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1 User
IT-LI01
5 Users
IT-LI05
Teacher's Guide
Configurable Options
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Let's Go To Town
There is no age limit on the Let`s Go`s suitability and children and
adults alike show great enthusiasm for the travels of the
characters. The series is designed as a collection of short stories
that take shape as questions are asked and answered. "Where are they
going?" "What can they choose?" "What comes next?" To get the most
out of the program it is important to use lots of discussion with
the student while they interact with the screens.
Each screen of addresses a different place for social interaction,
independence and basic skills.
Activities
• a bus stop
• a post office
• a fruit stall
• an ice cream van
• a clothes shop
• a pet shop
• a pedestrian crossing and
• a bus station.
They are deliberately simple and frequently encountered locations.
When using the software, first choose the scenes that you wish to
tackle and set up the appropriate access options for the student -
for example, the number of switches, color and scan speed (see
Configurable Options for details). There are also pictures of the
whole town to put the various locations into a context and to show
where different buildings and people are situated.
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Bus Stop
This starts the journey chronologically for the student - (and links
with the bus station at the end). The student must find the children
by clicking on the doors, then click on the bus stop to make the bus
arrive. If all three children are waiting at the bus stop, it will
allow them to board and start the journey. There are a lot of
possibilities for discussion of modes of transport. Other topics
covered are concerned with choice making activities (doors, numbers,
colors) and modeling the positive life skills of queuing and polite
behavior.
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Post Office
A link screen sets the context for this activity, by picturing
the town square. Stop here and ask questions. "Where is the clothes
shop?" "What`s behind the children?" "How many people can you see?"
"Which other shops can you see?" Then see what happens when you
select the telephone box, the post box or the post office door. This
scene encompasses discussion of life skills such as writing letters,
buying stamps, and how to use post offices, post boxes and public
telephones. You might also like to discuss the job of the postman
who will walk on to collect the letters once a few have been posted!
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Pedestrian Crossing
Ask questions about road safety and awareness. "What do the white
lines mean?" "When should you cross?" "What should you press?" "What
do the colors mean?" "Why are they crossing?" etc. The pelican
crossing introduces the steps to traffic awareness and how to cross
a road safely: what to do and in what order. See what happens when
the children attempt to cross when it`s not safe, and talk about it
with your student(s).
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Girl in Clothes Shop
Talk about what is in the window. Then the student can choose one of
three different outfits for the girl to try on. These can prompt
conversation about future and past events. "What can you wear in
different seasons; on holidays; for a trip; for fashion; for a
party?" You can also discuss choice, fitting, colors, preferences
and who can help you to try clothes on. Life skills are also an
important part of what is reinforced here. The girl shows good
behavior in the shop, returns her clothes to their hangers and
changes in privacy.
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Boy in Clothes Shop
In the same shop we see the oldest boy trying on coats. This
introduces some early maths language: size, shape and color, as well
as more life skills - fitting clothes correctly, using a mirror,
checking your appearance and reinforces good behavior in shops. You
might also talk about why he would need a coat and when to wear one.
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Fruit Stall
Ask questions like "Where are they going now?" "Why is he wearing a
white coat?" "What job does he do?" "Which fruit is your favorite?"
The life skills that this story addresses include purchasing,
choice, and interaction with different stallholders. Early maths
language appears in the form of weight, how weight affects price,
and counting. Try asking your student to get different amounts of
fruit - "three bags of bananas and one bag of apples" for example.
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Ice Cream Van
The link screen shows you another part of the town square and
provides the opportunity for more conversation about places. "Where
have they been?" "Where can they go next?" "Which other shops can
you see?" When you click the `forwards` button you can hear the ice
cream van's familiar tune. Questions in this story involve choice,
shape, color, and the uniform of the different staff. Sequencing is
also an important skill to realize and discuss here. "Which ice
cream would you like?" "When should you pay?" The social skills of
asking, paying and general polite behavior are also modeled. (The
older children help the younger one before themselves).
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Pet Shop
The context screen shows the children looking through the window.
Stop here and ask some questions to involve your students as much as
possible: "Which animals do you think they can see through the
window?" "What color are the cats, rabbits etc?" "Which pets do you
have at home?" Inside the shop, the subjects of buying and selling
and looking after animals are important. You could also look at the
different properties of animals and birds "What noise do dogs make?"
"Which ones have fur?" "Can you see something that swims?" Click on
all the animals and the boy to see what they do.
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Bus Station
The final link screen takes the children to the bus station. Talk
about what your student can see: the signs for buildings, safety
barriers, bollards, and what they are for. The people at the bus
stop model good behavior when they wait. Numbers and letters are
used to match the right bus to its terminal. Topics you can discuss
here include counting, sorting and early maths language such as
empty and full, more and less. Choose a bus station and see what
happens with each sequence of clicks.
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Off Computer Activities
Here are just a few ideas that you could try:
• Role-Playing
Choose one of the various characters from Let`s Go To Town.
Role-playing situations might involve behaviour, buying items,
listening and interacting. For greater imagination, play characters
that are not seen but could plausibly be there - the butcher or bus
driver for example.
• Worksheets and Whiteboards
Worksheets can be a good memory aid to introducing or following up a
trip out. You might also use the ideas of fruit, buses or ice creams
for basic money work, addition, subtraction, matching and early
maths language.
• Extensions to Activities for Personal, Social and/or Health
Curriculums
Let`s Go to Town can be used in social time to talk about shopping
and choice and methods of travel. You could survey the different
methods of travelling to school and the students` preferences. You
might like to use the program to talk about road safety issues. For
shopping skills activities why not create your own fruit stall in
class? You could use weighing scales, prices, and different
characters. The bus stop story provides a basis for discussing
buying a ticket, using timetables and the sequence of how to use a
bus. |
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