Computing

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Year 6 stop motion animations

Year 2-3 Transition Lessons

As part of their transition activities the Year 2 children came to the Junior School for a computing lesson. With a partner from Year 3 they used the Switch Zoo website to invent an animal. They thought about the appearance, habitat, diet and special features the animals might have.

Control

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been using the Beebots. We have to control the Beebot using the buttons.

There are different mats and we have to move the Beebot to the given square on the grid.  We pick up a card and that tells us where the Beebot has to go to next.

We started by moving the Beebot one step at a time.  Now we are moving it in a sequence. We like working together.

Year 2

In Year 2 we have been set different challenges using the Beebots. We either pick up a card to find out where the Beebot has to go, or our partner puts a wooden character somewhere on the mat and we have to move the Beebot to that square.  Our latest challenge was to plan the route that the Beebot would take. We wrote it on a whiteboard and then tried it out. If we made a mistake it didn’t matter, we just debugged it and tried again.

Debugging is where we work out what is wrong and put it right. We have also used Focus on Beebot on the computer. We like solving problems!

Years 3 and 4

In Years 3 and 4 we started to use the computers to control our 'turtle'. We used MS WinLogo and had to give the computer precise step by step instructions to draw simple shapes and letters. Then we simplified the steps by using the repeat command, we even taught the computer what the shapes are by making procedures! We had to work out the angles in the shapes and letters to get the turtle to turn the correct amount and think carefully about which direction to turn. If something went wrong we could look back at our instructions and find which part had the bug!

Coding

We have been learning about algorithms.

In Year 3 we made an algorithm for making a jam sandwich. We had to think carefully about giving precise instructions and debugged as we went along.

In Year 4 we thought about what we do when we arrive at school and made our algorithms into flow charts.

We then used our knowledge to start programming with Scratch.

After learning (or reminding ourselves of) how Scratch works we started to make different games.

• Year 3 made a dressing up game. We chose a sprite, duplicated its costume and changed the colour of items of clothing. Then we drew accessories or items of clothing and coded them to change colour when clicked with the mouse. We also changed the background.
• Year 4 made two characters (sprites) have a conversation with each other. First we chose two sprites and a new background. Next we used the 'say' blocks to write the conversation. We had to use the 'wait' command to make sure the sprites were speaking at the right time.
• Year 5 made a ping pong game. We had to create 3 sprites and animate them in different ways. the ball bounced around randomly, one bat followed the mouse and the other moved when the arrow keys were pressed. We also had to make a code so that the ball bounced off the bats. Then we added a variable to keep score.
• Year 6 made a Space Invaders game. We had to make sure the rocket would move with the arrow keys and shoot a laser! To make the aliens move down the screen we made sure that when the green flag was clicked, the program moved the aliens to a random place at the top of the screen. A loop forever command makes the alien automatically move down the screen. The aliens disappear when they are hit by the laser and then reappear at the top of the screen.

Mixed Media Presentations

Year 5 and 6 have been using PowerPoint to make presentations about William Shakespeare and famous Victorians.

We had to insert and edit text, word art and images. We also had to create hyperlinks to other parts of our presentation and to the internet.

When using the internet we thought about using good searching techniques and evaluated the websites we found. Additionally, we made sure that we gave credit for the information and images we copied from the internet.

We tried to match the background and themes of the presentation to the subject and used animations and transitions between slides, some of us also added music to the slide show. There are even quizzes to test what the reader has learnt!

Word processing – Everyday ICT

Year 1

In year 1 we have started to use different programs on the computer. We are  using the keyboard to write  words and sentences.

We use a game called keyboard crazy to help us to recognise the uppercase letters on the keyboard.

We have written our names on Word changing the font style and colour.

We wrote about things we can do and our favourite things. We decorated our writing with a border.

Year 2

We used word to write sentences about our work in the classroom. We changed the font colour, shape and size. We have learnt to align our text and to select portrait or landscape orientation.

We have copied and pasted pictures of dinosaurs from the Internet and then formatted the picture and written a sentence about the dinosaur.

Years 5 and 6

As part of the word processing module Years 5 and 6 have been contributing to the school blog. We have written posts about blog safety, Black history and Victorian Diary entries.

Graphics

Year 2

We looked at famous artists and then drew a picture in the same style. We used the program 2 paint a picture. We drew pictures in the style of Monet, Seurat, Mondrian and Noland. We also did some pictures in an African style.

Mondrian                                                                    Monet

                                   Seurat                                                             Noland

Year 3

We used 'paint' to create images. First we used the shape and fill tools to cover our page with shapes and colour. We then selected a small section of the image and copied it into a new page. We used the paste and rotate tools to create repeating patterns with our original tile.

Year 4

Year 4 have been exploring Sumo Paint. They used the software to create abstract art and to make posters. Try it here: www.sumopaint.com

Key Stage 1 Computing

We are following the new computing curriculum in KS1

We will learn:

Everyday ICT – Learning how to use the computer

Digital Literacy – How to behave on the Internet and how to keep safe online

Computer science – we will learn how to code

Computing Curriculum Overview

BBC Bitesize Computing Activities