Computer Literacy Classes A&B
Computer Literacy classes are made up of students in the 6th grade. Our main focus in these classes is not only a continual emphasis on correct keyboarding, but also an introduction to programs on the computer such as Microsoft Word. Students do not delve into more applications (i.e. Excel, Powerpoint) until they are in the actual Computer Applications class, however there are activities during class that are done to slowly introduce these concepts.
Usually during a typical class I will have them all warm up with keyboarding on the bbc typing website. It's great for just practicing your homerow keys--I even practice with them sometimes. I want them to be able to type efficiently, therefore practicing and knowing where your homerow keys are, as well as the other keys, will help them later on in high school and beyond when they are having to type endless amounts of papers.
Another activity that they do during class is typing tests. It may seem tedious, but the repetitive testing and emphasis on proper typing will benefit them later on. I usually have them take two or three tests, two minutes each and I record their best score out of the two or three tests.
An activity that I have been trying to incorporate into their curriculum comes from a website called Growing with Technology. This website slowly introduces the programs of the computer (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) at an age appropriate level. This site is mainly for Kinder thru 5th grade, however I have been taking the 5th grade activities and making them harder for the 6th graders. An example of one of the activities we did was an internet scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was a trip across the US with a worksheet full of questions about different cities along the way. The "trip" went from Pennsylvania to San Fransisco and ending with an exploration of Google Maps to show us the way back from San Fransisco to Washington D.C. (which is 2,821.26 miles by the way!). This internet activity allowed the students to begin to fine tune their research skills. The main problem we came across was actually reading to find the answer. Many students were just expecting to get to the website and that the answer would just pop up--not the case!! They had to read in order to find it. I stressed to them that as they got older, they would be having to read much more than a few paragraphs in order to find answers to questions or to write a research paper. I believe it was important for them to have fun, but also to learn this valuable lesson.
This week we...
March 9-13
HAVE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE SPRING BREAK!!!!
March 2-6
*Practiced our keyboarding through the bbc website and also on Microsoft Word where they typed about 3-4 paragraphs about what their idea of a fun weekend is.
*We also did an internet scavenger hunt. March is Women's history month so we went on to the website listed below and learned about different influential women throughout history. They filled in a worksheet that I handed out. We had alot of fun and also learned alot!!
Women Who Left Their "Stamps" on History
February 23-27
*Practiced keyboarding through the bbc typing website
*Took two typing tests (three minutes each) and the best score out of the three was taken for a grade.
*Had an internet scavenger hunt! The students were given a worksheet and a corresponding website. The worksheet had a list of 17 US Presidents and 17 events that happened throughout history. The students were to go to the website and look up each president listed and then match the event to the president. I then had them pick a president from the worksheet list and write more information about them on the back of the worksheet. The information included birth date, death date, political party, and a list of the other governmental positions the president had besides being president. It was a lot of fun and very educational.
February 16-20
*Practiced keyboarding through the bbc typing website
*Took three typing tests (two minutes each); the best score out of the three was taken for a grade.
*Learned about databases (what they are, how to use them, how to read them, etc.) through the Growing with Technology website.