Literacy Bank 4

KS2 (Years 3 - 6)

English

Literacy Bank 4 is a resource package for the Literacy Hour. It is one of a series of four CD-ROMs designed to integrate ICT into the Literacy Hour. The software contains short structured exercises, which cover many of the areas of knowledge and understanding identified in the NLS for Year 4.

Literacy Bank also enables teachers to track the progress of pupils, assisting teachers in the organisation, delivery and monitoring of the twenty minutes of independent work incorporated into the Literacy Hour.

There are 180 activities focusing on word and sentence level work with six different activity types.

It is designed for children to work independently, either alone or in groups.

I used this software over a term as one of the activities set in the twenty-minute independent work slot. The program proved to be very easy to organise and run. At the beginning of the year, I added pupils' names to the log in menu both individually and then in ability groups.

Children are able to boot the software for themselves, log in to the activities and select an activity from the week's bank. I have tended to use it retrospectively, as I felt that it was important that pupils had covered the work in class, before they could be expected to work independently. I also used the format and general ideas to make my own differentiated work sheets for homework, thus using homework to reinforce class work.

Children were very responsive to the activities. They enjoyed the interface characters, which we change on a regular basis. The program is unthreatening to less able children, as the interface guides them carefully through the activity. Children can ask for help with the show me icon. They liked the certificates gained at the end of a session.

Some typing skills are necessary, along with the ability to navigate by mouse. This did not seem to be a problem to any of the children, although some obviously worked more quickly than others.

I liked the way in which I have been able to keep a running record of the children's efforts, using them to inform reporting to parents.

Organisation was within the NLS framework, in that I used it as an activity in the Literacy lesson. The children had access to two networked computers and completed the tasks in pairs, each group having typically four children. Having set the groups previously, the designated group for that day would go and log on and choose a task from the limited bank presented to them. I had initially tried to stick to one or two activities a week, but it became apparent that some children needed more practice than others to achieve the maximum scores, which they were keen to do. Because of that, I kept some tasks on the bank longer than others. Children watching learnt from those completing the tasks. Where children needed support, an adult assistant was available. Generally speaking, children were able to work alone and then I accessed their scores at the end of the session.

I also downloaded work sheets, so that groups within the class area could also have access to a bank of relevant activities within the lesson. In new exercises it was an advantage to some children to use pencil and paper and then to reinforce on PC. Often there can be a group doing Literacy Bank 4 on the computers and a group working on Literacy Bank 4 activities at their desks, where activities match the lesson focus.

This program supported the objectives of the Literacy Hour through ICT. Activities taught are purely Literacy skills, with very few ICT skills needed. The attractiveness of the package and the range of achievable activities motivated the children. They loved to print out a certificate of their results at the end of each session and were very motivated by receiving a score that they could better. Slower learners did not feel threatened at all by the tasks and also enjoyed beating their own scores. The screen interface was very supportive for slower learners, with clear instructions and guidance.

Early on, I found that ground rules had to be set, such as not repeating each task ad nauseam, using a small task bank and allowing only one certificate per child per session. Children had to log in, so that I could keep a record of their scores.

Groups were set according to reading ability. I decided that reading was a reasonable criteria in this case, but other criteria could obviously be used.

The way in which children can work alone frees up the teacher to work with other groups. Using the PC generally kept children on task.

The children needed to know how to log on to their names, they needed to be able to recognise icons, which were very clearly descriptive of function. Pupils needed some keyboard skills, as some activities need typed responses and they needed to be able to print out certificates. None of the children in this class needed any coaching with any of the above, as the screen interface is very precise in its instruction.

The package keeps a record of the work that children have done and the scores they have achieved. It is aimed at Year 4 children and tightly focused on the objectives of the Year 4 National Literacy Strategy. Each term is covered, objective-by-objective. If activities are selected to match up to the program, just about all word level and sentence level objectives can be covered. Students log in under their own name, or under a group name and their scores are recorded automatically. By accessing the student record section, you can read and print out their record. This is in the teachers' section to which pupils will have no access. Reports can be accessed either by activity or by date.

To save the student record, simply click on 'save as text file' button.

It is a very simple recording system and very useful as teachers can check results in their own time after lessons have finished.

It is very limited in its provision for Special Educational Needs, as there is no differentiation in tasks. Slower learners enjoyed the tasks so much that they were prepared to persevere to get a certificate. If support was given, children were able to cope better. The self-correcting nature of the package meant that children did not feel threatened by the tasks. All the children in this group felt that they could get full marks if they kept at it.

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Product Overview

This product is distributed by Sherston (Tel: 01666 843200)