USING 'THE POULTRY CLUB FOR SCHOOLS'

The Poultry Club for Schools is designed for use as a flexible, cross curricular teaching resource, focusing particularly on Science. It may also be useful for introducing and exploring themes in History, Geography, Art and Design, Religious Education, Sex Education and English. It has been developed with National Curriculum key stages 1, 2 and 3 pupils in mind, but could easily be adapted for use with pupils of higher or lower academic ability.

Working with this resource in the classroom
Pages in this section have been designed to be as "friendly" as possible so as not to be too daunting to those pupils with little experience of IT work or the Internet. All of the pages designed for pupils, contain themed information and questions, which could be used either for class or homework. Each page focuses on a specific theme with opportunities for expanding and deepening areas of study to appropriate levels. The questions are designed to test comprehension and develop further understanding of the concepts and key terms covered. The resource can be used independently of the questions, so that the teacher can develop the investigation as they wish. Pupils can be encouraged to use the resources available to present their answers in a clear and interesting way. For example, they could use relevant images and information printed from the site to illustrate their work. You may also like to explore the rest of the site, particularly the 'Breeds Gallery' section which has pictures and text about many of the breeds of poultry.

All pages within 'The Poultry Club for Schools' do not have the full set of hyperlinks to other parts of the site (only a 'Back' link) to ensure pupils do not wander off to other parts accidently.

Content and Question Answers
A guide to the key terms, questions, and answers in each section can be accessed from here, and can be easily printed using the 'print' option on the browser for future reference.

Getting the best results from your equipment.
The site has been optimised to work with Netscape Navigator (Version 3 or higher)or Internet Explorer (Version 3 or higher) and at a screen resolution of 800 x 600 and 256 colours. In the unlikely event that the Web site appears to be considerably larger than your monitor and/or colours of any images appear poor, you should adjust your screen settings (please consult your computer manual).

Using IT in the classroom.
Encouraging pupils to use computers in their work offers them valuable opportunities to utilise and expand IT skills and also covers many aspects of the KS3 IT Programme of Study. The Internet can be a valuable teaching tool, and may pupils will already have access to it at home. Encourage those "in the know" to help their fellow students, rather than monopolising school equipment. The importance of using the Internet efficiently should be emphasised. Searches should be specific - browsing, though fun, can be time consuming and expensive!. Many pupils will not question the accuracy of the information they find on the Internet. However, the Internet is not infallible and whilst there is a wealth of accurate and infomative sites, the purpose of many sites is to promote a specific viewpoint, opinion or sell a product. Class discussions could focus on the advantages and limitations of the Internet as a research tool, & comparisons made between information from the IT and alternative sources.