[Naomi Plant]

That’s a great use of technology to teach about Tom Crean. From what I see, it might even be possible  to create a virtual Tom Crean, able to answer the children’s questions about life as a polar explorer! Imagine the engagement in that lesson!

[Naomi Plant]

Lesson Plan: EAL Lesson for second class pupil, new to our school
Lesson Title: My New School
Second Class  Level: Beginner (A0–A1)
Theme: First Day at School

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

Say and recognize basic greetings (e.g., “Hello,” “My name is…”)
Identify and name 5–8 common classroom items
Follow simple classroom instructions (e.g., “Sit down,” “Stand up,” “Listen”)
Begin to feel emotionally safe and confident in the classroom environment

Materials Needed
Flashcards (classroom items, actions)
Picture book or story about the first day at school
Real classroom items (pencil, book, bag, etc.)
Song (e.g., “Hello Song”)
Visual daily schedule
Reward stickers or stamps

Introduction:
1. Greet the child warmly: “Hello! My name is ___.” (gesture and smile)
Play a “Hello Song” (e.g., “Hello, Hello! Can You Clap Your Hands?” by Super Simple Songs)
Encourage the child to repeat key words: “Hello,” “Bye,” “My name is…”

2. Key Vocabulary Classroom Items
Use flashcards and real items to introduce:
“Chair,” “Table,” “Bag,” “Book,” “Pencil,” “Crayon,” “Teacher”
Use Total Physical Response (TPR):

“Touch the pencil.”
“Show me the book.”
Allow the child to touch and name objects.

3. Story Time  Themed Story
Read a simple picture book like “Maisy Goes to School” or “Spot Goes to School”
Point to pictures and say words slowly:
“This is the teacher.”
“He has a bag.”

4. Action Time  Simple Commands Game
Teach: “Stand up,” “Sit down,” “Look,” “Listen,” “Come here”
Play Simon Says using the commands with gestures
Let the child take a turn giving commands

5. Practice & Reinforcement Matching & Speaking
Matching game: Match object to word/flashcard
Use a mini dialogue:

Teacher: “What is this?” (pointing to object)
Child: “It is a book.”
Adapt if child is non-verbal or shy: Accept pointing or nodding as answers.

6. Cool Down & Goodbye
Review one or two words learned
Give a sticker or stamp for participation
Say: “Well done! See you tomorrow!”

 

I plan to use AI to enhance my own SEN teaching and support the work of the class teacher by pre-teaching new topics and concepts in as many ways and means as possible, using quizzes, games, targeted worksheets, text to speech and reading coach. I hope to introduce some pupils to some of the AI apps, which will help them to engage in literacy lessons, e.g critically analysing various texts.

My students love Readers’ Theatre. Now I can find ways to create new and topic specific scripts at the touch of a button. They could even suggest their own story themes. What fun we are going to have!

[Naomi Plant]

I think I would like to try Scratch next year with some of my SEN pupils, although I would need to practise it myself first! I could see it being a great motivator and useful tool for some pupils in particular, who struggle with the formal classroom set up and can be difficult to engage with. I could see Scratch being introduced as a “game”, in which they could express themselves and create their own material, which they could share with their class.

I would also like to explore the Khan Academy Kids app, particularly in the area of emotional awareness, which I think would be valuable for children who find self regulation very challenging.

Following the slide about biased coverage of the 1916 Rising, I asked ChatGPT to produce three articles about the 1847 potato famine in Ireland, one from the British Government’s perspective, one from a Fenian newspaper (fictional) and the third from a newsletter from the Society of Friends. They were fascinating pieces to explore in a senior class and produced in seconds!

 

[Naomi Plant]

Thanks Mark for outlining a great plan for Maths using Khan Academy. it shows a great way of using AI as a support for teaching, motivating students and rewarding them with games using the skills they’ve learned during the week.

[Naomi Plant]

You’re right Sinéad, there are so many valuable resources available to us now and we can tailor them to our own needs and the needs of our students quickly and efficiently. We can cover the extra capable children, the whole class setting  (with a nod to their own names), the EAL pupils and the children who struggle with dyslexia, ASD or general learning difficulties.

It’s like having our own educational toolbox to play with!

[Naomi Plant]

There are so many applications for the AI tools presented in this module. I could see my students really engaging in the Reading Coach programme. They would love generating & choosing all the stories, getting the feedback on their own reading and earning badges. I know they would find this really exciting and we would have a detailed progress report for each pupil.

I can see Magic School AI being of great use when it comes to Maths. Children love to see their own names in problem solving and this creates the worksheets in minutes.

I would love to have a go at the  Diffit tool. I  regularly pre-read the chosen class novel with my small SEN learning support group. I could see myself creating learning materials which would be complementary to what the children are doing in the mainstream class. They even have the novel “Under the Hawthorn Tree” on the system!

[Naomi Plant]

Hi Sinéad. I too had specific SEN pupils in mind when looking at this technology. There are so many issues of difficulty and frustrations for them, it’s great to find something that they might find useful, especially when some children are entitled to use assistive technology as part of their IEPs.

I look forward to learning more on the job with my SEN pupils in September!

[Naomi Plant]

I definitely think AI can transform the teaching and learning experience in my Special Education setting.  I wasn’t aware of Immersive Reader before, yet I see that it has many applications, e.g. children with Speech & Learning Difficulties can have their own work read out in class. Pages can be adapted for children with dyslexia and children whose first language is not English could learn how to pronounce unfamiliar words. It look like texts could be copied and pasted onto the page, then the story could be read for the learner. There are many possibilities.

There are challenges in using AI tools in the school setting. We should make sure that children cannot be identified , as many of the applications seem to be learning from us as much as we are learning from them. Also, many of our pupils have access to their own technology at home and we should show them how to protect themselves online.

I’m not sure that I would welcome so much monitoring of pupils to the extent that it is done in China. How do the struggling children cope? Why are all children’s results shared with parents? It reminded me of the old “bata scór” in Irish classrooms of long ago.

[Naomi Plant]

Hi Catherine,

I agree with you that AI tools can revolutionise teaching & learning for pupils, especially those with SEN. As you say, text-to-speech, Google Read & Write and personalised learning paths will really help reluctant readers and pupils who have great ideas, but lack the capacity to express them in written format.

[Naomi Plant]

I found this presentation very interesting and I am keen to learn more about the potential uses of Gen AI tool for my teaching, particularly in the SEN setting, where I am working.

I have tried Chat GPT before for simple stories for a reluctant reader, in which I used their name and interests e.g. small furry animals, but now I know I could possibly add videos and animations to make the stories more interesting and engaging. I could even ask for comprehension questions or cloze procedures, rather that making my own, using the old cut and past method.

There are so many other uses for Gen AI tools, which could help with differentiation, special interests, inspiration, games, quizzes and so on.  Exercises or reading material could be tailored to the specific interests and abilities of the student. I just need to get over my own inhibitions and play around with the possibilities, which I hope to do over the rest of this course.

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