exemplar activities

Unit 6 Activity 6 - Accessible displays - Exemplar 1

Make a classroom display more accessible, incorporating simple communicators to provide additional feedback and information using speech and sounds.

Our topic for this term is 'Stories and Rhymes'. We focused on the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' for a few weeks. In my initial planning I considered how I could include all pupils in a class literacy activity, using ICT to support them. There are 7 children in my class between the ages of 4 - 6. The children have severe and complex needs. Due to the nature of their communication and language difficulties, it is always challenging to find an activity, which involves and captivates all of the children.

We began by reading the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' using a book and objects. A few of the children who have a little speech were joining in with the repetitive phrases. The attention of the others seemed to be fleeting. The children then made the artwork for the display. The display was visually appealing to the children; it incorporated pictures, symbols and print. We introduced the sound element by initially introducing the tape recorder and later three BIGmacks. I personally have not used BIGmacks before.

The increase in the children's attention was remarkable. They were noticeably more motivated by this auditory focus. They took it in turns to press the buttons of the tape recorder and the BIGmack switches. They loved listening to the story and phrases. 'M', a child who does not tend to use much spontaneous speech, responded so well. He loved to hear the story on tape and began to recite many of the repetitive phrases himself, both at school and at home. He even took the tape recorder home so that he could demonstrate to his Mum how good he was at anticipating the next words when the tape was paused! 'A' was also fascinated. He is one of our new children and it soon became apparent that he loves tape recorders and switches. Up until now it had been difficult to motivate him but we had now found something! After completing structured work he was rewarded by being allowed to go over to the display and operate the tape recorder himself!

The three BIGmacks were placed on the table underneath the display. The yellow one said "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." The red one, "No, no, no! Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin!" Finally the blue one, "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

'B' is fascinated by certain sounds but is hypersensitive to others. When introduced to the BIGmacks he was delighted. He loved hearing the familiar phrases. 'B' only says an occasional word and this is usually in imitation. However, the vocalisations and ranges of sounds that he produced indicated that he was joining in with the repetitive phrases.

By the words on the display itself, a colour-coded circle was drawn. E.g. a yellow circle by "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" This enabled a couple of the more able children to begin to recognise print, looking at the words after they had pressed the switch. We also worked on sequencing, moving left to right.

Cross-curricular activities also resulted from this activity. The display was incorporated into the maths sessions involving number and colour recognition. The numbers 1,2 and 3 were placed by the switches. Working with a friend and turn taking skills were encouraged.

In summary, the use of the BIGmacks and the tape recorder brought the story to life. The satisfaction that the children gained was wonderful. All of them had their own success story. Using ICT in this way is an ideal tool to enhance communication. I have now requested that more BIGmacks are ordered and we will certainly be using them again!

(Digital photos were also submitted)

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