June 12- June 20, 2023

Today we are going to complete a Slide Show called The Most Awesome Things About Third Grade.  

The Slide Show will have a minimum of 5 slides, each slide describing ONE thing you liked about 3rd Grade this year! 

Be creative- use transitions, animations, etc.  Have fun!
Once I have approved your work, share it with your classroom teacher and then you may have CHOICE!

I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful and safe Summer Vacation!

May 29-June 9, 2023

Today we are going to continue a Slide Show called The Most Awesome Things About Third Grade.  

The Slide Show will have a minimum of 5 slides, each slide describing ONE thing you liked about 3rd Grade this year! 

Be creative- use transitions, animations, etc.  Have fun!
Once I have approved your work, share it with your classroom teacher and then you may have CHOICE!

May 22-May 26, 2023

Today, we are going to learn about a new website called Word Clouds .  Here's how to create a word cloud:

1. Select an image from the choices given. 

2. Think of as many words as you can for that image (at least 15 words).  You will need to delete any extra words that were automatically included.

3. Use Kidthesaurus.com if you have trouble thinking of words.

3. Choose your colors, fonts, word repeat, etc. 

4. When you are done, you may print your word cloud.

After, you may go to the website Safe Kid Games and play to the end of the period.  Have fun!

Week of May 8-May 19, 2023
Today, students may have choice of any of the following websites: Math Playground, Scratch (Code your own game, do not search for a game others created), Typing Games, Brain Games or Fun4theBrain (multiplication or division) .  These are the only websites students will be allowed to use! 

Week of May 1-May 5, 2023

Today, you will spend the first 15 minutes keyboarding, using the websites Typingtest.com  or Typing Pal .

After, students may have choice of any of the following websites: Math Playground, Scratch (Code your own game, do not search for a game others created), Typing Games, Code.org , Brain Games or 

Fun4theBrain (multiplication or division) .  These are the only websites students will be allowed to use! 

Week of April 24- April 28, 2023

Today, we are going to do a few things.  First, if you didn't take the Typingtest.com that we did last week, this must be done first.

Then, I sent everyone a link to a Form that needs to be filled out and submitted.  You need to sign into your gmail accounts on the desktop and you will find it in your email.  This is a short survey on ChromeBook shortcuts that we did at the beginning of the year.

Finally, students will be introduced to the Math Toolbar for the NJSLA Test coming up in May.  The website that the tutorial can be found at is https://nj.testnav.com/client/index.html# .  Students will learn how to use the navigational tool bar, along with the equation tools that are integral within the test.  NJSLA Math testing will be the week of 5/15-5/19/2023.

Week of April 3- April 21, 2023

Students will be introduced to our newest technology, graciously provided to us by the WEF, the Sphero Bolt and the iPad App. We will make a track/maze using pool noodles and then students will figure out as a team how to program their Sphero without leaving the boundaries of their maze.  Speed, Direction and Color will be introduced in the area called Drive.   We will work with 4 people at a time.

While you are waiting your turn,  please go to Typing Test
Typing Test - Take the test 4 times and tell a teacher your best score.  After your score is recorded, you can go to Typing Games on that same website.

Week of March 27-March 31, 2023
This week will be a review week.  You can go to any of the following websites and choose an educational game.  Some choices include:

Scratch - Code your own game, do not search for a game others created.
Math Playground
Brain Games
Fun4theBrain (multiplication or division) 

Students are NOT allowed to go to YouTube, iMovie or PhotoBooth!

Next week students will be introduced to our newest technology, the Sphero Bolt and the Sphero EDU app.

Week of March 20-March 24, 2023

Today, you will be introduced to a new website called Animated Drawings.  After today's lesson students should be able to:

1.  Upload a picture to their computer using Photo Booth and find it on their Desktop.
2.  Crop and/or edit their drawn pictures after they're uploaded using Animated Drawings.
3. Fill in the spots that need to be visible in the animation.
4. Create an animated drawing.

Have fun- I think you will really enjoy this activity!

Week of March 13-March 17, 2023

Today, we will be reviewing the NJSLA tools for taking the English/Language Arts test online.  It's very important that you are familiar with the navigation of the the test and are aware of all of the features before the actual testing dates in May.   We will review the Math tools at another time.

Today, please click on the NJSLA Tutorial for Online Testing.   We are going to work together and go through each feature that you will encounter on the test.

If we finish early, you may celebrate St. Patrick's Day by playing DigiPuzzle's St. Patrick's Day .

Week of March 6-March 10, 2023
Connecting with what you are doing in your classrooms, today you will be introduced to some new games dealing with fractions!
Pizza Pandas
Bingo Fractions
Picture Puzzle Fractions
Find the Bus Stop
Sheppard Software Fraction Games

Week of February 27- March 3, 2023

Anybody that has not finished their iMovie projects must finish today, as this will be the last week we are working on them. When finished, your project must be shared with me.

Then, students must go to www.typingtest.com, change test to EASY and I or your homeroom teacher will record your score once you feel it's the best you can do. 

Then you may stay on that website or go to  Typing Game Zone.   In honor of Read Across America Week, you may also go to Room Recess and play only the Reading, Language or Typing Games.

Week of February 20- February 24, 2023

Have fun and enjoy the February Break!  See you next week!

Week of February 13-February 17, 2023

Last week we learned how to use iMovie to change your backgrounds and make your set appear more realistic.   You searched backgrounds that you thought would work well with your creations and then saved the picture to your desktop.  After, you "imported media" found in iMovie.  You also imported the photo you selected of your PlayDoh object. 

Today we will try to complete the project by adding the Green Screen effects in iMovie, using the text tool for a Title and inserting an audio clip.   This should be a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing all of the videos when they have been completed and exported to me!

Week of January 30-February 10, 2023

 Last week students worked in teams of two (2) to create a claymation set (made out of PlayDoh).  After you created your objects, we took a picture and I uploaded it to a shared folder in your Google Drive.

This week we will learn how to use iMovie to change your backgrounds and make your set appear more realistic.   Search backgrounds that you think will work well with your creations and then save the picture to your desktop.  After, you will "import media" found in iMovie.  You will also import the photo you selected of your PlayDoh object. 

Watch closely and I will show you how to replace the green screen with your chosen background.  This should be a lot of fun!

Week of January 16-27, 2023

Today, half of the students are going to work in teams of 2 to create a claymation object (made out of PlayDoh).  Here are some examples of what you can make:  you can create a bunch of different types of fish and then choose an ocean or aquarium background, you can create the solar system and then put your planets in Space, you can produce a football or sports game and put your characters in an arena.  These are just suggestions and the choice is all yours!! 

Once completed, you will take a picture of your set in front of a "Green Screen".  We will upload the photos to a common drive folder. 

Next week, the other half of the students in the 3rd grade will do the above.  Have fun and I look forward to teaching you all about iMovie in the coming weeks!

Week of January 9-13, 2023

Last week students were introduced to the Comic Strip creator, Pixton.  Go to either your Google Classroom page or to the link I sent you in your email to get back to Pixton.
This week students will continue and complete their Comic Strip about a Dream, Goal or Resolution they have for the New Year.   Students have been instructed to create a 4-panel (but no longer than 9 panel) comic.  When your comic strip is finished make sure to go back and check for capitalization, punctuation and spelling.   Then show it to one of your teachers before we can print. 

When done, you should go into Typing Pal for some keyboarding practice.

Week of January 2-6, 2023

Happy New Year to Everyone!  I hope you had a safe and wonderful Holiday Break.
This week, students will be introduced to the Comic Strip creator, Pixton.  Click on the following class links to take you to our class Pixton page.  If not, sign in with your Google credentials.

3D 

3F
3S
First, students will create their own Avatar culminating in a Class Photo.  Then, students will be instructed to create a 4-panel, but NO longer than 9 panel Comic Strip about a Dream, Goal or Resolution they have for the New Year.  Watch your spelling and punctuation, but most importantly, have fun! This project will finish next week.  

Week of December 19-23, 2022

This week as my Holiday Gift to you, students will  have choice of the following websites: Scratch, Code.org , Pixton (see email for link), Math Playground, Brain Games, Fun4theBrain (multiplication or division) , Coding Activities, Santa Tracker, etc.

Wishing you and your families a safe and happy holiday season!!  I'll see you in the New Year!

Week of December12-16 2022

Last week we celebrated the Hour of Code and this week we will be finishing up our Coding Unit using Scratch to create a Pop a _______________ game.  

Students will first sign into their Scratch accounts and complete their project.  Once done, students can try out the 4th and 5th grade projects that include Using a Pen or Creating a Pong Game. 

If you rather play a coding puzzle after you finished your project, you can go to  Code.org and play Programming with Angry Birds or Minecraft- Voyage Aquatic or Coding Lessons. Finally, you can also go to the Hour of Code Activities, which gives you many different "coding" choices.

I hope you enjoyed this Coding Unit and have learned a lot about Computer Science and programming!

Week of December 5-9, 2022

Welcome to the 2022 Hour of Code!   The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to take the mystery out of "code" and to show that anybody can learn the basics of computer science.  Today we celebrate this special week!

You can continue on your "Pop A _____________" game using Scratch, work on building a different game that includes using the graphic Pen tool, making a Pong game, or you can go on a coding game called Minecraft- Voyage Aquatic found in Code.org 

Many Other Hour of Code Activities

I hope you enjoy these Computer Programming activities this week as we celebrate the International Hour of Code!

Week of November 28-December 2, 2022

Students have been working on a unit of Coding, getting ready for the International Hour of Code, which will be celebrated December 5-9, 2022!   

After, students sign on to their Scratch accounts with their new passwords, we will begin working on a 3rd Grade project called Pop the _______________ .  I will first demonstrate as a group the different blocks needed for this game.  These include:  Events, Variable, Control, Looks and Operators. Then students will have the choice of copying the coding sheet I give them or trying to work out the code on their own.  Everyone will have a choice of picking their individual Sprite and their Background for the game. 

We will continue working on this project next week during the Hour of Code. If they finish this project early, they can try the 4th grade (Using a Pen Scratch Project) or the 5th grade (Creating a Pong Game).

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the amazing games that are created using Scratch!

Week of November 21-25, 2022

Last week we started a Unit on Coding, getting ready for the International Hour of Code, which will be celebrated December 5-9, 2022!   We discussed the following vocabulary words after seeing a BrainPop Jr. video on Computer Programing:

Algorithm- In coding, an algorithm is a sequence of instructions telling the computer what to do.

Computer Programmer- a person who gives instructions to a computer.

Bug- A mistake found in a computer program.

Debug- To fix a mistake found in a computer program.

Sequence- A specific order of instructions for a computer to follow.

After, students signed on to their Scratch accounts which they had experience with last year.  The first thing we did last week was change passwords, which they will do today if they haven't already done so.

Today, students will have the choice of:

Scratch-  Experiment with the basic blocks found in Motion, Looks, Events and Control. 
Minecraft- https://studio.code.org/s/aquatic   

Week of November 14-18, 2022

This week we are going to start a Unit on Coding, getting ready for the International Hour of Code, which will be celebrated December 5-9, 2022! 

First we will watch a Brain Pop Jr. video on Computer Programming. Then we will do the easy quiz and Pop-A-Joke. 

We will discuss the following vocabulary words:

Algorithm- In coding, an algorithm is a sequence of instructions telling the computer what to do.

Computer Programmer- a person who gives instructions to a computer.

Bug- A mistake found in a computer program.

Debug- To fix a mistake found in a computer program.

Sequence- A specific order of instructions for a computer to follow.

After, students will sign on to their Scratch accounts which they had experience with last year.  The first thing we will do is change our passwords.

Then, students will be re-introduced to the basic blocks in Scratch that we used last year, including Motion, Looks, Events and Control.  Finally, students will have an opportunity to work with Scratch and try out some of the tutorials on their own. Have fun!

Week of November 7- 11, 2022

This week you will either finish your Cyberbullying Slide Presentation (see below for instructions) or you can play any of the following websites INDEPENDENTLY:

Typing Pal
Typing Games Zone.
Math Playground
Digipuzzle
Room Recess (Typing Games for Kids)

Week of October 17-November 11, 2022

Today we are going to continue talking about Digital Safety and what is meant by "Cyber Bullying?    Then students will open up their Slide Presentation using Google Slides. We will review skills like adding new slides, changing the theme/background, text size, spell check, insert images and introduce new features like "transitions" and "animations". 

Slide shows should include at least 5 slides and each slide should have a headline, at least 2 sentences about the headline and a picture.  You must also include at least one transition and animation in your final presentation. 

Some questions you can answer in your slide show can be:
1. What is Cyberbullying 
2. What is Empathy? 
3.  What is meant by being an Upstander and a Bystander? 
4. What do you do if you are being Cyberbullied?
5. What is meant by STOP?

Once your slide presentation has been completed you can go to either Typing Pal or Typing Games Zone.

Week of October 10-14, 2022

Today we are going to begin talking about Digital Safety and what is meant by "Cyber Bullying?  Do you realize that your words have power!  What should you do when someone uses mean or hurtful language on the Internet?  After watching and discussing a slide presentation, we will do an activity that helps us to understand "the power of our words". 
After our discussion, you will go to the Desktop and create your own word cloud using at least 10 words that describe what you have learned about Cyberbullying.  

Week of October 3-7, 2022

This week we are celebrating the "Week of Respect" at Coolidge School.  In the STEAM Lab we will continue working on our Acrostic Poems keeping this topic in mind.

Last week we began writing our poems.  We reviewed the tool bar and its functions.  Remember: All poems must have a full sentence or a phrase after the first letter of the line.  Your poem will celebrate the "Week of Respect" by using words like Respect, Kindness, Caring, Friends, etc.

Today, we will learn how to change the font, text size, color, alignment on page and insert a photo/image after your poem is complete.  Finally, once the project is finished, you will share the poem with me and your homeroom teacher.

Week of September 26-30, 2022

Welcome back to the STEAM Lab! -This week we will review some really cool Google ChromeBook Shortcuts!

1.  Copy- Ctrl C
2.  Paste- Ctrl V
3.  Select All- Ctrl A
4.  Bold- Highlight, Ctrl B
5.  Italicize- Highlight, Ctrl I
6.  Zoom In- Ctrl +
7.  Zoom Out- Ctrl -
8.  Reset to 100%- Ctrl 0
9.  Undo- Ctrl Z
10. Create a New Tab- Ctrl T

After review we will begin our next project, creating an Acrostic Poem, using Google Docs.

This project will review the tool bar and its functions as we go.  All poems must have a full sentence for the first letter of the line.  Your poem will celebrate the "Week of Respect".   You can use words like Respect, Kindness, Caring, Friends, Etc.

Next week, we will learn how to change the font, text size, color, alignment on page and insert a photo/image after the poem is complete.  Finally, once the project is done (it will probably take 2 weeks), you will share the poem with me and your homeroom teacher.

Week of September 19-23, 2022

Welcome back to the STEAM Lab! -This week we are going to learn some really cool Google ChromeBook Shortcuts!

1. First you will take a Pre-Assessment that you will find in your gmail.  This is called a Google Form.

2. Then we are going to try out some of these Shortcuts that I bet you didn't know existed!

3. You will learn the Shortcuts to Copy, Paste, Select All, Bold, Italicize, Create a New Tab, Zoom in, out and reset and finally to Undo something if you make a mistake.

4. If time allows, sign into Typing Pal.

Week of September 12-16, 2022

Welcome to the STEAM Lab! -Introduction to the website found at... https://sites.google.com/wyckoffschools.org/welcometothe3rdgradesteamlab/home  to see objectives for the day

1. Bring ChromeBook to STEAM Lab

2. Go to assigned Computer Seats

3. Sign into AimsWeb (via Test Nav) on ChromeBooks

4. Manage Bookmarks (Add and Delete needed or unnecessary Bookmarks). Organize bookmarks on Bookmark Bar.

5. If time allows, sign into Typing Pal.

KeyBoarding Games

Typing Games Zone- Over 25 games to play

Week of September 5-9, 2022

Welcome to your first week in the STEAM Lab! Today, we will do a number of things:

1. Get acquainted and go over expectations in the STEAM Lab.

2. Be assigned computer seats.

3. Review how to log in to your Username and Password and log out on the Desktop.
4. Bookmark this website on your ChromeBook in your classroom.
5. If time allows, sign into Typing Pal.