to the students about the magic line, put two hands on the keyboard, this hand can't cross over this side of the magic line and the other hand can't cross over that side of the magic line (I put little pieces of folded paper between the keys to create a magic line)

Once the students know the routines and how to use one or two of the programmes, then start using your computer lab time as curriculum teaching and learning time. Writing is a good area to start with. Use the projector to model your writing genre. Students can have their writing books (there should be a container of pencils in lab). Send a small group of able students to the computers to draft (use Kidpix, Kidspiration, Pages, Word etc). The rest of the students can be drafting in their books. Children could be sent off to the computers to...

• draw a picture for their story
• Type a heading for their story that could be printed out
• find a picture in Kidpix that could be printed out

While this is all going on, integrate keyboarding skills at the same time

• always remind them of the magic line
• thumbs only on the space bar
• pinkies only on the delete key
• rest fingers on the home keys (those students whose fingers can reach and are ready for it)

With little ones it is all about learning the basic skills and developing that fine motor control. Some students will need more time 'with free play'. If you have students that need mouse skills then set up Interactive Learning Centres such as...
Mouse Practice

Mouse Practice PowerPoint Show version

View more presentations from Jacqui Sharp.

To make these Learning Centres follow these instructions

Finally, limit the time students are on the computers, 30 minutes is plenty of time for younger children to be staring at screen. If you have extra time over, then bring out the cameras and take photos that could be used for motivational writing or for publishing their work.
Just remember at this age more than any other age, the students will develop their skills at differing speeds...some a LOT faster than others. Identify those children that have those skills and use them to help you to teach the others. You will find that children learn best from each other!

Bookmarks, Interactive Learning Centres and Delicious

In past blog posts I have talked about Interactive Learning Centres and bookmarks in Delicious. Teachers have embraced this management method of directing students to certain websites. This is a great idea and works well as long as the links are directly linked to a specific activity that is supporting the teaching and learning.
Ways to use Delicious

• make it the home page on your class computers
• make bundles of your reading groups and math groups (See page 7 of How create a Delicious Account)
• directly link to the activity rather than the page that might have several links on it
• send the link to your Delicious page home on your school or class newsletter
• when Parents ask you what are suitable sites for their child to access, give them the Delicious link
• when you start a new topic make sure that you have a tag or a bundle for it so that students can access these links at home
• make a bundle that is specifically child friendly games (check them out to make sure they are not full of inappropriate advertising)
• set student homework using Delicious Links
• keep your bundles well organised and your tags clear
• ensure that you have a Spelling bundle with spelling and grammatical tags (very useful when homework has not been set, but students can use these for practice at home and at school)

I have been asked by some teachers whether they should just have a wiki and not Delicious. I suggest that you have both. The wiki is more current and should show the posts, games, activities, discussions that are happening at the moment. The Delicious page is more historic as it shows all the links you have covered in the year and is a great resource for children to use quickly and easily.

Ways to use Interactive Learning Centres (ILC)

• create pages that are group/curriculum specific (Reading or Math Groups names)
  
• directly link to the activity rather than the page that might have several links on it
• use PowerPoint or Keynote to create ILCs (later versions allow you save as PDF files which means you can play them on any machine irrespective of Platform or Version of software)
• if you have special needs children create an ILC that is specific to their need and level
• create teaching lessons using ILC, make them in PowerPoint and then copy or import into Interactive Whiteboard software. Hyperlink to the Internet or games and activities that you have made in PowerPoint, Word, Pages, Keynote, KidPix, Inspiration or Kidspiration
  

The slideshow below is an example of how you could make a Maths ILC. One page shows games that are strand specific and two pages show 2 different Maths groups and the activities that they are doing related to what is being taught at the moment.

Interactive Website

View more presentations from Jacqui Sharp.

Reluctant Writers and ICT

Some children just have nothing to write about, their imagination is stifled and they think they have nothing to write about. There are many reasons for this but one I would presume to say is that a lot of students are visual learners, not necessarily visual thinkers (their imagination has been stifled or ideas have been imposed on them).This is where computers can help...at any age level. I am not particularly advocating that they type (or draft) their story using the computer but instead use the visual aids available to

BUILD A STORY

Use Programmes like KidPix, Kidspiration, Inspiration, Pages, PowerPoint or Word, anything that allows access to a graphic library and get the students to build a story using the graphics available to them. They can then then move them around and create a visual story from the pictures they have found. This visual story can be printed out and used for the motivation for writing which could then be drafted in their writing books.
Another idea would be for children to record themselves on an iPod, PDA or a tape recorder talking about their visual story and this can then be played back to them as they are writing.

KidPix and Maths

Maths is one of the easiest subjects to integrate ICT into particularly in the Junior School.
There does not need to be a whole lot of preparation or creating but you will need to spend time showing students how to perform certain tasks and this can be done as part of the lesson.

Most of the time the main tool buttons that are used are the stamp pencil and line button.

One of the first things I ask teachers is "What are you doing in Maths at the moment?" they tell me and we work out an activity from that. Here are some examples of activities.

How many sets of five
can you make with the
stamp tool?




Patterning Copy these patterns and add to them




Matching 1-1 Find the stamps that have a pair and match them 1-1






Fractions Use the
tool to show the fractions


Make the number sentence and circle the set that is being 'taken away'



Here are some basic addition and Greater than Less than examples


In most of these examples you the teacher do not have to create anything apart from what the instruction is going to be. But don't expect the children to be able to just go and do it, you must model the activity first and this can be included into your instructional lesson.

KidPix and modelling writing

A great way to introduce KidPix to young children is to use it when you are modelling your writing. If you have a projector in your classroom...great! But otherwise you could use your class computer and work with a small group.

Tell them what you are doing as you are clicking on each option, that way you are showing them how to use KidPix, don't assume that they might know it!

Click on the ABC tool. Click on the page and your text box will appear Now we are going to type our sentence 'We went for a walk in the park'

"What do we start our sentence with? "

"A capital letter!"

"How do we do a capital letter on the keyboard?"

"We hold down the shift key on the opposite side of the keyboard to the letter we want to use."

The teacher demonstrates and gets children to have a go as well. The lesson can continue in this way.

Over time and different sessions introduce new buttons and tools such as the drawing tools.

Limit drawing tools to pencil, colour and paint can.

A great story starter is to click on the Background button and insert a background

Use the Stamp tool, add stamps to the background to build up a story. Use the text tool to type the story.

Report writing in KidPix

Caridad's class are using KidPix for report writing. Children are selecting a background picture in KidPix and then use the textbox button to type in their report over the top of the background picture.