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The example activities have been made to show some of the types of activity that can be made using the on-screen grids in Symwriter.
Alive or not
Make two lists of things that are alive then things that are not. Each cell sends the picture and word followed by a tab. Other children may be able to type their own suggestions. A template for this is available to make similar activities on alternative topics.
Blend sh-sl
Word building from initial blends. Correct words are supported by a symbol as they are built.
Build Sentence
This sequence enables a child to correctly build 4 sentences. It is only possible to click on a correct word at each stage of the sentence. Gives a structured approach to sentence construction.
Churchyard
This environment has a number of word banks and pictures for stimulating creative writing. It is not intended that the writer only uses the grids, but will be writing from the keyboard, using the grids as a support.
Pupils may use the nouns, verbs and adjectives grids to give them ideas. The general words grid, which is always open, is there as an extra resource.
Pupils who find writing difficult might be inspired by illustrations from the Pictures grid. The pictures could be added to the document first as a way of providing a visual structure, the child would then go back to each paragraph and write something relevant. The Up and Down arrows facilitate moving from picture to picture.
Colours
Simple colour recognition, making sentences. Although an incorrect sentence can be written, the program will only advance to the next sentence if the correct alternative is chosen.
Date today
Write the day, date and weather from this simple set, which is ideal for group work at a whiteboard.
Diary
Two grids to write about regular daily activities. A template is provided that has the second page empty, ready to add your own choices.
Egyptian sentences
A text grid building simple sentences about the Egyptians. These facts are taken from the History Topic book made for Communicate: In Print. The sentences are in two parts. Choose the correct sentence end. Click on the picture to add an illustration for each line.
Float and Sink
This is another example of the grid structure used in ‘Alive or not’ There is also a blank template available for this layout.
Getting started 1
This is the completed example from the Getting Started Help Sheet 1. This is a simple single grid on the theme of holidays, with the addition of ‘Return’ and ‘Delete’ cells.
Getting started 2
This is the completed example from the Getting Started Help Sheet 2. This has a short sequence of grids with sentence components about things you might take on holiday or a day out.
Getting started 3
This is the completed example from the Getting Started Help Sheet 3. This has more complex options for writing about holiday choices. It could be edited to give alternative options.
Getting started 4
This is the completed example from the Getting Started Help Sheet 4. This is an environment for writing in text. The word banks are there for stimulating writing from the keyboard. It does not include general vocabulary that the pupils may be familiar with. The words are structured into Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives, and there is a grid for pictures. A blank template of this called ‘Text nouns and verbs etc’ is also provided for creating your own topic banks.
How many arms legs and wings
A sequence of sentences to describe different animals. Pressing the full stop to end the sentence will cause it to be spoken.
Keyboard, and keyboard Plus
An on-screen keyboard for using on a whiteboard, or for switch users. In the first grid there are lower case letters and main keyboard keys. In addition, the key marked ‘Aa’ on the left will capitalise the next letter. The second grid has all capital letters and some characters usually obtained with SHIFT.
Keyboard Plus, has a third grid, mainly with the switch user in mind, that has some navigation keys for moving around the document and highlighting.
Making tea
A Step-through sequence of instructions for making a cup of tea. The page turn buttons give simple navigation and a speaker button to listen to each sentence.
Mouse alive
A sequence of sentences to describe whether items are alive or not. A template is not provided for this, as it is quicker to make a new one than to edit an existing sequence.
Myself
Write some simple sentences about myself, my family and my preferences. 10 grids give access to a series of sentence options. Speech is not built into this environment, but you can set the Speech menu to speak after sentence if required.
Story – Billy Goats Gruff
This is a long story and takes a few moments to load. This has a simple navigation and speaker grid. This is saved with the document in landscape, running in Print View so that each page shows separately, rather than as a scrolling document.
Templates for making your own step through material are provided. These are not really designed as talking story environments, but are more suitable for giving instructions. A full talking story module is planned for later.
Visual timetable
This environment is particularly suitable for whiteboard use. Choose the day, the main activities for the morning and then for the afternoon, separated by ‘Dinner time’ and ending with ‘Home time’.
What can you find
Choose which things you might find by the sea, on a farm and in a city. This does not use grids, but has more freely arranged images on a tray. These are selected to go into the document showing the word.
What I like best
Gathering opinions is important. This example environment asks about a user’s preferences. It can be edited and saved under a new name with different choices for different users.
Where do they grow
Identifying where different vegetables and fruit grow: under ground, above the ground and on trees.
French version
Example Environments.pdf