Grades 6 - 8This week, we took our 5 minute typing test. Overall, classes did fairly well. They are beginning understand the importance of regular keyboard practice and that it is not the same as texting! Each student was tasked with printing out a certificate of their achievement. I am keeping them as a benchmark so when they take another test in May, they can see their progress. I will be giving out prizes to the most improved typist in each class as well as a prize for each grade for the highest achiever in both speed and accuracy. Next week, we will be reviewing our unit on Scams and Schemes on the Internet and will complete our Phishing Activity before moving on to our next topic: Notetaking and Bibliographies. Grades 3 - 5We finished up our Book Reviews this week as well as viewing the GCCS Library Website. Click here to see what our Book Review Form looks like: Book Review Form. Each student needed to explore a different tile in Symbaloo before having some free time to play games. Also, we viewed a book trailer on SlimeKids and explained that a book trailer is like a book review, only visual. The idea is to excite you about the book. In coming weeks, we will be discussing book trailers in more detail and will be begin learning how to make our own. Grades K - 2Classes learned about the Caldecott Medal and we watched a video that explored 75 years of the medal. We discussed that it is an award given to an outstanding picture book and we had the opportunity to view some Caldecott Medal Winners in our library and classes were read the 2015 Caldecott Medal Winner, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. The students were excited to see many books that they already knew on the video. You can view the video here with your child: Last week, I posted an optional survey about reading with your child. I am still collecting data to share, but so far, the overwhelming majority of respondents read with their child 21-30 minutes each day. This week, I have included an article about that topic: Too Many Young Readers Still Aren't Making the Grade.
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It's a go! Grades 3 - 8 have their own personal earbuds to use while working on our 27 library computers. Students will not need to share - they have their own personal bag with their name on it stored in a Teacher's Box kept in the library. They will not be taking them home. They stay in-house until they graduate from 8th grade. Our younger students in grades K-2 are awaiting over the ear headphones which should be arriving next week. They will have hygienic covers (also stored in bags with student names affixed) to keep everything clean and tidy. Grades 6 - 8We are about 3/4 of the way done with our Beginner Computer Keyboard Lessons and students will be taking their first test next week. Typing Objective: By the end of the year, students will be able to type at least 30 wpm, with 90% or better accuracy, using the correct fingers on the home row keys and without looking at the keyboard. Students have also been using Schoology, a LMS (learning management system) to work on various projects. We are wrapping up our second topic - Scams and Schemes on the Internet. Students are learning about phishing, identify theft, scams to avoid, etc.. They will be working on a short project to help them identify phony emails and/or phishing schemes. They have taken an assessment, read several articles and interacted with one another on a discussion board. Grades 3 - 5We have been focused on learning how to use our earbuds properly (adjusting the volume, picking out our colors...lol) including how to store them so they are kept safe and in working order. This week, we are creating online Book Review forms. Students will be recommending books to other students using a Google Form that I created. They are being assessed on punctuation, grammar and content. They cannot simply state that a book '"was awesome". We are also practicing closing windows on our computer and putting our chairs back to tables after using them. Students are encouraged to use Google, DestinyQuest, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Scholastic to find out how many pages are in their books, correct spelling of authors, titles, etc...For some, this meant learning how to open a new tab on the internet and copying and pasting information. Grades K - 2This week, we have been learning about how to use the mouse. Clicking, Double-clicking and Dragging have been introduced, explored and practiced with hands-on games and activities. We also began the week with some games designed to help us learn about computer parts so we know what these words mean: CPU/tower/system unit, mouse, keyboard, CDRom, USB port, printer, speakers, and microphone. Quiz your children on these terms so they can surprise you with what they know!
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AuthorMrs. Unger is the School Librarian at GCCS,. Teacher of Library Information and Digital Literacy Skills, Supreme Book Recommender, Major Book Nerd and Tech Lover. Archives
November 2016
CategoriesA person's a person, no matter how small - Dr. Seuss |