WELCOME BACK FALCONS

Computer Lab time will start the week of Sept. 6!  Get ready for FUN!

December 2009

Kindergarten
In kindergarten we are working in KidPix and making some LOVELY artwork! We decorated trees with our buddies, and played Chimney Challenge.

1st Grade
Clifford letter match - http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/confusable/index.htm

Clifford sound match - http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/index.htm

Nina the naming newt - http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/nina/index.htm

We decorated our own Christmas tree at - http://www.abcya.com/christmas_tree.htm

2nd Grade
Here is the Beginning Keyboarding Website we will be using: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml

We worked on adjectives and nouns by clicking on Wilbur and Fern from Charlotte's Web at - http://www.scholastic.com/charlottesweb/perfectword.htm

We worked on nouns and verbs by "cleaning up our grammar" at - http://www.missmaggie.org/scholastic/cleanup_eng_launcher.html

3rd Grade
Multiplication practice at: http://www.brainormous.com/online/loader_multiflyer.html

X-Maz Patchworkz - http://www.primarygames.com/puzzles/jigsaw/patchworkzxmas/start.htm

Chimney Challenge - http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/christmas/games/chimneychallenge/start.htm

4th Grade
We are working on a KidPix slideshow about winter. We will finish them up after Christmas.

5th Grade
We have been using an online program called: Wordle. Talk to a 5th grader and ask them about it. Wordle is really fun! www.wordle.net

6th Grade
We are working in KidPix to make a talking storybook for our kindergarten buddies. We also did an Internet Detective assignment.

November in the Computer Lab

This has been a SUPER month so far in the computer lab. We had speakers installed into the lab, so now I can use a microphone to talk. It has made a HUGE difference in the lab. Students are able to hear and pay attention a lot better. It was a GREAT improvement.

This month we are working with KidPix. The 6th graders are making slideshow story books for their kindergarten buddies. They will be showing them to their buddies later this month. The rest of the grades are doing assignments to become more proficient in working with the program KidPix. Everyone is LOVING KidPix. It is such a fun program.

The 5th graders are learning to read and use proofreader marks when editing a document. They are doing a great job at finding the misstakes in a document and fixing the errors. They will be working in KidPix too.

Grades 4-6 are all using the Type To Learn keyboarding software. I think they are enjoying it and really moving on learning all the keys of the keyboard. I will be printing out reports for them soon, so they can see how they are doing.

COMPUTER LAB IN OCTOBER

We are beginning some Geography lessons in the computer lab this month. We are working with Google Earth and learning about maps and continents. The lower grades will begin working in another one of our new programs called, "KIPPIX."

We will be doing some Halloween Math, and carving pumpkins. Lots of learning for October.

Our keyboarding program Type To Learn isn't working in the lab right now, but we hope to have it working later this month. Sorry about the delay. Keep working on your keyboarding skills.

What Are We Learning In the Computer Lab?

We are doing some great learning in the computer lab at Canyon Rim Academy. Here's what we have done so far:

Kindergarten is being introduced to www.starfall.com
1st grade is working on an assigment in www.starfall.com
2nd grade is working on an assignment in www.abcya.com
3rd grade is being introduced to Microsoft Word
4th grade is learning basic Microsoft Word commands
5th and 6th grades are creating iconic stories in Microsoft word, learning about proofreading marks, and they will be working on making a parent/teacher conference flyer as well.

Lots of fun and learning is going on! We will also be carving up some pumpkins online and play some fun Halloween games.

New Keyboarding Program!

Canyon Rim Academy has purchased a keyboarding program for the computer lab called Type 2 Learn. Students in grades 3-6 will be starting this program in October to learn and improve their keyboarding skills. Students will do a pre-test to see where they are and then the program will keep track of their progress throughout the school year! This is a fun program and will help to improve the students' keyboarding skills.

What's Your Speed?

One of the objectives in the computer/technology area is for each Canyon Rim Academy student in grades 3-6 to demonstrate a required speed and accuracy on the keyboard. Below is where each student would need to be by the end of the school year to accomplish this objective with a 4 in proficiency.

3rd grade - 15 wpm with 3 or fewer errors on a 30-second timed writing.

4th grade - 20 wpm with 3 or fewer errors on a 30-second timed writing.

5th grade - 25 wpm with 2 or fewer errors on a 1-minute timed writing.

6th grade - 27 wpm with 2 or fewer errors on a 2- or 3-minute timed writing.

Working on keyboarding a little every day is the key to becoming better at keyboarding. Because we only have computer time once every two weeks, students definitely will want to work on their keyboarding skills at home.