ICT and Literacy and Numeracy - experiences of working with low and high ability groups of children

University Degree Education and Teaching

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TMA 06

All names have been changed as per the Bera guidelines for maintaining confidentiality

ICT and Litercay

The Children

I have recently supported a group of three children who are grouped as low ability within the class. Sarah is a six year old girl and has very low self confidence. She has poor concentration skills and can be easily distracted by background noises. She has an IEP. Liam is a seven year old boy and also has an IEP. He sometimes lacks concentration and becomes bored very easily. However, once motivated he works very hard and his language skills are improving all the time. Ryan is a six year old boy. He has a very short attention span and is distracted by even the slightest noise. He finds it difficult to focus and needs to be constantly motivated. He also has an IEP.

I have worked with these three children on a daily basis, where I support the development of their language and written skills. Currently I am supporting their learning of consonant – vowel – consonant words and am helping them to develop their reading skills. I regularly withdraw them from the classroom which enables me to focus my whole attention on them. I support them in this way so that the teacher is free to give his attention to the more able children within the class.

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Focus for support

For this activity, the focus of support was to develop and support the reading of CVC words, and to help them blend consonants and vowels together to form words. This was appropriate for their current learning needs as they are currently developing their reading of these words and learning how to sound each letter out individually and then blend them together to form a word.

This activity is relevant to the foundation phase literacy curriculum as it requires that children are taught three related concepts; grapheme-phoneme correspondences, blending and segmenting. It also requires that children know a selection of common consonants and vowels, which they can blend together for reading and segment for spelling simple CVC words, e.g. sit and tap (KU 1.4). Also, the National Literacy Strategy states that a literate primary pupil should ‘understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell accurately’ (Study Topic 15, p. 12).

A step-by-step plan of the activity

We will be looking to support blending when reading CVC words. We will be selecting a medial vowel and then learning to read the words with that middle vowel. We will do this by playing a literacy game on the computer, found on a teaching website on the internet (PS 3.2) . Playing the game will mean that the children are fully engaged with ICT.

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This activity will teach them to blend consonants and vowels to form words that they can read. It will also teach them to segment words to make reading and spelling easier. This is all relevant to the foundation phase which outlines that a child of this age should be able to blend together and read simple CVC words.

The children will be playing a game called ‘CVC pop’. They will first select a medial vowel on which to focus, e.g. a, e, i, o or u. The game will involve them using the computer mouse to ...

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The children will be playing a game called ‘CVC pop’. They will first select a medial vowel on which to focus, e.g. a, e, i, o or u. The game will involve them using the computer mouse to click on target words. The computer will say a word, e.g. mop, then a series of words will move across the screen, some of which read ‘mop’. The aim is for the children to pick out the words that read ‘mop’, click on them and drop them into a basket at the bottom of the screen. They get a point for each one they get right and a point deducted for each one they get incorrect.

I will support their learning by setting up the computer and getting the game ready prior to the activity taking place. I will be explaining to the children exactly what is required of them during this activity and giving them instructions on how to play the game. I will then give them a demonstration.

I will also be asking the children questions such as ‘what is that word you just clicked on?’, ‘what is the middle sound in that word?’ and ‘can you see that word anywhere else on the screen?’ This will support their learning by reinforcing mentally what they are doing practically. If they click on an incorrect word I will ask questions such as, ‘what word are we looking for?’ and ‘why did you click on that word?’ so that I can make sense of their

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understanding. Then I will be able to build on their existing knowledge in a way appropriate to their level of understanding.

Integrating ICT

The curriculum focus of supporting blending when reading CVC words will be supported by ICT by accessing a website through the internet on the computer, to enable the children to play a CVC game. The computer will provide the children with a visual aid to their learning where the CVC words will appear on the monitor. The children will be actively involved with ICT during this activity as they will be using the computer mouse to click on target words that appear before them on the monitor.

ICT will enhance this activity by making it a fun and enjoyable way for the children to learn KS 4.2). As Davidson 2003 suggests, ‘material can be presented in a way that is fresh and interesting to the learner, offering exciting new ways to learn, revolutionising the traditional learning experience, and capturing the imagination of learners’ (Study Topic 15, p. 30). This is particularly useful for these three children as all have poor concentration skills. Playing a game on the computer should capture their interest as ‘children are generally highly motivated in using ICT, encouraging their participation in learning’ (Cable and Eyres, 2005). This will help maintain their focus and I will use this opportunity to stimulate their learning further.

ICT will also enhance this activity by giving the children immediate feedback on their answers, letting them know whether they are correct or incorrect KS 4.1). They can then

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work towards finding the correct solution independently, ‘immediate feedback can be an invaluable incentive to encourage a child to maintain progress in learning’ (Cable and Eyres, 2005).

Mathematics and ICT

The children

I have recently supported a group of three children who are grouped as high ability within the class. Lucy is a seven year old girl and has a high level of understanding in all curriculum subjects. She is a good listener and her work is always neat and well presented. Kerry is a seven year old girl. She is a sensitive child and seeks a lot of attention from the adults within the classroom. She has a high ability in all areas of the curriculum. Lewis is a seven year old boy. He sometimes lacks concentration and has a tendency to mess about with some of the other boys in the class during lesson time. However he has a high level of understanding in all subjects.

I have been required to work with these children in order to leave the teacher free to work with the groups of lower ability who might need more input from the teacher. This group need less adult support and so my involvement with them has been to motivate them and push their learning a step further. I have supported them during group activities where they may

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require a little guidance just to get them started and then asking questions that will push their learning further.

Focus for support

The focus of support for this activity was to develop their addition skills so that they know they can add more than two numbers together to arrive at a solution. This was appropriate for the children’s learning needs as they can easily add two numbers together and we need to enhance their learning by creating a task more difficult for them. Adding more than two numbers together to arrive at different solutions is the next stage for them.

This focus of support is relevant to the foundation phase mathematics curriculum which outlines that children should develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of mathematics through oral, practical and play activities. It also suggests that children should use a variety of ICT resources as tools for exploring numbers (School policy documents). This activity links with this as it involves the children using the computer to play a mathematics game and therefore both ICT and play are being promoted.

A step-by-step plan of the activity

We will be looking to add more than two numbers together to find a solution. The children will do this by participating in a mathematics game on the computer. We will access the

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game via a teaching website on the internet. The children will be actively involved with ICT whilst playing the game as it will involve them being hands on with the computer.

This activity will teach them that they can add more than two numbers together to arrive at a solution. It will also teach them how to use a computer to aid their learning.

The children will be playing a mathematics game called ‘Flight 4 Fuel’. The computer will display a number that they need to reach e.g. 11, by adding other numbers together. They will need to reach this solution before the fuel runs out. Then the fuel, which will be represented by different numbers, will move across the screen. The aim is for the children to use their rocket to fly into the numbers they need to arrive at the given number and shoot the numbers that they don’t need, before the fuel runs out. The objective is to add together more than two numbers to find a solution.

I will support their learning by setting up the computer and getting the game ready prior to the activity taking place. I will explain to the children what is required of them and give them verbal instructions on how to play the game. I will then give them a demonstration.

I will also be encouraging them to work together and help each other find solutions. This supports their learning as ‘children need opportunities to discuss mathematics with others and so develop their abstract reasoning’ (Cable and Eyres, 2005).

To further their learning I will ask questions like ‘how much have we got already?’ and ‘how much do we need now to make e.g. 11? I will do this to keep them thinking and so that they are continuously assessing the situation and problem solving.

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Integrating ICT

The curriculum focus of adding more than two numbers together to arrive at a solution will be supported by ICT by accessing a website through the internet on the computer, to enable the children to play a mathematics game. The children will be using the computer mouse to manoeuvre their rocket to collect or shoot numbers and so will be active participants in ICT. The computer will provide a visual aid which will enhance their learning by allowing them to see immediately when they are getting things correct or incorrect.

ICT will enhance their learning by allowing them to become actively involved and really engage with what they are learning. It has been suggested that ‘ICT can act as a catalyst, contributing to a stimulating classroom climate which can bring mathematics alive’ (Cable and Eyres, 2005). It will also enhance this activity by encouraging the children to collaborate with each other and discuss problems and solutions together. According to Ralston (2005) ‘all UK curricula now stress the importance of talk in mathematics learning, encouraging children to express ideas in a precise way’ (Cable and Eyres, 2005).

Playing a game will be an exciting way for them to learn and it has been suggested that ‘adventure games, when well constructed with meaningful contexts, proved very productive in encouraging problem solving, developing children’s reasoning capabilities (Cable and Eyres, 2005).

Word Count: 1748

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References

Eyres, I and Hancock, R. (2006), ‘Language and Literacy’, Study Topic 15, Course E111, The Open University.

Ralston, J. (2005) ‘ICT, Learning and Primary Mathematics’ in Cable, C. and Eyres, I. (eds) Primary Teaching Assistants: Curriculum in Context, London, David Fulton.

School policy documents