Cover Lessons
Cover lesson ideas linking to the DCF, for a range of subjects, both offline and digital.
Following a Dance with Arrow Cards
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Pupils are robot dancers. After a warm-up where the cover teacher points to up and right arrows on the board and the class steps beside their chairs, pupils follow arrow instructions across a picture dance floor of a castle, harp, drum, daffodil, sheep and dragon, circling where the dancer stops and counting the steps. They circle the pictures above, below and next to a given square, find and fix the one wrong arrow in Gwen's dance (debugging), then write their own arrow dance with a finishing move for a partner to perform. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Following a Dance with Arrow Cards
- Worked example and answer key: a finished pupil page with routes, circled stops, the fixed arrow and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Putting Your Name on Your Art
DCF: Citizenship → Digital rights, licensing and ownership
Pupils visit a pretend online art gallery for an invented Year 1 class and learn that every picture belongs to the person who made it. They circle who made each painting, decide the kind and honest thing to do about a picture with no name, then draw their own picture on a pretend paint app screen and add their name, with a capital letter, and a short title copied from a picture word bank. A partner checks the name and title are there. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Putting Your Name on Your Art
- Stimulus: a pretend online art gallery page for an invented Year 1 class
- Worked example and answer key: a finished pupil page with a named, titled picture and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Building a Healthy Snack Picture with Shape Tools
DCF: Producing → Creating digital content
A teacher-led Year 1 lesson that uses a pretend drawing app on paper to make a picture of a healthy snack. Pupils trace the names of the 4 shape tools (circle, square, triangle, rectangle) and count their straight sides and corners. They follow Tedi the teddy's clicks (shape, then colour, then big or small) to pick out the picture he made, then plan and draw their own healthy snack on a pretend screen using only the shape tools, with big and small shapes, chosen colours and a label added with the text tool. Finally they count how many of each shape they used, find the one they used most and the total. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Building a Healthy Snack Picture with Shape Tools
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Ruler
Software / weblinks
Ordering the Steps to Wash My Hands
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
A teacher-led Year 1 lesson that treats hand washing as a simple algorithm. The cover teacher reads a script while pupils act out the 5 steps (wet, soap, rub, rinse, dry) at their tables, then cut and stick picture cards in order. They debug Tedi the teddy's muddled instructions, where he dries his hands before he rinses them. For the numeracy, pupils circle 'before' or 'after' for steps and for daily routines (before we eat, after the toilet), count to 20 while they pretend to scrub (the NHS says about 20 seconds, as long as singing Happy Birthday twice), and tick which everyday job takes longer. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Ordering the Steps to Wash My Hands
- Stimulus: hand washing picture cards to cut out (wet, soap, rub, rinse, dry)
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Scissors and glue
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Finding Our Conwy Castle Photos in the Camera Roll
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Storing and sharing
Pupils look at a pretend tablet camera roll from an invented class trip to Conwy Castle and learn which icons take, save and find photos. Because the camera roll numbers each photo in the order it was taken, they find photos by number, count forwards and backwards to fill in missing numbers, compare numbers to say which photo came first, and save a photo of their own with the next number and a name. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Finding Our Conwy Castle Photos in the Camera Roll
- Stimulus: Conwy trip pretend camera roll
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Making a Class Slideshow about Cardiff Together
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Collaboration
Pupils work in pairs, sharing the jobs of picture maker and word writer, to make one paper slide about a real place in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The slides are joined on a slide sorter strip to make one class slideshow of 10 slides. Pupils add the slides from 2 tables, work out how many more are needed to make 10, find other ways to make 10 and say what happens when a slide is deleted. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Making a Class Slideshow about Cardiff Together
- Stimulus: Cardiff picture cards, paper slide template and slide sorter strip
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
- Paper slide templates cut in half, 1 slide per pair
- Slide sorter strip taped together on the board, with sticky tack
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors
Software / weblinks
People We Know and People We Have Never Met
DCF: Citizenship → Identity, image and reputation
Pupils sort picture cards of people in their community and people online into those they know and those they have never met, and choose the safe thing to do when someone they have never met sends a message. They draw and label people they know and copy the rule I tell a grown-up. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: People We Know and People We Have Never Met
- Stimulus: people in my community and online picture cards, with pretend tablet screens
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Putting My Name on a Class E-book Page
DCF: Citizenship → Digital rights, licensing and ownership
Digital ownership with literacy. Pupils look at four pretend tablet pages from an invented class e-book about a trip to Tenby (Dinbych-y-pysgod) and find who made each page from the word by and a name, spotting the one page with no name. They decide whether three short stories about using someone else's picture are kind or not kind, then make their own e-book page on a paper tablet: a beach picture, a label written with their letter sounds, and by with their name starting with a capital letter. Unplugged: no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Putting My Name on a Class E-book Page
- Stimulus: four pretend tablet pages from the invented class e-book about Tenby beach
- Worked example and answer key: a finished e-book page with a sound-spelt label and a named page
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Saving My Story Picture in the Right Folder
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Storing and sharing
Saving and finding work, with counting. Pupils meet Story Studio, an invented drawing app on a pretend paper tablet, and choose the button for 4 jobs: save, open a folder, take a photo and delete. They save 12 story pictures into the right named folders by writing each folder's number, and find which folder Jac opens to get his picture back. They count the pictures saved in each folder (4, 3, 2 and 3) and find the total of 12. Then they work out how many there are when Ffion saves 1 more, Jac deletes 1, and Mali's and Osian's folders are put together. They finish by drawing their own story picture, naming their folder and circling the Save button. Unplugged: no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Saving My Story Picture in the Right Folder
- Stimulus: Story Studio pretend tablet screens, the 4 buttons and 4 named folders
- Worked example and answer key: buttons, saved pictures, folder counts and one more, one less
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Guiding a Robot Sheep with Arrow Cards
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Pupils guide Seren, an invented robot sheep, across a farm grid using arrow cards. They follow a set of arrows, write their own algorithm to reach the gate, find and fix a bug, then count the squares moved and describe position with next to, under and on. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Guiding a Robot Sheep with Arrow Cards
- Stimulus: Seren's farm grid and arrow cards to cut out
- Worked example: a finished activity page with answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Scissors (optional, for the arrow cards)
Software / weblinks
Sorting a Toy Box into a Pictogram
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy
Pupils act as a sorting app. They sort an invented class toy box of 12 toys by kind of toy, make a mark for each toy, colour a pictogram on a pretend tablet screen and read it to find most, fewest and the total. Then they change the rule and sort the same toys by size. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sorting a Toy Box into a Pictogram
- Stimulus: the class toy box picture cards to cut out
- Worked example: a finished activity page with answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors (optional, for the picture cards)
Software / weblinks
Ordering the Steps to Plant a Sunflower Seed
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Pupils learn that an algorithm is a set of steps in the right order. After acting out a muddled set of steps for putting on a coat, they number 6 jumbled pictures of planting a sunflower seed, find the 2 steps Robot Rhys swapped (so his seed ends up on top of the soil), and follow 4 spoken instructions exactly like a robot to make a drawing. In a short phonics task they trace seed and pot and write sun and soil one sound at a time. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Ordering the Steps to Plant a Sunflower Seed
- Stimulus: 6 large sunflower planting step cards for the teacher to hold up
- Worked example: a finished pupil page with the answer key
Tools required
- Pencil
Software / weblinks
Sorting Classroom Objects by Material
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy
Pupils sort 12 picture cards of everyday objects using one rule: is it made of wood, metal or plastic? They stick each card in the right box, count each group and write the totals as numbers, then colour a block graph with 1 box for each object and use it to say which material has the most and the fewest. The cover teacher reads a script that introduces the 3 materials with real objects from the classroom. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sorting Classroom Objects by Material
- Stimulus: 12 material picture cards to cut out, one sheet per pupil
- Worked example: a finished pupil page with the answer key
- Optional: a pencil, a metal key or spoon and a plastic ruler or bottle to pass round
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors and glue
Software / weblinks
Checking a Concert Poster Is Easy to Read
DCF: Producing → Evaluating and improving digital content
Pupils judge three pretend digital posters for an invented school summer concert against one success criterion, can you read it from the back of the hall, then a second, does it say what, when and where. They circle the problem on the hardest poster and write a comment that gives a reason. Then they plan their own poster on a pretend screen for the families who will come, writing the title, day, time and place, check it against both criteria and say one thing they would make better. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Checking a Concert Poster Is Easy to Read
- Stimulus: three concert posters on pretend tablet screens, with the concert facts
- Worked example and answer key: judged posters, a model comment, a model poster and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Sorting Instruments into a Pictogram
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy
Pupils sort 15 picture cards from an invented class music box by one rule, how each instrument is played: hit, shake, blow or pluck. They act out each way of playing, sort the cards into sorting circles, record the groups in a tally chart, then build a pictogram where one picture stands for one instrument. They answer questions read aloud (which group has the most, how many more, how many altogether), decide why a pictogram is easier to read than a pile of cards, and learn that computers sort data by a rule in the same way. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sorting Instruments into a Pictogram
- Stimulus: 15 instrument picture cards to cut out
- Worked example and answer key: sorted groups, tally chart, pictogram, answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors and glue