The Early Years Foundation Stage requires that children are given opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that will help them make sense of the world around them. Early years practitioners know that these explorations should be hands-on. Children should gain first-hand experiences through physical investigation of the environment around them.
When it comes to children finding out about and exploring their local area, there is no substitute for taking children on a walk and stopping to see and talk about various places of interest along the way.
However, it is also possible to use ICT to create a supporting resource that can be used to help the children reflect on their experiences. Below, I explain how to use a digital camera and presentation software to create an interactive map of your local area. For practitioners who are less confident with ICT, I have provided a detailed step-by-step overview of the process.
The example uses Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 because this is widely available as part of the Office package. However, it is also possible to create an interactive map with SMART Notebook interactive whiteboard software using basically the same method.
STEP BY STEP
STEP 1: Take photographs of your local area
Begin by talking with the children about the different places that they might have visited in the local area. Create a list of these locations. Ask if any of the children can describe how to get to some of the more familiar locations, such as the playground. If possible, take the children out on a walk with you around town and help them to take photographs of the locations on the list.
STEP 2: Set up a PowerPoint template
First, create a title slide featuring a map of the local area. Do this by searching for a map on Google Maps. When you have found one, use Screen Capture to get a copy of the image. Do this by pressing Print Screen - this key is usually among the function buttons on the top right of your keyboard and is labelled PRT SN.
This saves the picture into the 'virtual memory' of your computer, so you will not see it straight away. To see it, you need to paste the picture into the PowerPoint. You can paste by either pressing Control and V (ctrl+v) or right-click and choose Paste from the menu.
You will then need to crop the picture, so that it shows only the map. Double-click on the picture, then select the Format tab and choose Crop. You will notice little black lines appear around the picture. Click on these and drag to crop anything unnecessary out of the picture.
Next, create enough slides to correspond with the number of places that you want to identify on the map. To create a new slide, go to the Home tab at the top of the screen and select New Slide. Choose a slide layout that gives you the option to insert a picture as well as a text box. Then click on the Design tab and choose a theme and background colour for the slides.
Finally, label each slide according to location and insert the corresponding picture. Hovering over the icons in the middle of the box on the slide and select Insert Picture from File.
STEP 3: Create hyperlinks between the map and locations
Go back to the title slide featuring the map of the local area. Identify where each place of interest is on the map and label it with a text box. Do this by selecting the Insert tab and clicking on Text Box.
Now you need to make the map interactive, so that you can travel to each location by clicking on the labels on the map. Do this by creating hyperlinks between the labels on the map and the corresponding slides featuring pictures of each location.
To create a hyperlink, right-click on the text box and select Hyperlink from the menu. A box titled Insert Hyperlink will appear. On the left, select Place in This Document and then click on the slide title you want to create the link to. Click on OK.
STEP 4: Create back buttons for returning to the map
Each slide will need a back button so that you can return to the map after visiting each location. You can use any shape button you like. The button in this example was created by going to the Insert tab and selecting an arrow from the Shapes menu. Create a hyperlink from this button to the map on the title slide in the same way that you created hyperlinks from the map labels to the location slides.
This first back button can then be duplicated on each of the other location slides. Do this either by pressing Control and C (ctrl+c) or right-click and choose copy from the menu. Then paste (ctrl+v) onto all the other slides so that each has an identical back button.
Check the hyperlinks work by going to View and selecting Slide Show.
STEP 5: Use the map with the children
Show the children the map on the title slide and explain what it is and point out where your school or setting is. You might want to spend some time reflecting on the walk you went on - run your finger along the route you travelled, pointing out the places you visited.
Explain that by clicking on the map, you can travel instantly to the different locations and have a closer look. Ask the children to choose a location. If you are using an interactive whiteboard, it will be possible for you to invite the children to come to the front of the class and click on the map themselves.
Once you have arrived at that location, ask the children to offer a description of the place and type their comments into the available text box. There is an opportunity here to encourage them to provide their opinions about each place. You could, for example, ask them what they like about their local playground and if they have any ideas about how it could be improved.
FURTHER IDEAS
- Instead of using written labels on the map, insert small pictures of each location. This will help the children to visualise what is where and better understand how a map works.
- Put extra photographs on each slide showing the inside of each location to help prompt more comment from the children.
- Use Google Street View to take the children on a 'drive' around the area. Leave from the school and drive to each place on the map.
- See if any of the children can offer directions.
- Get an aerial photograph of your local area from Google Maps and add it to the end of your PowerPoint. Ask the children if they can recognise anything from this alternative point of view and help them identify any places they cannot find.
POSSIBLE LEARNING OUTCOMES
UW Comments and asks questions about aspects of their familiar world such as the place where they live
UW Knows that information can be retrieved from computers
CL Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events.
Marianne Sargent is a writer specialising in early years education and a former foundation stage teacher and primary and early years lecturer