Portfolio activity 6 Using ICT in Geography with pupils with SEN Pupil 1- David SpLD Pupil 2 – Max EBD Summary of needs David Poor literacy and oracy Low level of concentration. Stage 5 on statement register. Good attendance, nice attitude. Keen to learn Max Poor attendance, aggressive attitude sometimes, poor literacy skills but good oracy Geographical and ICT learning objectives for the lessons Geographical Investigate the impact of the eruption of Mount St Helen’s on the local area of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. ICT Use of video to show eruption Use of satellite photograph on OHT from CD Rom to show the extent of the ash cloud Use of pre-prepared newspaper article (my own) to give an example of the work that could be produced (see attached sheet) Use of word processor to create a newspaper article Use of spell checker to improve literacy presentation Experience a different experience in writing in Geography The topic covered a series of lessons. It was preceded by an introductory lesson on volcanoes- definitions etc and a brainstorming activity and a discussion of what might happen during an eruption. The concept of Mount St. Helen’s eruption was introduced via video footage. Students took notes in their exercise books using prompts: What was it like before the eruption What did the eruption look like What happened during the eruption? What was the area like after the eruption? What did people do to reduce the effect of the eruption? The video was stopped several times and data collated as a class. My newspaper article was shown to them and we discussed e.g. using headlines, large words etc to catch peoples’ eye. The Special Needs Assistant ( SNA) brought examples of articles with her from the Daily Mail to show students. Beginnings of articles were discussed i.e. to catch people’s interest. A large A3 sheet of paper with a newspaper format was given to students for them to start writing their article on by hand. The class transferred to an IT room for 3 lessons to produce the work on a word processor. In order to keep it simple MS Word was used when difficulties arose with publisher. A simple table format was used and fonts changed (size and type) and a newspaper report was used. Response of the students to the topic. Positive. Interest in volcanoes (‘ trendy’ Geography) obvious by number of questions asked about the video and keen to write the newspaper. The one presented by me gave them some starting ideas and then prompt sentences (along writing frame lines) were provided for David. He was tempted to just copy mine. SNA provide guidance and support. Max reacted very positively. Again interest in the topic and the way of writing. Response of the pupils to use of ICT. Again positive because it was different to normal and I think they had not been given the chance to do this in other lessons outside formal ICT lessons. Guidance was provided on the use of word and print preview used to gauge appearance of work. Both boys worked quietly and diligently for the two lessons and showed real interest in producing a good piece of work. Evaluation of using ICT Video: Shows real events well and makes it more real for the students. Can be broken down into small tasks Computers: Trust had been built up with the class- they were looking forward to using the computers. All students worked really hard. The two boys produced good work showing understanding and basic word processing skills. They saw the spell check as an added bonus. Although only simple ICT skills were used, it gave them an extra focus and removed the problem of presentation and spelling problems usually associated with their work. Improvements for next time: Create a file on the network of pictures from the eruption that the students can use to cut and paste into their articles. (Internet or CD Rom) Use the Internet to search for other information on volcanoes as an introductory activity with a prompt sheet so that they do not get distracted. Only look at certain sheets DAILY STAR Monday 21st May 1981 Violent volcano causes death and destruction A large volcano erupted today causing death and destruction in Washington state, USA. The volcano called Mt. St.Helen’s had not erupted for hundreds of years, when all of a sudden on Sunday morning, it blew its top. Ash and rocks everywhere. Millions of tonnes of rock exploded and were thrown up into the air. Ash and rocks fell everywhere. A huge ash cloud rolled down the mountain killing anything in its path. A young couple camping 15 miles away were saved by a tree that covered them and protected them from the blast of the volcano. Their friends were not so lucky- they were killed in the blast. Scientists had noticed rumblings underneath the surface and had put a five-mile exclusion zone around the volcano. All but two people who lived near it had moved out of harms way. Tree destroyed Exclusion zone not big enough. But when the volcano erupted, the explosion and damage was much further than they had thought. Millions of trees were destroyedblown down and burnt by the explosion. Another couple camping thirty miles away described their experience as terrifying when a flood hit their camp, sweeping them both away. The volcano had melted the glacier on top of it and caused the water to mix with the ash and make a river of mud. The couple eventually reached safety and were taken to hospital. Satellite image of Mt. St. Helen’s erupting, May 1981