Computer Lab News
2/26/16
A few announcements this week:
1) I mentioned that I would not be sending emails out anymore with these newsletters, but it is the easiest way for me to get you this information, so I just wanted to let you know that you can be expecting these newsletters each week again. :)
2) This summer, I will be teaching an elementary coding camp! We're going to have a lot of fun using tiny little robots called Ozobots in both sessions, we will use critical thinking to work together and solve problems, we will create programs using a website called Scratch and an app called Scratch Jr, and more! The first session (June 13th-16th) is for "beginning" coding. The suggested grades for this session are rising 1st-3rd graders. The second session (June 20th-23rd) is for "intermediate/advanced" coding. The suggested grades for this session are rising 4th-6th graders.
Click the "Summer at Fellowship" button below to register for the camp! (FYI: The flyer dates are incorrect. The registration form dates ARE correct. It is a Monday-Thursday camp.) There is a max of 16 students per session, so sign up ASAP!
Ms. Thomson
Pre-K - Pre-1st Grade
We continued practicing our capital and lowercase letters on the iPads (through R this week), and we also used the Starfall app to practice recognizing patterns with 3 different shapes.
Kindergarten
We used ABCya games to practice our letter recognition, and we also played a new, fun strategy game on ABCya called Take A Trip Jr., which helps us with our mouse control!
Pre-1st
We used ABCya games to practice typing words and sentences, as well as number order and recognition.
1st - 3rd Grade
We are using storyjumper.com to create books about two characters dealing with Cyberbullying. Stay tuned for where you can find those when we're all finished! (We're almost done!)
2nd
We used enchantedlearning.com to learn about dinosaurs and create a pictograph. We also played some practice review games on ABCya that help us learn fractions as parts of a whole.
3rd
We used online resources to research about the water cycle. We mainly used World Book Kids to help us with our research. We also practiced our keyboarding skills by typing out our paragraphs and definitions for the water cycle project.
4th - 5th Grade
Tyler
Our Ozobots
Kelsie
Above, you will see 4th grade students using Ozobots to learn how to code. We FINALLY have a class set of Ozobots! For those who don't know, we bought the class set with money that our school received from an innovation grant! The students are so excited, and we are all so grateful to finally each have our own Ozobot to use in the computer lab. Learning to code with these Ozobots serves as a stepping stone to learning how to code an actual computer program.
The photos above show what we have been working on the past few weeks: a game called Shape Tracer. This game introduces the students to blockly coding, and it allows them to program their robot on the computer and load their program into their Ozobot. It was frustrating at times because it required a lot of "trial and error coding", but the students persevered and are so proud of what they have accomplished so far! They don't even realize it, but they're already writing code!
This week, 4th grade has been using internet resources to research their Living History Museum person. We learned how to identify scholarly resources, as well as which resources may not be as reliable.
5th
We began our series of lessons on Digital Citizenship this week. The first day, we talked about our Rings of Responsibility as members of the worldwide community that is connected by the internet. (See if your child can name and explain all 3 of the rings of responsibility!) The second day, we began learning about the definition of cyberbullying and how to identify it. We also talked about how this relates to the Luke 6:31 principle, treating others as you would have them treat you.
Parents, it is becoming increasingly more important to know what's going on with your child as they are using all forms of technology. Below are some tools to keep you informed about cyberbullying. First, a video that will give you tips as a parent to help prevent cyberbullying from happening to your child. The second is a link to the Common Sense Media page that answers questions you may have about cyberbullying prevention. I love equipping our students with this information, but I also believe these important lessons will stick even more if they are also reinforced at home. :) If you haven't already, be sure to have these important conversations with your children about your expectations for their technology use!
Other Resources
Ms. Thomson
Email: stephanie.thomson@fcspaladins.org
Website: www.fcseslab.weebly.com
Phone: 770-992-4975
Twitter: @EScomputerteach