To tie in with the summer holidays, here are a collection of ICT activities related to taking young children on a trip to the seaside.
First up is the fantastic Snaith Primary School website at www.snaithprimary.eril.net. Click on the 'Beside the Sea' icon to access a range of seaside activities. The seaside DIY kit is the best activity for young children as it encourages them to use their drag and drop mouse skills to recreate their own seaside scene by adding characters and objects on to a beach background.
Other areas of the site include a collection of old seaside photos, a 360o panoramic view from Blackpool Tower and some creative writing frames based on exotic beach locations.
Next up is a trip to www.seashoresearches.co.uk This is a virtual tour of some of the seaside habitats around the Wirral coastline. Each virtual habitat (rockpools, sandy beach, boulders, muddy shore) consists of a photograph with hotspot links to fact files and photographs. The habitat activity links to the vast collection of fact files containing photographs, simple animations and information about each species and is probably more appropriate for slightly older children. The habitat hunts encourage children to play 'I-Spy' games to find all the seaside species in any one habitat. Children tick each one off the list as they find it - a great introduction to beach wildlife.
If you are looking for an online seaside big book then take a look at the Little Red Ship and the Little Red Ship and the Pirates at www.ngfl.northumberland. gov.uk. Both books can also be downloaded for use offline and come with literacy activities and clip art.
Sherston Software (www2.sherston. com) has a non-fiction talking book CD ROM (35). One of the six 'talking' books is about the seaside. It comes with sounds, animations and worksheets.
These activities can be supplemented by internet searches to find images of the seaside. Put your photographic skills to good use by taking close-up shots of buckets, spades, shells, sand, flags and seaweed using the macro capabilities of your digital camera. Project these on to a large screen and get the children to guess what they are.
