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ICT competences required by

Teacher

• use of data projector if available
  
• use a ready made PowerPoint presentation - Egypt.ppt
  
• teach how to create a branching database using images

Child

• Although not essential it would be helpful if children had used a branching database previously.

• to classify information in various ways
  
• about the range of objects which have survived from Ancient Egypt
  

Resources

• Computer with large screen or data projector for whole class teaching
  
• ICT suite or set of laptop computers
  
• Ready made PowerPoint presentation - Egypt.ppt
  
• One printed copy of the PowerPoint presentation - Notes pages
  (File > Print > Notes Pages > Black and White)
  
• Note taking sheets - Egypt_notes.doc
  
• Branching database program, i.e. FlexiTREE, Softease Branch
  
• Images of Egyptian artefacts - canopic.jpg, cat.jpg, dog.jpg, jewellery.jpg, Pharaoh.jpg, pyramid.jpg, rosetta.jpg, scarab.jpg, scribe.jpg, sphinx.jpg, Tutankhamen.jpg (Close the window when you have finished with the image.)

Vocabulary

Words associated with Egypt and the life after death e.g. Sphinx, tomb, pyramid, canopic jar, Pharaoh, mummy, scribe, Tutankhamen, Ushabti, scarab, Rosetta stone etc.

Preparatory work

Download the PowerPoint presentation from the website: Egypt.ppt on to the demonstration computer. To download the file right click on the link and select Save As. Save the presentation in a folder or location where it will be easily accessible when you need to view it. Teachers should familiarise themselves with the presentation and should be familiar with creating a branching database. Images and Egypt.ppt need to be saved into a shared area or onto each child's computer.
The note taking sheets should be printed and distributed to the class prior to the PowerPoint presentation.

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The Lesson

Whole Class Teaching

On this occasion the presentation will not be viewed as a slide show. Instead, the teacher should open the presentation Egypt.ppt, in Normal view showing the Notes pane. (Go to View > Normal)
Teacher explains to the children that they will be shown a presentation containing a number of Egyptian artefacts during which the children will need to take notes.

Show slide two - Pyramids
The teacher should point out the Notes pane at the bottom of the screen which contains some information about the object pictured. The teacher models note taking by drawing from the children the most important words or phrases included in the notes, e.g. tombs, pharaohs, limestone, 2.5 million blocks, thousands of workers, etc.

Children should record these key notes on their note taking sheet.

Main Activity

Explain to the children that they will have ten to fifteen minutes only to choose six slides from which they should take and record their own notes on their note taking sheet.

Children should work with partners on the computers using the ready made PowerPoint presentation - Egypt.ppt

As the children are working on this task the teacher should circulate and praise children who are taking succinct notes to discourage copying of sentences.

After ten to fifteen minutes draw the children back together again.

As an assessment of the success of the note taking, show slide 12 - the Cat Mummy - and draw from the children which words they have recorded as being most important.

The teacher explains that the children are now going to create a branching database of six Egyptian artefacts.

If children have used a branching database before, remind them that the objective is to devise questions to which the answer is "Yes" or "No" which will divide the set of objects into two roughly equal groups.

Distribute one slide from the printed copies of the PowerPoint Notes Pages to each of twelve children. Explain that they need to devise a question which will divide the artefacts into two roughly equal groups, e.g. Was the object made from limestone? Children should read the notes and divide themselves into two groups.
Taking the group of objects which answered "Yes" to the question above, help children devise a further question to further divide this group, e.g. Was this object found inside a tomb?

Encourage children to divide themselves into two further groups.
Continue this activity until all the objects have been separated.

The teacher should now explain that the children will do the same activity using a branching database to sort no more than six of the objects taken from the Egypt PowerPoint/notes sheet

The teacher should demonstrate how to enter six objects and how to enter the first question.

Children should then work in pairs on the computers to create the rest of their database.

As the teacher circulates they should ensure that the children use quality questions based on the notes they have taken and discourage the use of subjective or comparative questions, e.g. Is it pretty? Is it big?
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Plenary

Draw the children back together and select one object from the printed PowerPoint Notes Pages, e.g. Canopic Jars and display the PowerPoint Notes Page slide for Canopic Jars.

Ask children who included this artefact in their branching database - choose one pair of children to return to their computer and to read out their first question. The class, from the slide on the screen, answers the first question "Yes" or "No" which the children key in, and so on.

During this review the teacher or children should comment on effective questions or on ways in which less effective questions could be improved. Remind the children that this should be constructive criticism.

An optional extension could be for children to add the images provided to their database along with a short comment.
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Why use ICT

Demonstrating: Using ICT the teacher can effectively demonstrate how to create a branching database to classify historical objects. This can easily be modified in the light of interactions and discussions with children.

Accessing and analysing:ICT provides access to electronic texts which children analyse in order to extract key information as notes. ICT provides the potential to easily differentiate the text levels in the ready made PowerPoint presentation for children of differing abilities, i.e. extended text for the more able.
The use of ICT allows simultaneous access to electronic images of historical artefacts, pre-selected by the teacher to enable children to focus on analysing and interrogating the historical content as opposed to "wasting time" with aimless searches.

Presenting, re-presenting and communicating: The use of a PowerPoint presentation during the whole class teaching part of the lesson enables the teacher to present information about ancient Egyptian artefacts for the children to write notes for their main activity. This provides a reusable resource that can be added to or amended in future years. In addition it is an effective way to share resources with colleagues.

The use of ICT for creating a branching database allows children to:

• think carefully about how each object can be distinguished from the others in the tree
  
• focus on the need to use precise language in the questions.
  

It also enables children to show the information they have learned in a different form.

Testing and confirming: The use of ICT allows children to deepen their level of enquiry and generate their own questions which they can then easily test and confirm. Using a branching database enables children to easily modify their questions in light of feedback from other children or the teacher.