Cover Lessons
Cover lesson ideas linking to the DCF, for a range of subjects, both offline and digital.
Organising the Files for a Class Audiobook
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Storing and sharing
An invented Year 5 class has recorded an audiobook of the Welsh legend The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach, but the 12 files on the class tablet have names like "Recording 14" and "new new FINAL", with duplicate copies and a test recording. Pupils spot what is wrong, make a naming rule and rename the files so they are easy to search for, plan a folder tree, and plan how to avoid losing work with versions and a backup. To check that the tidy project fits the class's 25 MB on the school shared drive, they add and subtract the file sizes (decimals such as 3.4 MB), check the total a second way and decide whether the next chapter will fit. Unplugged: no computers needed. The written decimal calculations give numeracy evidence for calculation.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Organising the Files for a Class Audiobook (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Organising the Files for a Class Audiobook
- Worked example and answer key: naming rule, renamed files, folder tree and file size calculations
- The pretend file screen and file sizes are printed on the worksheet
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Writing Kind and Useful Comments on a Class Blog
DCF: Citizenship → Online behaviour and online bullying
Pupils help a teacher check 7 comments on a pupil’s poem on a pretend class blog before they appear. They sort the comments into kind and useful, kind but not useful, unkind (including one that is online bullying) and not safe (one shares a home address), decide what should happen to each, say what to do about unkind messages and explain how commenting online differs from talking face to face. They then rewrite 3 weak comments and write their own 2-sentence comment using connectives such as because, but and so, underlining each one. The rewritten and new comments give literacy evidence for connectives and syntax.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Writing Kind and Useful Comments on a Class Blog
- Stimulus: Elis’s poem on the class blog and the 7 comments waiting to be checked
- Worked example and answer key: sorted comments, what to do, and model comments with connectives underlined
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Editing a Shared Document about Owain Glyndŵr
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Collaboration
Pupils edit a pretend online shared document, printed on paper, in which 4 invented Year 5 pupils wrote one paragraph each about Owain Glyndŵr. They read the Share panel and the version history to find who can edit, comment or view and who deleted a paragraph, work out how to restore an earlier version, choose roles for new people and turn an unkind comment into a kind, specific one. They then correct 10 verb and word problems and rewrite two paragraphs as one. The school, pupils, screen, comments and times are invented; the history facts are real. Teachers can assess the corrected verb forms and the paragraph rewritten in a consistent past tense with precise history words.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Editing a Shared Document about Owain Glyndŵr
- Stimulus: Owain Glyndŵr pretend shared document
- Worked example and answer key: roles and version history, kind comments, the 10 corrections and a model paragraph
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Pencil
Software / weblinks
Searching for Facts about Roman Caerleon
DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Pupils research the Roman fortress at Caerleon on paper. They plan with a research card and success criteria, rank weak and strong keyword searches and sort 6 pretend search results into useful, not useful, advert or check it. They skim 3 pretend web pages for the main idea, scan captions, fact boxes and tables for 5 facts, spot a wrong forum claim and the King Arthur legend, and write a 4 sentence fact file listing their sources. The search screen, web pages, forum, blog and shop are invented. Teachers can assess literacy in the skimming and scanning answers, the reliability judgements and the fact file.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Searching for Facts about Roman Caerleon (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Searching for Facts about Roman Caerleon
- Stimulus: Roman Caerleon pretend search results and web pages
- Worked example and answer key: keywords, sorted results, scanned facts and a model fact file
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Designing a Shape Fact Slide with Accurate Maths Words
DCF: Producing → Creating digital content
Pupils improve the first draft of a slide about a cube made by Tomos, an invented Year 5 pupil, for a Shape Facts slideshow aimed at Year 3. On a pretend slide editor printed on paper, they spot a wrong fact, 8 misspelt maths words and 5 layout problems, then match each problem to a toolbar button. They build a word bank with spelling strategies, count faces, edges and vertices of 3D shapes, and plan a clear cube slide and a matching triangular prism slide. The literacy work is precise maths vocabulary spelt correctly.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Designing a Shape Fact Slide with Accurate Maths Words (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Designing a Shape Fact Slide with Accurate Maths Words
- Stimulus: Tomos's first draft slide about a cube on a pretend slide editor
- Worked example and answer key: problems found in the draft, word bank answers, face, edge and vertex counts, and 2 model slides
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Ruler
- Computer/Laptop (optional)
Software / weblinks
Writing a Drum Loop with Repeat Blocks
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Music meets coding. An invented school band's drummer has written six bar cards using crotchets, quavers, semiquavers, minims and a rest. Pupils write each bar as a number sentence in halves and quarters to check it makes 4 beats, find and fix the two buggy bars (4 and a half and 3 and a half beats), and rewrite the 16-bar drum part as 3 lines of repeat blocks, checking it still plays 16 bars and 64 beats. They show that changing the order of instructions changes the music, find what fraction of a bar the quavers and semiquavers fill, and invent and tap their own bar. Paper-based; no computers or instruments needed.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Writing a Drum Loop with Repeat Blocks
- Stimulus: Ysgol y Castell band, note values, six invented bar cards and the full drum part
- Worked example and answer key: bar number sentences, fixed bugs, the loop, program outputs and fractions of a bar
- Printed stimulus sheet, one between two
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Writing a Safe Profile for a Sports Club Page
DCF: Citizenship → Identity, image and reputation
Mali has been chosen as Swimmer of the Month, and her profile will go on an invented swimming club's public web page. Pupils sort her 14 facts into personal information that is OK to share and private information to keep safe (full name, address, birthday, school, phone number, her Thursday walk home alone, her password), explain how a public post leaves a digital footprint, and choose the one safe photo from four, saying who must give permission. They then talk and plan, and write Mali's profile in 3 or 4 paragraphs for club families and younger swimmers, with an introduction, middle paragraphs in a sensible order and an ending. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Writing a Safe Profile for a Sports Club Page (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Writing a Safe Profile for a Sports Club Page
- Stimulus: the club's profile page and rules, Mali's 14 facts and 4 photos
- Worked example and answer key: sorted facts, photo choice, plan and model profile
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Debugging a Healthy Morning Routine
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Problem-solving and modelling
Cai keeps missing the school bus, and his algorithm for a school morning has bugs: shoes before socks, teeth brushed for 2 seconds, walking to the stop before packing, and four repeated lines that should be a loop. Pupils predict the outcome, find and fix the bugs, rewrite the algorithm with a loop, then turn it into a timetable of start and finish times from an invented timing card. The routine takes 79 minutes (1 hour 19 minutes), so Cai reaches the stop at 08:19, 9 minutes after the bus. Pupils change the algorithm to arrive by 08:05 (videos cut to 16 minutes, or an alarm at 06:46) and choose the change that is better for his well-being. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Debugging a Healthy Morning Routine (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Debugging a Healthy Morning Routine
- Stimulus: Cai's school morning algorithm, timing card and NHS health facts
- Worked example and answer key: the 4 bugs, the debugged algorithm, the timetable and both plans
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Reading Data Logger Graphs of Cooling Cups
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy
An invented Year 5 class used a temperature data logger to test which of 4 cups keeps hot water warm for longest. Pupils read cells in the spreadsheet, write formulas for the temperature drop and the lowest reading, sort the cups, then read the line graph to find when each cup cooled and how fast. They judge 4 pupils' conclusions as supported, not supported or not sure, spotting that only the flask had a lid, and suggest how to make the test fairer. Reading the graph and judging the conclusions is marked as numeracy. Paper-based; nothing hot is used.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Reading Data Logger Graphs of Cooling Cups
- Stimulus: Ysgol Maes y Wawr data logger results, spreadsheet and line graph
- Worked example and answer key: formulas, sorted results, graph readings and judged conclusions
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Ruler
Software / weblinks
Improving a Draft Slideshow about Circuits
DCF: Producing → Evaluating and improving digital content
Two invented Year 6 pupils have made a draft slideshow to teach Year 4 about circuits, printed as 4 slides. Pupils judge each slide against success criteria, correct 3 science mistakes (a "complete circuit" with a gap, plastic and wood called conductors, and an open switch that lights the bulb), proofread the text and explain where and why they made each change, suggest layout changes with reasons, redesign one slide and write kind, specific feedback. The proofreading and explained corrections are marked as literacy. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Improving a Draft Slideshow about Circuits (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Improving a Draft Slideshow about Circuits
- Stimulus: Nia and Tomos's draft slideshow about electricity, 4 printed slides
- Worked example and answer key: judged slides, science fixes, proofread text, redesigned slide and feedback
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils (optional)
Software / weblinks
Writing Photo Rules for the School Show
DCF: Citizenship → Identity, image and reputation
Show week at an invented school in Caernarfon. Pupils judge six pretend posts and photos of a Year 6 musical, from a public rehearsal video that gives away the children's routine to a photo whose hidden location data points to a pupil's house, and decide which are fine, which need changing and which should not be shared. They list what a stranger could learn, explain digital footprints, then plan and write a letter to parents and carers for the show programme with an introduction, numbered rules with reasons and a conclusion, and rewrite one rule for a Year 2 audience. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Writing Photo Rules for the School Show (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Writing Photo Rules for the School Show
- Stimulus: show week at Ysgol Glan Menai, six invented pretend posts and a photo information screen
- Worked example and answer key: every post judged, hidden information found and a model letter to families
- Printed stimulus sheet, one between two
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Searching for Reliable Facts about Roald Dahl
DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
For a Roald Dahl Day display on his childhood in Wales, pupils compare 3 pretend searches (from "dahl", which finds a lentil recipe, to "roald dahl childhood cardiff llandaff"), improve the keywords and judge 5 of the 9 results by who made them and why. They scan a reliable pretend heritage page and an unreliable fan blog, find the 3 facts the blog gets wrong, tell fact from opinion, then write a 5-fact file and a short summary in their own words with the source of every fact, and decide what to bookmark. The scanning answers and the referenced summary give literacy evidence for understanding, response and analysis.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Searching for Reliable Facts about Roald Dahl
- Stimulus: 3 pretend search results pages and 2 pretend web pages about Roald Dahl
- Worked example and answer key: keywords, reliability judgements, the 3 mistakes and a model summary with sources
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Highlighters
Software / weblinks
Planning a Water Tracker Spreadsheet
DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy
Six invented Year 6 pupils at Ysgol Penrhos logged the cups of water they drank at school for a week. Pupils enter the log into a paper spreadsheet, write SUM, AVERAGE, MAX and MIN formulae with cell ranges, and fill in totals (15, 5, 20, 15, 10, 20), means and day totals (grand total 85). They debug five typed formulae, including a range that misses Friday and a formula with no equals sign, then interpret the results: the mean of the totals (14.2), why MAX cannot name the top drinker, and whether statements are true, false or can't tell, noticing that the log covers school hours only and that a 0 meant a pupil was out. They suggest changes to make the conclusions more trustworthy. Paper-based; computers optional.
Resources required
- Supply teacher presentation: Planning a Water Tracker Spreadsheet (board slides, timers and script)
- Pupil worksheet: Planning a Water Tracker Spreadsheet
- Stimulus: Class 6 water challenge log, NHS drinks advice and a spreadsheet help card
- Worked example and answer key: the finished spreadsheet, formulae, debugged cells and conclusions
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Calculator
- Computer/Laptop (optional)
Software / weblinks
Emailing a Pen Pal in Welsh Patagonia
DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Communication
Pupils read an invented email from Elen, aged 11, who lives in Gaiman, Patagonia, and learn the real story of Y Wladfa: the Mimosa, the landing at Puerto Madryn on 28 July 1865, and Welsh still spoken alongside Spanish. Working on paper, they find the parts of an email, compare email, video call and letter, work out time differences between Wales and Argentina, then plan and write a reply on a pretend email screen, check it for safety and kindness and improve one paragraph. Elen, both schools and the photo are invented. A teacher can assess literacy from the talk-based plan and the reply organised into paragraphs.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Emailing a Pen Pal in Welsh Patagonia
- Stimulus: An email from Elen in Gaiman
- Worked example and answer key: email parts, comparison table, time differences, plan and a model reply
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Improving a Maths Help Page on Long Multiplication
DCF: Producing → Evaluating and improving digital content
Pupils check the first draft of a maths help page made by 3 invented Year 6 pupils at an invented school for Year 5 readers, printed as a pretend web page with numbered parts. They name its purpose and audience, work out 47 x 36 two ways to find the missing placeholder zero, and score the page against success criteria with reasons. For the literacy work they proofread a paragraph with 8 errors and redraft the method as numbered steps, explaining their changes, then write a kind online-style comment.
Resources required
- Pupil worksheet: Improving a Maths Help Page on Long Multiplication
- Stimulus: a draft maths help page on long multiplication, printed as a pretend web page
- Worked example and answer key: correct 47 x 36 working, page scores with reasons, all 8 proofreading corrections, a model redraft and a model comment
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Highlighters