Rivers Project - Photos and Narration

As part of a study on rivers we have been looking at our local river; The Ore. The children have been looking at where they live in relation to the river and why settlements such as Framlingham, Aldeburgh and Orford have developed close to a river. We also noticed that many towns and villages get part of their name from the river. Suffolk is famous for its village signs. Many of the villages on the River Ore have images to do with the river. We have photos of some of these signs and have designed our own village signs. We photographed them so that they could be used as part of the films the children are making about the stages of a river.

The children also wrote and talked about what their villages signs represent. Some of these have been recorded using a digital MP3 recorder. This narration can then be added to the film.

The example below shows a photograph combined with a narration by a child.....

This second example shows photographs of the children's work combined with some narration...

These films were made using an EDIROL MP3 recorder, digital camera and Movie Maker Software.

Rivers Project - Photographs

As part of a study on rivers we have taken photographs of the various stages of our local river: The Ore. Its source is just outside Framlingham at Saxstead Green. It passes close to the school, the castle and winds its way through Framlingham. Some of our photos show that some of the streets have names associated with the river.

These photographs where used by the children to form a film (using 'Movie Maker') about the stages of a river. See other posts about the use of digital sound and video.

The River Ore passes through other Suffolk villages such as Parham, Hacheston, Marlesford and Snape. At Snape it joins with the River Alde and goes close to the town of Aldeburgh. It then runs parallel with the coast for several miles. It reaches the town of Orford where it is again called the Ore. It runs alongside a shingle spit called Orford Ness for a few more miles before finally reaching the North Sea at a place called Shingle Street.

There is a very useful website called WATERSCAPE where you can interact with a map of the UK to follow the route of any river.

Mini Tripods

Tripods are essential for avoiding camera shake and, therefore, blurred images. This is particularly important when taking macro (close up) photographs or movies. A tripod is also useful when taking images of moving objects. It is vital on a fast shutter speed (sports setting on some cameras) that the camera is stable. You could use a traditional tripod (with legs) but these are rather bulky for classroom use.
A mini tripod (see photo below) is very useful in the classroom for taking close ups. For other shots the mini tripod is placed on another surface to provide required height.

These mini tripods have extendable legs and a flexible head.

Tripods are essential for 'Stop-go animation' photography. The camera must stay in exactly the same position for each shot - the tripod will obviously give the camera a fixed position whilst the animator is changing the object to be photographed.




Mini tripods only cost about £5 and fold up small enough to fit in to a camera case.

Australian School Science Website

Copacabana school is situated in the Gosford shire on the Central Coast of New South Wales 100 kilometres from Sydney.
They have a very good set of science resource pages - well organised and clear sections. It includes a link to part of the Robert Hitcham's website (Habitats section) which they describe as being 'truly inspiring'.

Click on the links below to go to:

• Key Stage 1 Science
• Key Stage 2 Science
• Copa Homepage

WIDGETS

Get this widget!

Online Stories

You can listen to some great children's stories on line.

One of the best websites is ' Storynory'

This website has a brilliant new audio player. It is very simple to use and needs no software. Simply play or pause a great range of stories.

Sparklebox Teachers Resources

Sparklebox box is an Early Years teaching resource website. Back in February 2006 SparkleBox.co.uk was launched as a means of sharing useful downloadable resources with other teachers around the UK (and beyond).Since then the site has grown dramatically but the fundamental aim of sharing resources remains.

Click on the logo below.......

Sparklebox has recently included a Key Stage 2 section - click on logo below

Access to the site used to be by subscription, however, since June 1st every resource on the site is FREE to download - no payment required at all!

Several teachers at Robert Hitcham's use Sparklebox. It is particularly useful for display items.

We hope you enjoy looking around the site!

Photo Slideshows

All of the photos used on your blog are automatically saved in your google account.
They will be placed into galleries which you can edit and share.
You can also embedd a slideshow of a photo album. Go to 'Picassa Web Albums' within your bloger account page. Simply copy and paste the html code on to your blog.

Put a countdown on your website

See example below. Click on link 'A countdown for your site' to create your own.

Digital Photography and Video in PE

A digital camera (with a good sized screen) can be a very useful teaching / learning aid in technical sports such as cricket.
In these photographs I was able to talk to children about variuos aspects of hand, feet or head positions in batting, bowling and fielding.

Video clips can also be useful in other sports such as athletics eg demonstrating use of arms in the air and on landing or in hockey. See videos below.

Producing a Audio Podcast

My English group have been working on a project to produce their own short play.

First of all they took a short story called: 'They forgot to plant an acorn on the moon'. This story by Phil Shapiro (an American Primary School teacher - see his website for this and more stories) had no speech within it. The children in small groups turned the Narrative into a short Play Script - see example. We looked at examples on guidance on the internet (via our school website) about writing play scripts.

Following rehearsals of the plays we looked at how the scripts & the role of a narrator could be improved / adapted to tell the story. Some children also added their own slant to the story.

The finished scripts were then recorded on digital audio recorders. We started by recording one scene at a time and looked at issues such as speaking into the microphone, speaking slowly and clearly, rustling of papers etc.

The recordings were imported into Windows 'Movie Maker'.

We talked about how radio plays have sound effects and background music. The children then found and used some space sounds and suitable background music to go with their recordings.

In movie maker they then added titles, text and credits plus some images.

You can see below some of the final productions. All of the children are in Year 5 (9 and 10 years old).

Art Galleries

Like many schools we have regular displays of children's art work on the walls.
We have taken digital photos of the work on various displays and made them into a virtual display on our website.
The photos were imported into 'Movie Maker' and a piece of music added.
The 'Vision On Gallery' tune was downloaded from this website

See these examples.

The 'Vision On Gallery' tune was downloaded from this website

Data Logging

At Robert Hitcham's we use Logit Explorers data loggers.

They have 3 basic functions: temperature, light and sound.

You can also buy extra sensors such as heart rate monitors and temperature probes.

Children find them easy to use. They come with software which enables you to transfer data on to a computer / laptop.

Logit also gives you a booklet of suggested activities.

There are lots of uses for data loggers in Science, Maths, Geography and Physical Education. See some suggested activities on Kent's NGFL Website

Logit Explorers are made by Logotron - see their website

You can get Logit Data loggers with Tesco vouchers this year

Each one is 7500 vouchers - see Tesco website
You can also get accessories from the Tesco catalogue such as heat probe for 500 vouchers.

This short video shows children using data loggers to record their resting pulse in a science leson.

Put a clock on your website or blog

Get a free clock like the one on the BBC website.

Go to this website. Choose a clock style and copy & paste the code onto your blog or website.

Audio Recording

At Robert Hitchams we have been using a high quality sound recorder by Edirol. It has stereo microphones and records in MPS format. We have several R1 versions - see pictures. Edirol now make a smaller R9 model (left).

They have a flash memory (like a memory stick) and you can transfer the files with a USB cable straight on to a computer. The files can then be played using Media Player or Real Player. You can also edit them in Movie Maker.

At Robert Hitchams we use them regularly in Liteacy lessons for recording children's speech - in poetry, debates or language development.

Watch the video below of a child using a sound recorder in a literacy lesson.

We have also made use of them for recording narrations to go with presentations in a range of subjects such as science or geography.

The quality of recordings is very useful in Music. The children can record their performances and replay them.

We have recorded choirs and instrumental groups. The staff have also found the Edirol very useful for recording backing music for school productions. Listen to the examples below of piano and keyboard recordings. One of our teachers recorded the piano music which would be used in the KS1 & KS2 Christmas productions. The recordings were transfered onto CDs which were given to each class to practise with.
The MPS recorder can be set to different settings such as voice or in a hall.

These audio recorders are not cheap - over £250 but I believe they are worth it because of their versatility, portability and high quality. They use two AA batteries which last for several hours of recording. Each recording is saved as a separate file. Rather like taking digital photos the children can make multiple recordings and keep chosen ones on the computer.

The recorders do not have speakers but you can listen to recordings with headphone or via your computer (with a USB cable).

Look at the Edirol website for further information.

Touch Typing

At Robert Hitcham's we, like most schools, are aware of how much word processing that children now do. We have been thinking about the importance of typing skills to children in the technilogical world which they are part of. Children need to become more efficient typists if they are not to waste valuable learning time.
We have been looking for some software or websites that teach typing skills to children.
The BBC website has a new touch typing service which we would recommend.
Click on the image to go to the site.

Embedding ICT in the Curriculum

What does embedded mean?

Children should be able to use ICT in their learning without needing separate 'computer' lessons. In the same way that children should know when to use a calculator in maths, ICT should fit seamlessly into the curriculum. Ideally children should not need to leave their classroom in order to use ICT. The use of laptops, classroom computers, the IWB, digital cameras, data loggers, electronic toys etc should all be part of everyday lessons. ICT does not need to become a trip to the 'computer room'.

At Robert Hitcham's we have just started using an online resource called iTeachers. It is a complete ICT scheme of work and software training tool for primary school teachers.

iTeachers is a suite of over 200 video tutorials - iLessons - combined with drag and drop planning grids - iPlans- designed to revolutionise how you teach your entire ICT curriculum.

*give teachers lacking in ICT confidence the skills and ideas to teach cross-curricular ICT.
*ensure that ICT across the school is fully embedded into the curriculum.
*help schools to get full value for money from their existing ICT investment.
*save teachers hours and hours of trawling the internet as well as hours of planning time.
*raise standards of ICT teaching and learning.

The tutorials are great. They would be useful for both teachers and children to look at.

See sample lesson plan

See demo of the site

We would recommend that you have a look at this site. ICT really should be embedded into the Primary curriculum and I am sure that iTeachers could help you do this. At Robert Hitcham's we are looking at making links between our existing curriculum plans and the ICT resources in iTeachers.

Our School Website

The Robert Hitcham's website has been running for about 10 years. It was created and built by Andrew Trythell - who left the school Summer 2007. It has become one of the largest and most popular school websites in the World!

6 of the most popular sections on the Hitcham's website appear on the top list of a google search - see images.

Type the word 'mosque' into google and the Hitcham's website comes 2nd on a list of over 5 million references! Skeletons is 5th, Habitats is 3rd, Synagogues 8th, Indian Art 4th and Phonics 3rd.



We know that the site gets nearly 1.5 million 'hits' a year. During term time there are over 5000 hits per day and on average about 30,000 a week. People have visited the website from 113 countries.

20% of the visitors to the website come from google. In other words people using a search engine to look for teaching / learning resorces are referred by google to our website. Most of the others are referals from other education websites such as 'teachingideas'.



We are able to track the popularity of the website and particular sections / pages thanks to a detailed tracker from a company called 'Hitmatic'. This information is helping me understand which parts of the site are worth adding to / updating. I can also use these popular pages to make links to other new sections of the site - which I hope will become equally popular.

The popularity of the website depends mainly on the quality of the resources so it is important to keep these up to date. It is fascinating to know that so many people from around Britain and the rest of the World make use of our website and reassuring that the work put into creating the content of the site is worthwhile.