Unit
1.3
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We are storytellers
Producing a talking book
About this unit
Software:Microsoft PowerPoint® / Microsoft Photo Story 3 / Clicker 6
Hardware: Talking tins / postcards, MP3 recorders, microphones
Outcome: A talking book
Introduction
Do the children in your class love listening to
recordings of themselves? Do they have favourite
stories that they want to listen to again and again?
In this unit, children create a talking book that they
can share with others.
Assessment
This unit covers ICT AF1 and AF3. For a more
detailed analysis of the assessment focuses
addressed and suggestions for progression, see
page 28.
Curriculum and Framework
links
Primary Framework
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iteracy: Speaking
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Literacy: Narrative – Traditional and fairy tales
Mathematics: Calculating, measuring and
understanding shape
ICT PoS
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inding things out (1a, b)
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Developing ideas and making things happen (2a)
Exchanging and sharing information (3a, b)
Reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it
progresses (4a)
Breadth of study (5a, b, c)
Suggested subject links
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iteracy: Children need to speak with clear
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diction and use appropriate intonation when
reading and reciting text.
Music: Children use sounds expressively to
illustrate a story.
PSHE: Children could consider how talking
books improve the lives of people with particular
disabilities.
With suitable adaptation, the unit could be used
to make a talking book about a topic in any
curriculum area.
Every Child Matters
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Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Stay safe
Learning expectations
Children record themselves reading a story and
add sound effects. They use these recordings to
produce a talking book.
By the end of this unit, children will have achieved
the following learning objectives:
To use sound recording equipment to record
sounds
To develop skills in saving and storing sounds on
the computer
To develop collaboration skills as they work
together in a group
To understand how a talking book differs from a
paper-based book
To talk about and reflect on their use of ICT
To share recordings with an audience
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Variations to try
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The children could produce a podcast about a
historical event or person (this could link with
work in Unit 2.4 – We are time travellers).
The children could produce a talking book about
themselves.
The children could produce a talking book
about the people who work in school, or about a
special event in or outside school.
The children could create commentary for a
selection of paintings or drawings, which could
be uploaded onto the school website or learning
platform along with the related artwork.
The children could create a short radio play,
using appropriate sound effects.
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Getting ready
Things to do
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ead the Core section of Running the task on
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pages 26–27.
Decide what software you would like to use.
Microsoft PowerPoint® comes as standard with
Microsoft Office and Microsoft Photo Story 3 is
available as a free download from Microsoft for
Windows XP at www.microsoft.com/download/
en/details.aspx?id=11132. Both allow sounds to
be recorded directly into a presentation.
Clicker 6 is pay-for software that is also suitable
to use in this unit. See www.cricksoft.com/
uk/products/tools/clicker/home.aspx for more
information.
Look at the software tutorials:
Software in 60 seconds walkthroughs are
provided on the CD-ROM for recording
sounds directly into presentations in Microsoft
PowerPoint® and Microsoft Photo Story 3.
For a guide to using Clicker 6, see
www.cricksoft.com/uk/products/tools/clicker/
Clicker6-guide/guide.aspx.
Spend about 45 minutes familiarising yourself
with the most appropriate software / tools.
Read the Extensions section of Running the task
on pages 26–27. Do you want to use any of the
extras provided?
Connect microphones to computers and laptops
prior to recording in Core Step 3 of Running the
task, and check that the recording volume is set
at an appropriate level.
Things you need
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nsure sufficient laptops and / or computers are
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available, or book the ICT suite, if necessary.
Ensure appropriate software is installed on the
laptops / computers.
Ensure that you have updated the story
templates, if required, and have access to them
for Step 2 of Running the task.
MP3 recorders.
Microphones.
Sound effects (see the CD-ROM).
Resources with which the children can create
sound effects, including musical instruments.
Talking tins / postcards.
Think about . . .
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Some children may find reading difficult. You
could consider giving them a shorter part to read
and providing additional support or, alternatively,
they could explain what happens in the story in
their own words.
Google Translate could be used to translate
books for children with EAL: http://translate.
google.com.
Some children may wish to read out the text of
published books, or even their own stories, rather
than using the story templates supplied.
e-safety
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The children’s performances may be uploaded
to the learning platform, or VLE. Uploading to
external websites should only be allowed if this
is in accordance with school policy and any
relevant permissions are obtained.
For any software that you are installing, check
both the terms and conditions and compliance
with your school’s e-safety policy.
Useful links
Before you start, you might want to refer to
these weblinks.
Free audio tracks of children’s stories:
http://storynory.com/archives/fairy-tales/ and
www.taletimestories.com/downloads/thestonecutter/.
Free animated stories from cbeebies:
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/.
Additional sound effects can be downloaded
from the National Education Network:
http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/gallery14723-.html.
2Simple 2Create A Story is pay-for software
that allows children to create talking stories. See
www.2simple.com/2createastory/.
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Step 1
Core
Step 2
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could be added. Then read the story again, with the children adding sound
effects at appropriate points.
Explain to the children that they are going to work in groups to create their own
talking version of the story. Once the children are split into groups, assign each
child a part of the story to read.
The children should practise reading their part of the story, and adding
appropriate sound effects. They could do this using talking tins, postcards or MP3
recorders, and play their recording back to hear how they sound. They can then
try to improve their performance the next time. The children will need a relatively
quiet environment, so it may be advisable for them to work one group at a time.
Other groups could explore the sound effects provided on the CD-ROM, while
they are waiting for their turn to practise recording. You may need to show the
children how to use the equipment if they have not used it previously.
> L ook at the three story templates provided on the CD-ROM. As a class, choose
one of them to read.
> R ead the story to the children and ask them to think about what sound effects
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loud (see Useful links). Discuss how the storyteller uses his or her voice to make
the story come alive.
Ask the children if they can think of some sound effects, which, if added, would
make the story more exciting, e.g. clapping, stamping, laughing, sneezing, etc.
As a class, listen to some of the sound effects provided on the CD-ROM. Ask
the children to think about how they could produce their own sound effects to
go with the story.
Listen to the story again, with the children making the sound effects (talking tins,
postcards, or similar, could be useful at this point).
> A s a class, listen to a sound clip of a well-known book or story being read out
Extensions
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Education Network (see Useful links). This may be a good opportunity to discuss
the issue of copyright and that any sounds used should be copyright free.
They could then, with support, download these sound effects onto a folder on
the school network.
> T he children could explore the sound effects available from the National
sound effects that they produce or make. Show them how to record and play
back a recording and then to re-record it if they feel they want to improve or
change the sound in any way.
> T he children could begin to use the MP3 recorders at this point, to record the
Running the task – We are storytellers
Software:Microsoft PowerPoint® / Microsoft Photo Story 3 / Clicker 5
Hardware: Talking tins / postcards, MP3 recorders, microphones
Outcome: A talking book
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Step 3
Step 4
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is different from a paper-based book.
> E ncourage the children to consider how the electronic book they have created
in Extension Step 2 into Microsoft PowerPoint® or Microsoft Photo Story 3
(instead of recording their sound effects directly into the software). See the
Software in 60 seconds walkthrough for support on how to do this.
> Show the children how to insert the pre-recorded sound files they downloaded
Share your children’s work at www.switchedonict.co.uk.
class, if time permits) and consider whether they could be improved. If possible,
they should be allowed time to make these improvements.
Read out the questions on the self-assessment sheet (which is on the CD-ROM)
and encourage the children to respond verbally initially. The children should
then review what they have learned by completing the self-assessment sheet.
> The children should review their books (perhaps sharing these with another
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microphone connected up to the computer (see the Software in 60 seconds
walkthroughs provided on the CD-ROM for recording sounds directly into
Microsoft PowerPoint® and Microsoft Photo Story 3). If sound recording
equipment has not been used before this point (see Core Step 2), show the
children how to record sound using a microphone plugged into the computer.
The children should then each record themselves reading their part of the story,
including any sound effects they have decided to create. Depending on the
space available, the children may need to work one group at a time in order
to keep the background noise down to an acceptable level when recording.
Remind the children to speak clearly into the microphone, but not to shout.
Show the children how to save their completed book.
The completed books could be uploaded to the school’s learning platform, or
VLE.
> Show the children how to record directly into the story template using a
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Assessment guidance
Use the text below to relate the ICT skills children demonstrate to the assessment focuses
and National Curriculum levels.
AF1 Planning, developing and
evaluating your work
AF3 Finding, using and
communicating information
Children working at LEVEL 1 should be able to:
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xplore hardware and software that enables
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sound to be recorded
nderstand that sound files can be saved and
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stored on a computer
alk about how they used ICT to record their
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voice and sound effects
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Understand that sound can be recorded and
played back more than once
Record themselves reading part of the story and
play back this recording
Choose a sound to add to a talking book
Children working at LEVEL 2 should be able to:
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lan what sound effects they will create for a
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talking book
alk about how they combined text and sounds
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to create a talking book
ecognise where narration and sound
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effects could be improved and re-record as
appropriate
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Choose a sound to re-create themselves
Create and record sound effects that
complement the story they are recording
Combine text with appropiate sounds to create
a talking book
omment on how successful they were at
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using sound recording equipment
Progression
The following units will allow your children to develop these skills further:
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Unit 2.2 – We are painters
Unit 2.4 – We are time travellers
Unit 3.2 – We are comic writers
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Taking it further
When you’ve finished, you might want to extend
the project in the following ways.
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sk the children to look out for audio books
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being used outside of school.
Explore other ways of using the techniques
the children have learned in this unit across
the curriculum, e.g. the children could record
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Cross-curricular ideas
Practical suggestions to bring this unit alive in
the classroom.
Role-play
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ased in the book corner, the children could help
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to create a storytelling area with a video camera
or MP3 recorders available for them to record
themselves reading a book.
Alternatively, the children could video themselves
retelling a story they have previously heard.
Classroom ideas
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interviews with local residents, family and friends
as part of a topic on their local environment or
recent history.
Provide further opportunities for children to
practise listening to and creating sound clips,
perhaps through targeted homework, or by
playing sound effects in class (e.g. applause) when
someone has completed a task or activity well.
he children could learn more about the work
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of the Royal National Institute of Blind People
(RNIB) and the importance of talking books for
the blind.
The children could find out how talking books are
created and the different roles people play in this
process.
The children could explore the importance of oral
storytelling in the past, and how this was used to
pass stories on from generation to generation.
Children could learn more about Grimms’ fairy
tales, which the Brothers Grimm recorded by
inviting storytellers to their home and transcribing
what they heard.
The children could explore the importance of oral
storytelling in other cultures, e.g. Alaskan Native
storytelling has been passed down through
generations by means of oral presentation.
A display exploring stories from other cultures,
e.g. the stories of Anansi from Africa. This could
lead on to exploring art from the same cultures.
Visits
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Children could visit their local library to talk to
a librarian about how many talking books they
have, what sort of books they are and who uses
them.
Invite someone from the RNIB, or a similar
organisation, to talk about the production of
talking books for the blind, and why they are
useful.
Books
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Briggs, R. (2011). The Snowman Sound Book.
Puffin.
Brooks, F. (2009). Goldilocks and the Three
Bears: With Sounds (Usborne First Fairytales).
Usborne Publishing Ltd.
Donaldson, J. (2011). What The Ladybird Heard
Sound Book. Macmillan Children’s Books.
Weblinks
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The work of the RNIB: www.rnib.org.uk.
Traditional African fables and myths:
www.gateway-africa.com/stories/index.html.
Short video showing a native elder from
the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, who
describes how stories are passed on among her
people: www.teachersdomain.org/asset/echo07_
vid_totem/.
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