Support Literacy and Language with iPad

During our ANZ Apple Professional Learning Live session we explored a variety of strategies that help learners develop reading, writing, listening and speaking skills - and bring their stories to life with iPad.

We focussed on 3 activities that utilise the exciting features within Freeform, Keynote and Notes. Here is a recap of what we covered, with follow up links and resources that we discussed during our session.

Before we launched into the activities, we needed to ensure that Dictation and Speak Selection enabled on our iPad.

Dictation:

• Go to Settings > General > Keyboard
• Turn on 'Enable Dictation'. If a prompt appears, tap 'Enable Dictation'

Speak Selection:

• Go to Settings > Accessibility > Under 'Vision' select Read and Speak
• Turn on Speak Selection
• Adjust Voice and Speaking rate to suit

Support Pre-Writing with Freeform 

Freeform can be used in so many ways to support teaching and learning. It is great for brainstorming, collaborating and other purposes such as pre-writing. In this activity we use Freeform to create a 'Story Playground' to generate and structure their ideas.

Before students write they need time to think, talk and play with ideas. Freeform can provide them with that shared thinking space where ideas can be moved, changed and refined. Students can share their ideas using multiple means of expression from sticky notes, text, and drawings, to photo and video. They can then use the playground to talk through their narrative and practise sequencing and vocabulary before writing.

This aligns with Evidence Informed Practice - it strengthens writing by reducing cognitive load and supporting oral rehearsal.

Step 1

Open Freeform, create a new board. Rename your board by tapping on 'Untitled' (top left corner). You can move around your board by dragging your finger, and zoom in or out by pinching open or closed.

Step 2

Create a story playground template for students by creating 5 zones within the board. You can label the zones by adding a shape (rectangle) and double tapping to add a title. In this activity we added the following zones: Characters, Setting, Problem, Solution, Ending.

Step 3

Share template with students by tapping on the 'Share' button and choosing an option (eg Airdrop)

Step 4

Students brainstorm ideas within each zone using text, notes, shapes, images and drawings. To do this they can tap one of the options at the top of the screen.

Step 5

Create scenes for each of the zones.

Step 6

Students present their playground by navigating through the scenes (using the arrows). They can also choose to create a screen recording as they talk it through. This gives them a fantastic video resource to refer to as they write.

Supporting Links

Getting Started with Freeform on iPad

Navigate and Present Scenes

Take a screen recording on iPad

Build Your Vocabulary with Keynote

Explicit teaching of vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension. In this activity we used Keynote to include text, shape and an audio recording to represent vocabulary specific to a focus area of learning. In this example we were building vocabulary for our Science learning focus on Simple Machines.

Step 1

Open Keynote and create a new presentation. Add a blank slide.

Step 2

Add a text box for the word and definition. Format and reposition the text.

Step 3

Add a shape to represent the word. Format and reposition the shape.

Step 4

Add an audio recording of a sentence using the word.

Step 5

Repeat steps 1-4 for additional words. Play to review the words.

Extension

Use the camera (under the Media menu) to photograph real life examples of objects OR if your iPad is Apple Intelligence enabled, generate an image using the built-in Image Playground.

Supporting Links

Turning on Apple Intelligence (enabling Image Playground)

Speak, Listen and Draw with Notes

Finally we looked at how students can use Notes to practise their oral and written communication skills. For this activity we took a closer look at dictation, speak selection and the use of visual aids.

Step 1

Open Notes. Add a title.

Step 2

Use Dictation to speak a sentence.

Step 3

Use Speak Selection to listen to the sentence. Edit as needed.

Step 4

Use the drawing tools in Notes to illustrate the sentence. In this activity we were describing the water cycle.

Extension

If your device is Apple Intelligence enabled, add a voice memo about each of the stages of the water cycle. You can save the transcript to your note and use the writing tools to rewrite the description.

Use the camera to add a reflective video. Tap on the paper clip and select 'camera' to start filming. When you have finished tap on 'Use Video'.

Add a weblink from Safari by tapping on the Share button and choosing the option to share to Notes.

Supporting Resources

Exploring Apple Intelligence - Using Apple Intelligence with Notes

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