2. Introduction
In my setting we have at least two computers in every class room and an Interactive White
board which are all accessed by the children. There is also a digital camera in every class
room and a class ipad. There are a total of thirteen ipads in my school and the others are
kept in a central location and are accessed by classes when required. We also keep three
Kindle Fires in the central location and these are used mostly during library sessions. Also in
my setting we have access to Bee Bots, talking tins, tuff cams and remote control cars.
I am currently working as a Level 3 Teaching assistant and have worked in my Infant School
setting for 8 years. During my time here I have worked in every year group from Nursery up
until Year 2. I am currently working in a mixed Year 1/ Year 2 class, which consists of 18 Year
1’s and 7 Year 2’s. I also am responsible for taking a Nurture Group of 6 Year 2 pupils and
running programmes such as Rapid Phonics, Speechlink, Smart moves and Language Link.
In this assignment I will be taking a classroom of children and introducing them to an app
called Puppet Pals. Using this app they will then retell the story of the Three Little Pigs,
which they are currently learning as part of the Pie Corbett scheme of work. They will use
this technology to communicate ideas, intentions and thoughts, selecting appropriate ways of
giving information with the intended recipient or audience in mind.
3. Learning Objectives
By the end of the session I would like the learners to:
Use ICT collaboratively
Communicate clearly
Confidently use Puppet pals
Recall the story of the Three Little Pigs
Illustrate the story using characters and settings
Have a developing sense of purpose and audience for the work
Have a increasing competence and sophistication in the creative use of software functions
Combine different forms of information, including text, images and sound
Present their work to an audience
Give feedback on their own work
4. Class dynamics
For my activity I will be taking a mixed Year 1/ Year 2 class consisting of 18 Year 1’s and 7
Year 2’s and the age range of these children is 5-7 years of age. There is one Year 2 pupil
with a speech and language statement and 11 children currently have an IEP. The children are
at Key Stage 1 and the Year 2’s are currently working at an average level of attainment of 2.
There is currently a teacher and two fully time TA’s working in the classroom and they will all
be supporting the pupils during the activity. The children will be working in pairs and have an
ipad to share between them.
During this activity the children will be developing areas of learning from the Foundation
Phase Framework, which include:
Personal and Social Development, Well- Being and Cultural Diversity (Personal Development)
Experiment with new learning opportunities, including ICT
Language, Literacy and Communication Skills (Oracy Skills)
Adopt a role making a conscious use of movement, gesture and speech using language appropriate to a role or
situation
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Listening to others’ ideas
Physical Development (Personal Skills)
Develop fine manipulative skills
Creative Development (Art, Craft and Design skills)
Reflect on their own and others’ work
5. Lesson/activity outline
Lesson context:
The children will retell the story of the Three Little Pigs, which they have learnt in previous
Sessions, using the ipad app Puppet Pals. They will create the setting, select the characters and
record the story.
Focused teaching:
Introduction- To begin the session I will have all the children on the carpet and we will
recap the story of the Three Little Pigs. After that I will show the children how to use
the Puppet Pals app which I will link to the interact whiteboard so they can all see my
demonstration.
Activity- I will then send the children off in pairs, that I will choose randomly using
lollipop sticks with their names on, and give each pair an ipad. The children will also be
split into 3 groups and one adult will go with each group to provide additional support.
The children will then choose their setting and characters to produce their video clip of
the story. Prompt cards will be provided for the children who require more support.
Plenary- To conclude the lesson I will gather the children back on the carpet and they
will take it in turns to show their video clips to the rest of the class. The children will
then give themselves feedback on how they did.
Assessment opportunities- Each member of staff will use a focused task assessment
grid to comment on to show how much support was needed for the activity to be
completed.
6. Resources
The resources I will use during this activity will include:
The story of the Three Little Pigs
13 ipads
The Puppet Pals app
3 members of staff
Interactive whiteboard
VGA cable (to connect the ipad to the IWB)
Prompt cards of the Three Little Pigs story
Lollipop sticks with the children's names on
7. The 5 Minute Lesson Plan
4th lesson on
the story the
Three Little
Pigs as part
of the Pie
Corbett
scheme of
work
Use ICT
collaboratively
Communicate clearly
Confidently use
Puppet pals
Recall the story of
the Three Little Pigs
Starter:
Recap story
and
demonstrate
app
•Choosing
characters/
settings
•Taking on a
different role
Oracy
•Speaking
•Listening
•Collaboration and discussion
Teacher led:
•Recap story of The Three Little
Pigs
•Demonstrate Puppet Pals app
•Peer
assessment
•Self
assessment
•Random
partners
•Extra
teacher/TA
support
•Prompt cards
provided
The big picture Objectives Engagement Stick ability
AFLLNFDifferentiation
Student led:
•Work in pairs to retell story and
produce a video clip
Student led:
•Present video clip to class
•Peer assessment
•Self assessment
8. The Evaluation
I felt the lesson we went well and I thought that the children gained a lot from the activity. The lesson
started well as the children all knew the story and were able to join in when I recapped it. When I
started demonstrating the app they all sat really well and listened closely to my instructions. After the
demonstration the children were very eager to get started on their own video clips. I put the children in
random partners as I wanted to mix up the ability and also mix up the friendship groups. I did this as
pair work allows children to discuss ideas together and see other people’s point of views. McNamara and
Moreton (1997) states ‘collaboration as the best way of helping youngsters to genuinely absorb the new
conceptual framework’ (p.9). However I did notice that with some pairs there was one dominant child
that did take over and say a lot of the narrative of the story.
Most of the children were able to use the app without any real problems, but those who struggled
we given support by a member of staff. The children were able to select a setting and also the
appropriate characters that they needed for the story. The children were also able to record the story
independently and some of them had to pause the recording while they thought about what came next.
For the children who struggled to remember the story there were prompt picture cards provided to
remind them of what came next.
After the children had finished recording their clip we all came back to the carpet ready for them
to share with the class. Each pair came up one by one and presented the video clips to the class. Once
the pair had shown their clip I asked them what they thought of their video clip and whether there was
anything they could improve on. Then finally the pair received feedback from the class which was mostly
positive.
9. The Evaluation
I feel that the children gained a lot from this activity not just from ICT but also from across the
curriculum. As Terry Freedman (2011) agrees ‘ Where information and Communications technology (ICT)
is taught well, it has been shown to enhance pupils’ levels of understanding and attainment in other
subjects. That’s because “real” ICT is more about thinking skills than about mastering particular
software applications’. The Puppet pals app is perfect for book reports, language and story development,
storyboarding, creative brainstorming, second language practice and countless other uses. It allowed
the children to learn about working collaboratively, communicating clearly, presenting their work to an
audience and illustrating a story using characters and settings. It also provided them with opportunities
to experiment with new learning opportunities, adopt a role making a conscious use of movement,
gesture and speech and develop their fine manipulative skills. ICT is becoming a major part of adult life
and it is important that children are learning these skills to prepare them for the future.
To support the learning I firstly recapped the story and then demonstrated the use of the app.
Then I made sure the children had access to a member of staff and also prompt cards if needed.
In the future I will definitely try to incorporate the use of more ICT in my setting. We have a lot of
technology available but it is not used as often as it should be. This is probably due to a lack of
confidence from the staff about using the technology. I think they just need an opportunity to play
around and familiarise themselves with the different technology available.
If I were to do the session again I may choose the pairs as some of the pupils got a bit side lined
as the more dominant partner took control of the activity.
10. The Evidence
Both children able to
use the functions of the
app independently.
Girl dominant and led the
activity.
Boy shy but able to recall
the story independently.
No support needed.
Some details of the
story missing.
11. References
DCELLS. (2008). Skills across the curriculum Developing ICT. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly
Government
DCELLS. (2008). Skills framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly
Government
DCELLS. (2007). Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds in Wales. Cardiff:
Welsh Assembly Government
Freedman, T. (2011). 13 Reasons to use educational technology in lessons. ICT in education
(ictineducation.org)
McNamara, S. & Moreton, G. (1997). Understanding Differentiation. London: David Fulton
