Our Computer teacher is Mrs. Milton. She covers the following curriculum with her students:
In grades K-2, students are learning to manipulate and click with the mouse. They have been using a web-based program, www.starfall.com whereby they practice basic phonics and emergent reader level skills with online books and activities. The interactive program prompts the students visually and aurally as it takes them through a process that builds on reading skills. Parents can access this free website at home if they wish. It is a great way to boost skills in phonemic awareness and reading. Students also perform activities in a program called Kid Pix. The program allows the students to create and design pictures using a variety of techniques and mediums. There are multitudes of options that simulate real art tools. Students can incorporate pictures that are already in the program or free-draw to make their masterpiece!
In grades 3 –5, students have been practicing basic keyboarding skills on a web-based program called Dance Mat Typing. This is a very fun and entertaining way to become a fluent typist, a skill that is very useful when it comes to publishing written pieces. This very interactive site prompts the student to use certain keys, starting with the “home row” as it builds on speed and accuracy. Parents can access this free website www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/
Students are also working on math skills in a program called Turtle Paths. This program focuses on distance and angles as students manipulate their turtles in a maze by giving commands in code to their turtle. This activity complements what many of the students are during in TERC Investigations and builds on analytic and spatial awareness. Additionally, students in grades 4 and 5 have been working on creating PowerPoint presentations on subjects that they have researched.
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