Heinemann Explore Key Stage 2 History Online Module

www.heinemannexplore.co.uk

KS2 (Years 3 - 6)

History

On every visit, the website was accessed successfully and at an acceptable speed. The data on the site, for instance photographs and video clips, loaded quickly. The text appears immediately, which seemed to hold the pupils’ attention.

What This Product Offers

The site allowed me to demonstrate to the children that History can be presented in a variety of ways, i.e. photos, paintings, extracts of text and video clips. The site particularly relies on key questions which are answered in small accessible chunks of text. Symbols at the bottom of the web page provide an alternate route for differentiated text.
The search engine provided is useful for pupils that are not fazed by lots of information. Useful web-links to other sites are included. The site allows pupils to explore an area of history through a series of hyperlinks and key areas, including ‘Exploring’, ‘Key Questions’, ‘Digging Deeper’, ‘Historical Activities’, ‘Pictures’, ‘Written Sources’, ‘Biographies’ and ‘Test Yourself’. There is a ‘Literacy Lessons’ link, which is purely for the class teacher.
The 'Test Yourself' section is dedicated to assessing pupils’ knowledge of six specific areas related to Anglo Saxons. The tests include between eight and nine questions which are answered by means of check box, drop-down menu selection or cloze procedure. This is an excellent added dimension to the site because it provides instant answers. Furthermore, the correct answers are displayed at the bottom of the page with hyperlinks to topics related to the questions, for further study.      
The site also incorporates useful cross-curricular lesson plans in the form of Literacy lessons for Years 3 and 4 (five lesson plans). The plans are in Microsoft Word format. The content includes lesson objectives for Literacy with the relevant reference number to the Literacy Strategy. A prescriptive lesson plan and an ICT extension activity are also included in the lessons. Each ICT activity has an onscreen task. Finally, there is a set of printable resources included.

Purpose of Using This Product

The main use of this site was to cover the QCA topic Unit 6B ‘Why have people invaded and settled in Britain in the past? An Anglo Saxon case study’. A variety of areas are covered in this ‘Anglo Saxons’ topic, including settlements and Sutton Hoo and the discoveries found there. The key learning objectives that were used in conjunction with the site were ‘Invasion and settlement’, ‘The grave at Sutton Hoo and its contents’, ‘Archaeological remains’, ‘Way of life of the Anglo Saxons’, ‘Looking at various sources and what we can learn from these sources’.
The learning objectives covered by the QCA document for History (Unit 6B) are covered on the website in the form of ‘Key Questions’. Each question is set out as a hyperlink, which when activated opens a piece of text. The text provides useful information in bite-sized chunks which helps cover the learning objectives for the unit. Furthermore, a useful panel on the left side supports the learning objectives by providing web-links, key dates and a glossary. The learning objectives are further met through a selection of quality photographs, video clips and diagrams. Children with confident reading and ICT skills successfully used the search engine provided by the site.

Differentiation

All children in the class could navigate their way through the site at some level. Differentiation is provided in the form of two ‘pathways’ with differentiated text. However, this is still not at a level suitable for children with weak reading skills. The site is busy once you have entered the area of history you want to learn about. This proved daunting for less able readers or pupils with weak ICT skills, especially if they had to search for a particular piece of information.

Classroom Organisation

I introduced the site to the whole class in the computer suite. The interactive whiteboard proved effective in demonstrating the layout of the Home page and subsequent screens. As this is a large website with many different areas, I invited the majority of the class to use the ‘Photos’, ‘Key Questions’ and ‘Digging Deeper’ sections of the Anglo Saxon section of the site.
The main focus of the class was to find the answers to questions they had written about Anglo Saxons. The children were shown how to use the Search facility to locate areas of the site relevant to their questions. Some children found searching in this manner difficult because the main search engine had key words to choose from which spanned all areas of History included on the site.
The computers in the classroom were set at an angle to avoid distracting pupils working at nearby tables. The pupils worked in pairs to locate information and record their findings. They enjoyed working in this way because it meant they could locate information together quickly and support each other with their ICT skills.

Context of Use

Before introducing the class to the site, I discussed the layout of a web page with the whole class and in particular the function of a search engine. This was necessary in order for the children to use the Search facility on the site successfully. The children were asked to use the site to find the answers to questions they wanted to know on the Anglo Saxons. Pupils worked in pairs, children with weak literacy skills working with stronger readers in some cases. Children were expected to navigate their way through specific areas of the site, using the hyperlinks and Back button. The children used the information learnt from the site to support their studies in History in subsequent weeks.

Ease of Use - Design & Navigation

The site is set out clearly and attractively. However, it is quite ‘busy’ and can be daunting for the less confident reader. The children were able to move through the site quite easily, following hyperlinked text and using the Back button. The children found it quite difficult to search for specific information on the site due to the various areas included for both teacher and pupil.
Pupils mostly worked with a peer to navigate the site, which they could do without teacher intervention. The layout of the site is mostly straightforward to use, but there are many layers and pupils sometimes found they were lost. Moreover, the search engines involved the use of lots of skills, for instance, scrolling through an alphabetical list full of historical key words from all eras.

Monitoring & Assessment

Asking the pupils what type of information they had located and whether the information was relevant to the questions they wanted to answer assessed pupil progress. I monitored how well the pairs of pupils used the Search facility and toolbars to investigate particular areas of the site. The teaching assistant intervened when children were having particular difficulty locating specific information. Moreover, the teaching assistant who read text with pupils or encouraged them to use other sources such as video clips and photographs, supported pupils with weaker Literacy skills.
I expected all pupils to select the Anglo Saxon area of the site from the contents screen and enter it, as this used a minimal amount of literacy and ICT skills. The ICT skills expected from there on were dependant on particular pupil’s abilities. More able pupils were encouraged to use the left-hand panel to search further for information or to test their knowledge in the ‘Test Yourself’ section. This section involved using a site outside the main Heinemann Explore site.

Feedback from Pupils and Other Staff

Pupils commented favourably on the site.
‘It is good because it gives you menus to choose from’.’
‘I like ‘Test Yourself’ as it uses everything I have learnt about Anglo Saxons.’
‘The videos are good if you are not very good at reading. You can also change the writing so it’s easier to read.’
All the children thought the site was very informative and clear and easy to use. ‘I am surprised there is so much information on Anglo Saxons,’ was one pupil’s response to the site.

Ease of Use

Heinemann Explore is an exciting History website, packed full of facts that are presented in an exciting and stimulating way. The site is bright and inviting. It is clearly laid out with a variety of key areas of history that link well to the QCA Scheme of Work. Impressive features of this site include information shown in a variety of ways, e.g. photos, video clips, facts and biographies.
The site may not appeal to children with weak reading skills, as it is very busy with lots of text in places. However, differentiated text pathways have been added.

Classroom Experience

This site was used with a Year 4 class using a cross-curricular approach with the subjects History (Anglo Saxons) and Literacy (Non-information texts). I familiarised the class with the layout of the site, in particular how to use a search engine. The Literacy task set for the children was to write down four questions they would like answered about the Anglo Saxons. The children used various sources in the site, particularly Key Facts, Digging Deeper and the photographs, to answer their questions. Some children needed support in using the search facility to narrow down the time spent searching through all the information included. The children were encouraged to browse the site on finishing their task. They especially enjoyed the Test Yourself section as they felt it was a good way to find out how much they knew about Anglo Saxons.

Read KS2 Content evaluation...

Product Overview

This product is published by Heinemann Library (Tel: 01865 314591)