2 weeks in a school in Papakura

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My aim is to incorporate as many computerised and digital activities I can in 2 weeks and develop some more management ideas and techniques. I have been given a Year 5 and 6 class (9 and 10 year old students). The classroom teacher is with me for most of the time but is going to release other teachers in the school so they can come and observe me. Below is my Daily and Reading Planning for the first week.

Week one Daily Plan 

Reading Plan

Day One
Today there were several very excited students and the excitement built through the day as they were introduced to more computerised activities. Not all the computers worked as they should have so the children had to learn the value of patience!
I have provided five laptops (4 windows, 1 Mac) and one G5 Mac. The school has a COW (computer on wheels) where they have 8 laptops with wireless cards that sit in a moveable cupboard. The idea is that the laptops can be charged overnight and children can use them wirelessly in the class. We soon found out that they needed to be plugged in as they took too much time to be started up each time we needed to use them and with a crowded curriculum you need every minute you can get! So we have unplugged them from the COW and set them up all around the room plugged into the power points. This means that when students need to use a computer they can get onto them straight away without waiting for them to start up. There are also 3 more Standalone computers. All the school computers connect to the Internet and the students have a student drive they can save to on the network.
The school has been on an ICT contract and there is a variance in computer skills amongst the children. The classroom teacher has identified three potential computer monitors and these students were shown today the activities that the rest of class are expected to do. The class has been told that if they have any computer problems then they need to go to the computer monitors before they go to the teacher.  
I have my own laptop connected to a projector and most of my teaching is done using the laptop. One of the most successful parts of the day was when I videoed the children during their small ball skills lesson which was taken by the classroom teacher. As the children settled down in the classroom when we got back I downloaded the video straight into MovieMaker. No more than 5 minutes later I was able to play it full screen back to the students. There was not a sound as they watched themselves, I think they were quite overwhelmed by seeing themselves minutes after they had done the activity.

Day Two
We made some changes to the Daily Timetable (the one above is the most current). Today the children started off with handwriting. Each day 5 to 6 children practice their touch typing with some activity cards I have developed while the rest of the class do a formal handwriting lesson. The children know who are supposed to be on touch typing as there is a chart with their names and days of the week. It is their responsibility to check to see if it is their turn that day. As I moved around the class checking handwriting I was able to keep an eye on the students at the computers. I picked up that they need to use their thumbs for the space bar and that they need to keep their hands over the home keys, I was able to tell these children while they were practising. The weeks spelling list was projected up on the whiteboard and students had to write the words down once they finished their handwriting. Typing students had to come back and do their spelling. Fast finishers were allowed to go to any computer and do some of the computerised activities that had been developed around this weeks spelling words.
The class was all pulled back together and the modelling started for the recount writing. I presented on the screen a WordProcessed example of a recount. Then I showed a PowerPoint of what makes an excellent Recount

Click here to download Recount PowerPoint

This has been printed out on the wall and the children were told to refer to it regularly. I did notice at least four children who went and had another look at it while they were doing their writing. We then looked at a basic Recount framework Inspiration activity. Thirteen of the children went to the computers to start their recount using the framework. The rest of the class worked in their books. They will get their turn tomorrow.
The Maths rotation was little chaotic as the children were trying to come to grips with the taskboard and working out what groups they were supposed to be in. The Statistics unit I had written is a bit above these children so I will have to simplify it. Some of the children made strip graphs using Microsoft Word.
Again the children had to cope with another taskboard 'Reading'. They need plenty of reminders to look at the taskboard to see what they are going to be doing next. They are coping well with finding the activities in their reading folders on the desktop of  all the computers.
Students filled in Self assessment sheets on their small ball skills after watching the movie of themselves from the day before. They then went outside with the purpose of improving the skills they have identified themselves.

Day Three
The morning session from 9.00 to 10.40 went extremely well today. The children started off with their handwriting but the touch typing group forgot to go for their session. The children moved independently from Handwriting to their spelling and the fast finishers went to a laptop to play a spelling game. After a while I called them all back to their seats and we started on Written Language. We revisited the Recount presentation and then we looked at a movie made in Photo Story (a free Windows download). This movie was based on a recount I wrote about a trip I had made to the bottom of the North Island. The aim was to look at how I had used the 'Who, what, where, when' in the introduction. It was also showing children how you can present work in a different way.

The students carried on from where they were yesterday which was drafting their stories either in their books or on the Inspiration recount framework. After a while some of the book people were ready to proof read and they had to refer to this process

Once they had finished this process they needed to get a partner to proofread their story as well. Once they had done that they could move their name to the Conferencing part of the Taskboard. A couple of students got that far and then ended up having to proofread again. They will need plenty of practice at this. Some students working on frameworks finished  them and then printed them out so that they could work on their final drafts. This process will all be repeated tomorrow.

The maths and reading process using the taskboards was much better today and most of the children are getting the idea of how to independently use them. They are using the computers well and seem very much on task most of the time.

Day four
There was a network problem to start with and then a loose power plug connection which kept shutting down a computer (the laptops were ok as they just continued on battery, so there was a bit of disruption to begin with. Children need to be very clear about where to save. When you have a lot of laptops it is very easy to save to the desktop but a child can't always be guaranteed to go back to that particular laptop, therefore if there is a network then children need to save to the Student Disk. USB Memory sticks (Flash drives, Micro drives, Pen drive) are invaluable when you have computers that are not on the network, they are faster than floppy disks or CDs, you just plug them into the USB port on the computer, it will open in seconds, drag and drop what ever you need backwards and forwards from computer to stick. We are making great use of these in the classroom and I have trained a couple of monitors to use them when people need files printed from the non-networked computers. These particular memory sticks are on a chain, and the rule is when it is not in the computer, it is around the neck. Students moved well from Handwriting to Spelling and then onto spelling activities on the computer. Teacher modelling time for writing was viewing a PowerPoint of a recount from a teacher teaching in Japan. We identified the awesome adjectives and vigorous verbs used in the recount.

Click here to see PowerPoint recount

Most students have finished their Inspiration recount, printed them out and glued them in their books for further writing. Once the children have done this a couple of times I would expect them to finish the framework in one session (a lot of the children tried to write the whole recount). Next time I will organise children (one able, one not so able in writing) to work in pairs on a framework, then print out a copy each and then work on their own version of their recount using the framework as a reference. As the children work towards publishing I will identify certain ones to work together on making a digital recount either as a movie or a PowerPoint.
The Maths session went really well today as students are starting to get the hang of the taskboard. I have printed out some of the Inspiration activities as an extra activity so the children can do these at their desk. They have been working on Strip graphs and most children are able to create a table and then convert that information into a strip graph. They need more work on analysing their findings.

Reading Units for the week
Photography R.A 10-11 years
Space Level 24
Variety of readers Level 20
Variety of readers Level 18

The switch over to Reading went well with almost all of the class able to refer to the taskboard, at one stage I looked around and there were children reading quietly in the library, children at laptops doing a Hot Potatoes cloze activity (to do with Volcanoes) and other children looking at websites about moon buggies and space shuttles (all to do with their reading topic of Space.)...and it was quiet!

Art Plan: The afternoon session involved getting to know how to use a digital camera as the children are going to be taking photos of themselves, using photo software to make changes to the photos and then creating a piece of artwork from the photo using paint or dye and black ink. We had four cameras and 28 excited children. I had already worked with 4 children before lunch and showed them how to work the cameras so they were able to show groups of children how to use it. I was initially going to put them in groups of seven, but that was going to be too hard as the children were so excited and all wanted a turn right then and there, so it was easier to send them off for 10 minutes in groups of four with an trained camera user. Before they went off we had a look at a Camera slideshow

Click here to download Composing a Portrait photo (This is a very large file, do this only if you have broadband connection)

We discussed what made a well composed photo and then the students went off to take their own. As they came back we downloaded the photos and students that were waiting were able to view them and make comments about them. There was great hilarity at some of the photos. I demonstrated to some of the students how to use the software on the laptops to make changes to the photos, they then went on to the laptops and had a go themselves. They will work on these photos over the next few days.

Day five

Fantastic day today! The whole language programme went extremely well. Touch typing group started well, handwriting moved into peer spelling test, children who finished quickly moved onto computer spelling activities. The class came back for written language where we talked about connecting words and awesome adjectives. We started a class ‘Inspiration’ basic recount format, children needed to learn how to write ideas in a framework as some of the children tried to write the whole recount in the framework the last time we did it. Paired children up for the framework where the idea is to write the ideas down together, print out a copy each and then write a full recount on their own in their own books. It has been difficult to develop the children’s imagination as most do not have experiences to write about but one particular child had recently been up to Waitangi and had rode in the Waka in the Waitangi celebrations, he had written a story about it, we conferenced together and then I set him up on a computer with a helper to find some photos on the internet to go with his writing. I have asked him to see if he has any photos taken by his family so we could scan them in. I have started him on Photo Story so he can make a movie of his photos and his recount. Everybody was on task and children were working well with the taskboard. One child is publishing her recount in the Apple programme ComicLife and another couple are publishing using PowerPoint.

Maths went very well, children were able to adapt to the task board, children were able to make their own strip graphs using Word following the format of having a title, a table, a strip graph and a typed analysis of what they have done. (Word skills: inserting tables, resizing tables, inserting data, merging cells and colouring cells in the Strip graph). Introduced pictograms, children seemed to understand the concepts of how to create them, we will find out on Monday!

Maths  moved into Reading seamlessly. Most children worked through the taskboard well and moved between computers, mat time and SSR reading activities. Here are some of the computer activities they have been doing during reading

Day six

Children are moving through most of the task boards well now. They still have some difficulty at writing time where some need to check exactly what they are doing, they are still not sure how to use the system of moving their name through to the next section as they finish it i.e move from proofreading through to conferencing. I am going to start off the handwriting lesson with a quick practice of typing using a photocopy of the keyboard which has been glued into the back of their handwriting books.

Students will place their fingers over the home keys of ASDF JKL;  and they will practice pressing those key and using their thumb for the spacebar. They will be reminded when they are on the 'Touch Typing' activity that they must keep their fingers placed over the Home keys all the time.
Several children are publishing now and we have a variety of publishing going on.
PowerPoint

Wordprocessed Publishing
Photo Story

Comic Life (picture to come)
I also had one child publish his work using a PDA,(software is Pocket PC and comes with Microsoft Word and Excel, if your laptop has infra-red you can beam the finished story over in seconds) great way to keep a potential 'problem' busy and focused.

I have also introduced the children to a more comprehensive recount format which can also be created on the PDA as Inspiration is available for Pocket PC and Palm Pilot. I am trying to get them to think about personal experiences that they can write about that can be interesting so my writing modelling was about my dog. The children seemed to be able to relate to a story about a dog and I am talking to the children about what they are going to write about before they make start. The spelling activities are a great hit and children enjoy doing them during the transition from written spelling activities to draft writing time
Dictionary Meanings
Spelling Quiz
Hot Potatoes Cloze activity
Un-Jumble the spelling words
Missing letters
 

The Maths and Reading transitions are working well and the children are moving to different activities easily following the taskboard. The group that worked on photos last week are now looking at cartoonists such as Murray Ball. There is a very good article on him in School Journal Part 4 No 2 1981 'In the world of Footrot Flats!'. The children will look at what makes a good cartoon by looking at a variety of Journal cartoon stories, they will create their own with photos and their own cartoon graphics eventually and present it in Comic Life (available in Mac only). They will be looking at a variety of comic websites and learn how to draw comics. Today I started this group on Artrage (another free downloadable programme). One group were drawing cartoons with a mouse and the other group were drawing them with a Wacom Tablet.

Day seven

Started off with the keyboarding exercise, some children find it difficult to keep their hands on the home keys, we will need to practice that. The whole written language time went extremely well today, children were on task, most children were moving their names on the Writing task board. Some children have started a new recount and we are starting to see a difference in the writing. We worked as a class on the recount we wrote yesterday about my dog. Using the projector makes a big difference as I was able to show the class photos of my dog which enabled us to come up with more ideas for the recount. The recount framework is clear when it is on the projector screen and easy to read, the teachers who visited today commented on how well it worked with the children. Today the students looked at adding 'awesome adjectives' and I noticed in their own draft work later that they are trying to do it themselves.

Again using the projector, laptop and screen to make strip graphs and pictograms engages the children attention. They are learning new computer skills and then applying it themselves straight after as their math activity.

I have come to the conclusion that if you can find a good children's website it is one of the best ways to get a reluctant reader reading. One of the books we have read is called Bulldozers and I came across this site The mechanism of a bulldozer where the children are able to click on different parts of the screen while an animation plays that explains how a bulldozer works, when they get to the end they are able to play a game by clicking on the Kikki's workshop button. This is one activity the children like to go back to.

The children finished taking photos of themselves and most had no problem hamming  up to the camera. We loaded the photos onto the computers and then I let them play around with the different software on the different computers. It was a very noisy classroom for the last 30 minutes as they had great fun editing, manipulating and adding effects to their photos. Tomorrow they will work on their photos and maybe some children might be ready to start painting a real piece of artwork using their photo as motivation!

Day eight

Children are starting to get the hang of the photocopied keyboard but will need a lot of reminders to keep both hands over the home keys. I used one of the spelling activities that children can do on the computer for a class spelling activity today. I noticed some were having difficulty with the jumbled words, so using the projector I kept it up on the whiteboard for spelling time and children did the activity in their books.