Nintendo DS

Just a thought!

At our last PD day after the Christmas break, our cluster decided to hold a series of workshops with a focus on ICT. I was asked to work with a teacher from another school running a workshop entitled Widening the World of Nintendo.

During this workshop I spoke about the ways in which I have used different games to assist with the teaching of writing. It was well received and people were interested in using something pertinent to children's lives as a stimulus for their learning.

The teacher sharing the workshop with me was discussing the way she uses the Nintendo DS to assist with learning so I thought I would share it.

She uses the consoles for 15 minutes every day as a maths intervention. The intervention starts in the third term of Year 5 and continues into Year 6 for 2 terms. The children use the Maths Training game. The teachers at the school feel strongly that once children have a secure understanding and knowledge of number and times tables, the other areas of maths fall into place more easily. They feel that this intervention has helped to improve rapid recall of number facts and, in turn has helped to improve their maths levels.