Kindergarten - All About Me Webs

Over the past few weeks kindergarten students have been exploring with Kidspiration.  This week they completed All About Me Webs to share with you at home.  To guide them we introduced a checklist to monitor their progress towards completion.  The criteria for printing was to include the following:

1. Your Name
2. One of your Favorite Foods
3. One of your Favorite Activities
4. One of your Favorite Animals
5. A Least Five Items
6. A Least Five Labels
7. Arrows Connecting your Web

Check out some great examples of work that was completed.  It was so wonderful to watch our students share and learn about eachother!  

In April & May,  students throughout the grade levels have been using Kidpix to publish various projects linked to learning across the content areas.

 Second grade has worked to publish their understanding of a DIVISION number model and create a number story and picture to accompany it.

First Grade has been learning about typing and how to use their left and right pointer fingers to type on the left and right and side of the keyboard. They have been using several typing links (see the list to the right) to help familiarize themselves with the letter placement on the keyboard. Then they publish their learning, while practicing typing, using the tools that Kidpix has to offer. This was also a great review for saving to their classroom folder. 

 Fourth Grade, in preparation for MCAS, utilized a number of online dictionaries and glossaries to become familiar with a math vocabulary word and concept. Then, using Kidpix, they created a "kid-friendly" definition for their word. We linked the definitions together by class in SLIDESHOW mode, and then created a class math vocabulary quiz to practice all of the words.

Practicing Sight Words in Grades 1, 2, and 3

Learning Sight Words is extremely important! Children who can rapidly and automatically read and spell a multitude of sight words are more fluent readers and writers. Sight words are the most common words that appear in our reading and writing daily such as the words: friend, who, is, first. There are many different lists to practice sight words and many different ways to practice them but the most important thing is to practice them. Most of these words cannot be sounded out as they do not following any common spelling patterns or rules. Over the past few weeks in computer, we have been working on sight words using different tools. We have watched videos on sight words. Click this link: Have Fun Teaching to see a few quick sight word videos and songs. Younger kids love to sing along to them.
We have also been visiting the site: AbcYa.com and playing Sight Word Bingo. This game practices rapidly recognizing sight words by both their sound and by sight. There is also a great Dolch Sight Word Spelling Game that helps kids practice spelling sight words.

In conjunction with learning Sight Words, we are also working on developing an increased awareness of where the keys are located on the keyboard with 1st and 2nd graders using simple typing games and a keyboard challenge. To complete the Keyboard Challenge, you must arrange all the keys back onto the keyboard in their correct order.

4th Grade Math Resources

To begin a unit on perimeter and area, some fourth grade classes are using this great site on perimeter and area to explore the ways area and perimeter are calculated. By using the computer lab to interact with shapes and to calculate area and perimeter before they do the lessons in class, we hope the preteaching of these concepts will carryover into their understanding throughout this math unit. Here is an example:

Third Grade Learns about Volcanoes and Creating Tables

In conjunction with a classroom story about volcanoes, third graders investigated and collected information about volcanoes around the world.First they explored by creating an eruption using this site: Volcano Explorer. Then they learned how to create a table using Microsoft Word to organize the information they found. Some computer skills they practiced:

• selecting font/size
• copy and paste text and images between two documents
• proofreading and editing their writing using spellcheck
• Drawing a table and understanding terms related to tables (row, column, labels)

Students were encouraged to create an addition or subtraction math word problem using the information they collected in their volcano table. Follow this link to a great site that lists information about volcanoes around the world: Volcano list

Lifecycles and Kidpix in Second Grade

Second graders have been studying lifecycles as part of a unit in science. In the computer lab, they are using the program Kidpix to share their learning about a particular animal's lifecycle and build upon their learning of lifecycles in the classroom. They are sharing their learning in words, pictures, and recording a summary of their learning with their voice. Here are some examples:

Follow this linkto a great website to support learning about lifecycles: Sheppard Software's Lifecycles

Kidspiration in First Grade

Over the past couple weeks we have been exploring Kidspiration in First Grade. Kidspiration provides a cross-curricular visual workspace for K-5 learners. With Kidspiration, students can use graphic organizers to express thoughts and explore ideas and relationships. They create graphic organizers including webs, concept maps and Venn diagrams to clarify thoughts, organize information, apply new knowledge and build critical thinking skills.


In first grade, students used their animal projects to create animal concept maps. Prior to creating these maps they were introduced to the program through an animal sorting activity.

After this activity they felt more confident with the program and were able to focus their attention to the task of building a concept map. Students were provided an outline to complete in the classroom and integrated their knowledge into their concept map upon returning the following week. Here is an example of a concept map created in first grade.

We look forward to using this program in the future to extend learning in the classroom. For more information about Kidspiration you can go to http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration.

Turning on and Shutting Down

This week in kindergarten and first grade students reviewed some of the basic lab skills. Each child had the opportunity to shut down and turn on their computer. We discussed how each computer is different and that it depends on that particular system. In the computer lab, we use Macintosh computers so students learned to select the apple at the top left hand side and select "shut down" and shut down again when prompted if they were sure. To turn on our lab computers we simple press the power button on the back of the monitor on the right hand side.

If you use a computer system with you child at home, take the time to teach them how to turn it on and shut it down. You can also show them other tools on the desktop such as how to change the background image, manipulate the screensaver, or make folders on the desktop. Children love experiences to learn and grow with technology in their home. Encourage and foster their interests!

First Grade Learns about Y as a Vowel

This week all first graders completed a series of activities related to teach the phonics skill of the letter Y as a vowel, creating a long i or long e sound at the end of a word. To practice both phonics and computer skills students created a word puzzles using these type of words. The last two words they choose based on what they had learned. See the following pictures below:


Also click the links under First Grade for more fun practice with this phonics skill : )

Using SkillsTutor to Practice Math Fact Fluency

This week many classes used the program Skillstutor to work on becoming more proficient with math facts. SkillsTutor is a program that is web-based, therefore you and your child can access it at home in order to practice specific skills in many academic areas. Check with your child's teacher for login information for your child.



SkillsTutor:

• Tests students' skills, providing both pretests and posttests to make initial assessments and to gauge student progress
• Prescribes activities based on students' pretest results
• Monitors student scores and completion of activites
• Produces reports for individual students and classes
• Provides online and print documentation, including printable activity sheets which extend the computer lessons to classroom or homework activities
  

Fourth Grade Gets Ready for the Science Fair

Click here to view the 2010 Falmouth Science Fair


This week all fourth grade classes will begin investigating websites to find ideas for experiments that they would like to conduct in preparation for the Fourth Grade Science Fair here at Mullen-Hall as well as the Falmouth District Science Fair. We will be teaching students these important things to remember about science projects:

1. Is the project interesting enough to work on for the next couple of months?

2. Are there at least three sources of written information on the subject?

3. Is the experiment safe to perform?

4. Are all of the materials needed for the experiment readily available or can they be obtained to the complete the experiment?

5. Is there enough time to complete the project by the due date?

Using these questions as a guideline can help you and your child to choose an appropriate project.

Remember!
Volcanoes can be fun, but
there are other options for science projects
Anne Helmenstine