What We Learn In the Lab


Click Here to See the National Educational Technology Standards 
(NETS) Adopted in 2005 by Douglas County School District

 
Learning Goals:
  • Computer skills build on the skills of previous grades
  • Keyboarding & word processing are taught at all grades
  • Students at every level have the skills for producing stories & reports
  • A wide variety of writing projects focus on students making meaning
  • The internet is used as a research tool in 1st-6th grades
  • Student work from 1st-6th grade is posted on the school web site
  • Drill & practice programs are avoided
  • Creativity is encouraged & celebrated

Grade Level Activities

Kindergarten
The first couple of months of each school year we use starfall.com, a fun, web-based program that reinforces phonics skills taught in the classroom.
When the students come back in January, we switch to MaxWrite, a writing & drawing version of Word for primary students.  The teacher dictates a sentence and then the students illustrate the sentence& print their page to take home.
The last few weeks of school, Kindergartners are given a preview of programs that they'll be using in first grade:  Explorapedia; Read, Write, and Type, and My First Amazing World Explorer.

1st Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software that we'll be using in 1st grade.
Read, Write & Type:  This is a keyboarding program designed for primary grades.  It presents the letters one at a time, and teaches letter sounds also.  In first grade, the focus is on learning the location of the letters of the keyboard rather than correct finger placement, since this is still a difficult skill at this level.
MaxWrite: Nearly every month, 1st graders use this primary word processing/illustration version of word to write.  Students are expected to write complete sentences, including capitalization and puctuation.  We begin teaching editing skills. 
Other programs used in 1st grade include:  StoryBook Weaver, Explorapedia:  World of Nature, and My First Amazing World Explorer, as well as selected internet sites such as starfall.com.


2nd Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software that we'll be using in 2nd grade.
Read, Write & Type:  This is a keyboarding program designed for primary grades.  It presents the letters one at a time, and teaches letter sounds also.  In second grade students are encouraged to use the correct finger for the correct key, and to begin memorizing the location of the keys.
MaxWrite: Nearly every month, 2nd graders use this primary word processing/illustration version of word to write.  Students are expected to write complete sentences, including capitalization and puctuation.  By the end of 2nd grade, they begin writing paragraphs.  We begin teaching editing skills.
BrainPOP Jr.:  MES subscribes to this web-based site which features animated movies covering topics in the following content areas:  Science, Health, Writing, Reading, Social Studies, and Math.  Following the movies, students can test their knowledge with an easy or harder quiz.  The web address is www.brainpopjr.com
Other programs used in 2nd grade include:  The Graph Club, StoryBook Weaver, Explorapedia:  World of Nature, and My First Amazing World Explorer.  We also begin using the internet for research.

3rd Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software that we'll be using in 3rd grade.
Type to Learn: Students continue practicing their typing skills with this program which allows them to progress at their own pace.  Memorization of the keys is stressed.  Games at each level act as a motivation to progress.  The goal for 3rd grade is 5 wpm with 90% accuracy.
MaxWrite: This "junior" version of Word is used for stories and reports.  Students begin the year typing simple paragraphs and by the end of the year, enter stories with three or more paragraphs.  We also practice typing skills by typing seasonal poems.  Students continue to practice editing skills and learn to highlight text & change font, font size & font color.
BrainPOP Jr.:  MES subscribes to this web-based site which features animated movies covering topics in the following content areas:  Science, Health, Writing, Reading, Social Studies, and Math.  Following the movies, students can test their knowledge with an easy or harder quiz.  The web address is www.brainpopjr.com
Other programs used in 3rd grade include:  The Graph Club, StoryBook Weaver, Explorapedia:  World of Nature, World Book, and My First Amazing World Explorer.  We also continue to use the internet for research.

4th Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software 
that we'll be using in 4th grade.
Type to Learn: Students continue practicing their typing skills with this program which allows them to progress at their own pace.  Memorization of the keys is stressed.  Games at each level act as a motivation to progress.  The goal for 4th grade is 10 wpm 90% accuracy.
MaxWrite: This "junior" version of Word is used for stories and reports.  Students enter stories with three or more paragraphs as well as their own poetry.  Students continue to practice editing skills including spell check.  They also learn to add clip art to their compositions.
MaxShow: This "junior" version of PowerPoint is used for group presentations.  Students create one or two slides which are compiled into a group project.  They learn to add text, clip art, and custom animation effects, as well as transitions.
BrainPOP.:  MES subscribes to this web-based site which features animated movies covering topics in the following content areas:  Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts and Music, Health, and Technology.  Following the movies, students can test their knowledge with a quiz.  The web address is www.brainpop.com
Other programs used in 4th grade include:  The Graph Club, StoryBook Weaver, Explorapedia:  World of Nature, World Book, and My First Amazing World Explorer.  We also continue to use the internet for research.

5th Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software  that we'll be using in 5th grade.
Type to Learn: Students continue practicing their typing skills with this program which allows them to progress at their own pace.  Memorization of the keys is stressed.  Games at each level act as a motivation to progress.  The goal for 5th grade is 15 wpm 90% accuracy.
Word, PowerPoint and Publisher:  In 5th grade, students graduate to Word, PowerPoint and Publisher for a variety of projects including State and President reports.  They learn to insert graphics from outside sources including the internet & scanned pictures.
BrainPOP.:  MES subscribes to this web-based site which features animated movies covering topics in the following content areas:  Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts and Music, Health, and Technology.  Following the movies, students can test their knowledge with a quiz.  The web address is www.brainpop.com
Other programs used in 5th grade include:  StoryBook Weaver, Zoombinis Mountain Rescue, Zoombinis Island Odyssey,, Grolier Online, and World Book.  We also continue to use the internet for research.

6th Grade
We spend the first few weeks of each school year exploring the software 
that we'll be using in 6th grade.
Type to Learn: Students continue practicing their typing skills with this program which allows them to progress at their own pace.  Memorization of the keys is stressed.  Games at each level act as a motivation to progress.  The goal for 6th grade is 20 wpm 90% accuracy.
Word, PowerPoint and Publisher:  In 6th grade, students continue to use Word, PowerPoint and Publisher for a variety of projects including Ancient Civilization reports.  Exemplary examples of PowerPoint presentations are copied to CD ROM to share with parents and others.
BrainPOP.:  MES subscribes to this web-based site which features animated movies covering topics in the following content areas:  Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts and Music, Health, and Technology.  Following the movies, students can test their knowledge with a quiz.  The web address is www.brainpop.com
Other programs used in 6th grade include:  StoryBook Weaver, Zoombinis Mountain Rescue, Zoombinis Island Odyssey, Grolier Online, and World Book.  We also continue to use the internet for research.