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SUMone |
This is a versatile little program which can be used in a variety of ways and
with a wide range of ages.
It comprises eight activities, all of which can be varied in order to suit a wider range of
classroom situations. Here is a description of just four of them with their links to the National
Curriculum. |
Times of the Day
Shows eight different scenes and requires pupils to match them to times of the day. There is
a lot of scope for language work here as a teacher or helper draws attention to details of the
scene, such as whether children are arriving at or leaving school, if the chip shop is open or
shut, and so on.
At a simpler level, pupils can just click on a time of day and see the scene change to suit that
time. An ideal follow up would be to have pupils draw their own homes at different times of the
day, using cartoon or stick characters to represent themselves and members of the family. |
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Click-a-brick
Using a familiar Lego-style '10' length brick as the base, the activity adds bricks of different
lengths to the base and asks, for example, 'What number, added to six, makes ten?' A choice of
bricks is given and the pupil tries to select the one which will make the correct number bond.
When the sums have been solved and the wall built it transforms into a house. The picture can
be saved and printed so that the sums can be written out for reinforcement if required. This
is an ideal activity to back up with practical work. |
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Chase Charlie
This presents a ten lane race track with an outsider (Charlie, or some other character) in
one of the lanes. A number is shown and Charlie sets off for the finishing line. The user must
click on the lane corresponding to the number shown – and do it quickly so that the runner
in that lane can set off in pursuit of Charlie. The activity is good at encouraging estimation
of numbers from left to right and can be followed up with extension exercises going beyond ten.
At the more difficult level, an addition sum is shown (for example, 3 + 4) and the pupil must
do the sum and click on the number it makes – again in time to win the race. |
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The Pop factory
Bottles to be filled with different coloured pop form the scenario for this activity. There
are numbers and there are buttons – but there is one additional concept to be practised
here: the idea that something for example, a colour) can represent or stand for something else
for example, a number). So if you wish to fill seven bottles, you must see what colour represents
seven and then click on that colour. The activity can also be set up to practise number bonds
and the separation of even numbers into two halves. The screen display in this (as in many of
the activities) is sufficiently clear to allow it to be used by a teacher or assistant with a
group of children. In this way many more pupils can join in and teaching points can be made along
the way. |
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