Your own website making machine Powerful and simple cutting edge networks of websites for schools HomeHome pageThe front page, the diary, the jumping off point for everything StoriesMain list of pages All our main pages, jump into who, what and why DiscussJoin our discussion group Come on in and start communicating those ideas, just join up or log in MembersA list of all our site members If you want to be anonymous with-hold your name, use something like Mickey Mouse, or Anonymous Coward Email usNeed to tell the webmaster... Get in touch straight away! If we need to we'll pass on your comments to the right person About usEverything about us Read more about who we are, and why we're doing this
We build and run sites for schools. Killer, kicking sites. Sites you'll love.
Site structure
Home
Create About
How much? What users say Legal Legals 4 kids More Stats Educational uses of blogs Bloom's taxonomy & blogs Case Studies Supporting the curriculum
Lesson Plans
Using text Text and graphics Different audiences Further reading
Parts Schools' banner ads Curriculum Online FAQs Thumbnail interface Group brains
Don't do this on your website
News Departments
Members
About us
We want to and will make it easy for schools to keep their staff, pupils, parents, partners, other stake-holders and wider community informed, updated and engaged.
Now, by merely typing in the text you can do it too!
It's so easy even 7 year old children can do it. If you are able to move a mouse, click a few buttons and string a few sentences together you can maintain a cutting edge site.
We'll give you all the training you'll need, support you on the phone or with email, all to make sure you get the best out of your investment.
Our killer features are:
Superb content management and blog software. Excellent Google optimisation.
An email to weblog interface, making updating your school blog a doddle.
Top draw support and feedback.
Try a demo or build your
Now, by merely typing in the text you can do it too!
It's so easy even 7 year old children can do it. If you are able to move a mouse, click a few buttons and string a few sentences together you can maintain a cutting edge site.
We'll give you all the training you'll need, support you on the phone or with email, all to make sure you get the best out of your investment.
Our killer features are:
Superb content management and blog software. Excellent Google optimisation.
An email to weblog interface, making updating your school blog a doddle.
Top draw support and feedback.
Try a demo or build your
30 day free trial
school website yourself. What will you write today's school news to be?Lesson plans: combining text and graphics (year 3)
ICT at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 3)
This series of lesson plans are based on the Unit 3A: Combining text and graphics.
| Our version swaps the greeting card with web pages. Though the number of typefaces is smaller in browser based editing, it is enough, as is the number of text effects. |
| In the 'integrated task' we create a mini website rather than a magazine. |
Supporting the National Curriculum
| National Curriculum 'Programmes of Study' ICT KS2 |
| Developing ideas and making things happen (KS2 ICT/2) |
| Pupils should be taught: |
| 2a: how to develop and refine ideas by bringing together, organising and reorganising text, tables, images and sound as appropriate [for example, desktop publishing, multimedia presentations] |
| Further: using feedback from comments to alter, correct or develop a web page. |
| Exchanging and sharing information (KS2 ICT/3) |
| Pupils should be taught: |
| 3a: how to share and exchange information in a variety of forms, including e-mail [for example, displays, posters, animations, musical compositions] |
| Further: adding comments and leaving feedback promotes interaction and can encourage alternative ideas. As well as stimulating new and meaningful questions. |
| Reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it progresses (KS2 ICT/4) |
| Pupils should be taught how to: |
| 4b: describe and talk about the effectiveness of their work with ICT, comparing it with other methods and considering the effect it has on others [for example, the impact made by a desktop-published newsletter or poster] |
About this unit
| The unit breaks down into roughly 6 lessons as follows: |
| A 'Setting the scene' lesson to outline the purpose of the unit. |
| A series of 'short focused tasks' specifically for learning the necessary ICT skills. |
| An 'Integrated task' that draws upon these skills and integrates them within a context. |
| Often the product of the 'integrated task' is seen as the purpose of the unit. It is not. The 'integrated task' serves only to orchestrate the previously taught skills and develop cabability through more open ended challenges. |
| In this unit children learn how to communicate messages by using a combination of graphics and text. They also learn the importance of saving their work. |
| Children will apply what they have learnt in this unit when writing reports; producing multimedia presentations. |
| Weblogs aid children's learning by making the work they've created at school available at home. |
Pre-requisite knowledge
| Can operate a mouse, |
| know the alphabet and its relation to QWERTY keyboards. |
The sections
| Setting the scene |
| Short focused tasks |
| Alter font type, size and colour for emphasis and effect |
| Amend text and save changes |
| Combine graphics and text |
| Use the shift key to type characters, such as question marks |
| Integrated task |
Setting the scene
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| key idea: that text and graphics can be combined to communicate information. |
| Activities |
| Print out for the class a range of illustrated web pages. Discuss the designs and point out elements, such as pictures, fonts, captions and associated texts. Divide the class into groups and ask each group to examine one web page. Ask them to produce an annotated poster identifying the web page's key features. |
| Look at the titles and how they are written in regard to font and colour. Ask children to think about web pages that they could design and produce. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| recognise key features of layout. |
| Points to note |
| Include web pages with a range of pictures and typefaces and with different punctuation. |
| Suggested Homework |
| Ask the children to print out other different web pages they may find at home. |
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| technique: to alter font type, size and colour for emphasis and effect. |
| Activities |
| Type in a number of words, e.g. rainbow, grow, lean, fast, high, low, small and big. Other words to use: funny, modern, old, report. Further ideas: complex, stairs. |
| Show the class font editing features, such as how to change font type, size and colour. Ask the children to change the look of each word so that it reflects its meaning, eg placing each letter of 'rainbow' in a different colour, increasing the font size of each letter in 'grow'. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| alter the look of text to create an effect. |
| Points to note |
| Children may also indent and create nested lists as well as range left, right and centre. |
| Suggested Homework |
| Encourage children to play further on these texts at home. |
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| key idea: that ICT can be used to improve text, |
| technique: to amend text and save changes. |
| Activities |
| Type in a piece of text using 'nice' as the only adjective. |
| Remind the class how to edit text by highlighting words and over-typing them. |
| Demonstrate how to 'post changes' to save work and give it a sensible title. |
| Ask the children to edit the text using more varied adjectives and to 'post changes' to save their work. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| amend text and save their work. |
| Points to note |
| Suggested Homework |
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| technique: to combine graphics and text. |
| Activities |
| Prepare examples of text which would benefit from illustrations e.g. a description of a pyramid. |
| Demonstrate to the class how to locate, retrieve, insert and add a graphic into a piece of on-line text. |
| Show the class how to re-size a graphic so that it fits neatly on the page. Ask the children to search a clip art file or a CD-ROM to locate graphics and copy them into a piece of on-line text. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| combine graphics and text. |
| Points to note |
| Children could also incorporate images captured by a scanner or digital camera. Or those found through image searches on-line, such as Google images. |
| When using Google, always make sure 'safe search' is on via Google's prefs. |
| Suggested Homework |
| Ask children to add further images to the piece of on-line text. |
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| technique: to use the shift key to type characters, such as question marks. |
| Activities |
| Enter a piece of text and replace all the punctuation marks with 'x'. |
| Discuss how authors use punctuation marks for effect and remind the class how to use the shift key to type upper case letters. Show them how the key can be used to type other characters. |
| Ask the children to replace each 'x' with the correct punctuation. Ask them to 'post changes' to their work. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| amend text using the correct key combinations. |
| Points to note |
| Time could be allowed in other units for children to develop their familiarity with the computer keyboard. |
| Suggested Homework |
| Ask the children to write discussion group messages on their work at home. |
| Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
| to combine graphics and text to communicate information. |
| Activities |
| Tell the class that they are going to produce a class mini website, which will include pictures and captions, and explain that they will use punctuation and font effects. |
| Divide the children into pairs and ask them to choose a theme for a page in the website. Get them to create, or capture, a picture for their story page and ask them to caption the picture. Tell the children to add their work together into the website's structure to form a mini website. |
| Finally, discuss with the class the advantages of using ICT. |
| Outcomes |
| Children: |
| combine graphics and text. |
| Points to note |
| Children could extend this activity by creating web pages e.g. on the locality or themselves containing graphics and text. |
| Suggested Homework |
| Ask the children to discuss the pages, on-line. Suggesting further information or areas for improvement. |
