Spring Newsletter

If you didn't make it in for conferences, here is my Spring Newsletter:

Welcome!
Thanks for stopping by the Charlevoix Elementary School computer lab. Many grades have just finished up some exciting projects and there are more fun things planned for the rest of the year. Read below to find out more.

Kindergarten
Students continue to learn more and more of the drawing and painting program Kid Pix. You should continue to see some great artwork coming home. Students will also be using the reading program Bailey’s Book House to practice their language arts skills.

First Grade
If you have access to the Internet at home, check out the Goodnight Moon slide shows on the Student Projects page at http://missfrankcomputers.blogspot.com/search/label/Projects. The first graders did a great job. Upcoming activities include drawing a computer, playing a math game, and integrating text and graphics in Microsoft Word.

Second Grade
The students have now learned how to type each letter from the home row position. They will continue to practice touch typing using the program Type to Learn, Jr. After spring break, second grade students are going to write, type, proofread, and format a technology-themed paragraph.

Third Grade
Students just got to digitally manipulate their school picture. You can see some examples on the bulletin board in the lab. After break students will be writing paragraphs that will be posted online. People from anywhere in the world will be able to read and comment on the paragraphs. There will be a link on the Student Projects webpage to check them out.

Fourth Grade
Whew! After six weeks of work, we just finished the fourth grade web pages. They turned out great! Each student wrote and illustrated a page telling about a state. You can check them out on the Student Projects webpage, also. Upcoming projects include creating a game board and practicing math with the Internet.

Winter Newsletter

If you didn't make it in for conferences, here is my Winter Newsletter:

Welcome!
Students are currently working on their December projects. First graders are making a special picture in the program Kid Pix. Third grade students are also using Kid Pix but their pictures will have a surprise twist. Second graders are writing a letter and fourth graders are making a year end newsletter. Both of these grades are using Microsoft Word for their projects.

Kindergarten
This winter, students will continue to explore the drawing program Kid Pix. Be on the lookout for printouts of their creations. The kindergarten curriculum will be reinforced through math and alphabet programs, too.

First Grade
Students will continue practicing using the keyboard and even learn how to type certain letters with their hands on the home row. Many of our upcoming lesson plans will revolve around literature. Miss Frank will read a story and the class will do a computer activity related to it.

Second Grade
A big part of Second grade is practicing keyboarding. Each week the students type for ten minutes on the web site Dance Mat Typing: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ It is a free site and if you have Internet, students can practice at home, too. Second grade students will also be participating in literature based activities. In addition, keep an eye out for a slide show telling about Charlevoix landmarks.

Third Grade
Soon after the New Year, third graders will be making a slide show about the planets. We will also practice reading and math skills with various Internet web sites. These sites and others can be accessed at www.rayder.net/ces/kidlink.htm.

Fourth Grade
With the start of the New Year, fourth grade students will begin researching and planning their web pages. You can check out pages from past years at http://missfrankcomputers.blogspot.com/search/label/Projects . Keep an eye out for this year’s pages near the end of February.

New Year, Newsletter

For those parents who couldn't make it to open house, here is a copy of my newsletter:

Computer Newsletter-Fall 2010

Miss Dana Frank

Welcome!
I am your child’s computer teacher. This is my thirteenth year teaching computers at Charlevoix Elementary. I have a bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a master’s degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. I grew up in Petoskey and graduated from Petoskey High School. Skiing is my favorite sport and I have been a ski instructor at Nub's Nob for 23 winters. This is what we will be doing this fall in computers:

Kindergarten
One day each week kindergarteners will come to the computer lab. We will start the year getting used to computers, the lab, and using the mouse. Soon students will be learning to open and close things on the computer and how to log in and out of the network. Each lesson will center on a letter of the alphabet and our computer “Word of the Week.” Later in the fall we will begin drawing.

First Grade
This is an important year in the computer lab. Students will start typing on the keyboard! This fall we will practice using both hands when typing, one on each side of the keyboard. Of course, we are still going to be using the paint program from last year, Kid Pix, and reinforcing the classroom curriculum with educational software.

Second Grade
In second grade computers we will be expanding our use of applications that were introduced last year, including Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. Students will also be introduced to the Internet through the use of our school web page. We will be reinforcing their classroom curriculum with applications, games, and the Internet.

Third Grade
At the beginning of third grade the emphasis is on the Internet and how to use it safely. Students will learn how to navigate with hyperlinks, search engines, and the address bar. Later in the fall, we will gather Michigan facts from the Internet and put them together in a slide show.

Fourth Grade
Fourth grade students will complete a major project later in the year: a web page of their own. Much of what we do at the beginning of the year will be practice for this project. This will include word processing, research, and creating images. This fall students will also be introduced to spreadsheets and email.