Hello All,
We've had a very busy April month. All of K-4 have started new projects. Here's a recap:
Kindergartners are continuing with their TTL4 practice. Many have downloaded this wonderful program at home and are continuing their typing practice. If you haven't yet, I strongly encourage you to download TTL4. The instructions are on your child's teacher's website under the document section. In addition to typing, they were introduced to the MS Paint program. They learned to zoom in on a page and create wonderful abstract art. I loved seeing the great designs created. They are pretty much a pro on the program as they used most of the tools such as paint bucket, shapes, text, paint brush strokes and the paint dropper.
First Graders have gotten their introduction to MS Word. They each created a document that included adding background colors, borders, wordart, clip art, resizing, use of control functions (delete, copy, paste and save) and using page layouts. They especially loved the clipart and searching for their favorite items. Resizing was a challenge but in the end, they all became pros at it!
Second Graders were introduced to video animation. We went on a wonderful site called domo animate and they created up to 30 second videos. They had a blast using the functions to create several scenes. They added background, chose characters with various actions (you must ask them about some of these actions), props, music and speech bubbles to name a few. In order to save work, this web 2.0 tools needs user logins. I did not create individual logins but advised the kids that if they wanted to continue at home and save their videos, they needed parent permission to set up an account and to continue this wonderful program at home. Please ask them to show you the site.
Third Graders were introduced to a popular simulation called SimSafari! Here they are safari owners and they must run a successful safari to survive. They have three zones which must run successfully, the park, the camp and the village. This simulation uses all their knowledge on math and the sciences. The goal is to obtain 5 stars and many are well on their way. Ask them about it!
Fourth Graders became entrepreneurs! They were engaged in a simulation where they were owners of a hot dog stand. They initially had a monetary goal that they had to meet. In doing so, they needed to successfully run their stands at various events. This required math and logic skills as well as good common sense. All students started out at the beginner level but soon most students got up to the advanced levels.
Ask your students about the addicting music that comes along with this simulation!
As always, please feel free to contact me if you every have questions
Regards,
Rasha Sachdeva
