General Announcements:
The school year is quickly wrapping up. Due to field trips and other ceremonies this week is many students last week in the lab. This year has flown by but both the students and I have learned a lot in the last year.
End of Year Wrap-Ups
Kindergarten and first graders are ending the year recording their favorite memories of being in kindergarten or first grade respectively. Students are encouraged to think about their year and imagine what school will be like next year.
Second and Third grade students are finishing out the year by enjoying a "best of" day and are exploring their favorite game/activity that we learned about in computer lab. Many students are opting back towards Little Alchemy, Digital Storytelling, Animal Jam by National Geographic, Cool Math, and/or music creation on button bass or beat lab.
Fourth and Fifth grade students are finishing the year with their projects. Many students have already completed their project and are celebrating. Fourth graders are celebrating becoming the big kids in school and talking about what it means to be a role model. Fifth grade students are reflecting on their time in elementary school and making predictions about what is to come.
We will be having a party week in lab next week where students will play some appropriate just for fun games (Lego, Barbie, Nick Jr, PBS Kids, etc) for those classes which will be in the lab next week.
Second and Third grade students are finishing out the year by enjoying a "best of" day and are exploring their favorite game/activity that we learned about in computer lab. Many students are opting back towards Little Alchemy, Digital Storytelling, Animal Jam by National Geographic, Cool Math, and/or music creation on button bass or beat lab.
Fourth and Fifth grade students are finishing the year with their projects. Many students have already completed their project and are celebrating. Fourth graders are celebrating becoming the big kids in school and talking about what it means to be a role model. Fifth grade students are reflecting on their time in elementary school and making predictions about what is to come.
We will be having a party week in lab next week where students will play some appropriate just for fun games (Lego, Barbie, Nick Jr, PBS Kids, etc) for those classes which will be in the lab next week.
Moving Forward: MinecraftEDU, PLTW, and Themes for Next Year
As this year wraps up I am only more excited for next year. I am attempting to get funding for our own MinecraftEDU lab here at Leopold next year for students in 2nd grade and above. I am especially excited about this as we have received district approval for the software and I know that the students have all been very excited about exploring Minecraft in an educational way. The conference I am attending this summer, ISTE, has a lot of professional development opportunities around Minecraft and I would love to be able to explore more of this cutting edge gamification trend.
Furthermore, I am excited to announce the expansion of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) into our computer lab next year in grades K-5. I am really excited to partner with the REACH Science Teacher, Dan Beaman, in order to bring this innovative and engaging program into our lab.
While I will be learning and growing a lot over this summer with my graduate school program and my ISTE conference and educators network some preliminary topics for next years curriculum include:
Kindergarten -
First Grade -
Second Grade:
Third Grade:
Fourth Grade:
Fifth Grade:
Furthermore, I am excited to announce the expansion of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) into our computer lab next year in grades K-5. I am really excited to partner with the REACH Science Teacher, Dan Beaman, in order to bring this innovative and engaging program into our lab.
While I will be learning and growing a lot over this summer with my graduate school program and my ISTE conference and educators network some preliminary topics for next years curriculum include:
Kindergarten -
- Introduction to Desktop computing,
- Literacy and math based games which build on classroom instruction
- Digital storytelling
First Grade -
- Digital Citizenship - staying safe online
- Computer Programming (PLTW)
- Computer Programming (Hour of Code)
- Digital Storytelling
Second Grade:
- Digital Citizenship - Safety and Positive Relationships Online.
- Computer Programming - PLTW
- Computer Programming - Hour of Code
- Digital Storytelling
- Research Project
- MinecraftEDU?
Third Grade:
- Digital Citizenship - Cyberbullying Intro and Internet Safety Continued
- Computer Programming - PLTW
- Computer Programming - Hour of Code
- Research Based Writing
- Genius Hour - Student Based Interest Project
- MinecraftEDU?
Fourth Grade:
- Digital Citizenship - Cyberbullying and Internet Security
- Email Advocacy - Writing to persuade.
- Computer Programming - PLTW
- Computer Programming - Hour of Code
- Research Based Writing
- Genius Hour - Student Based Interest Project
- MinecraftEDU?
Fifth Grade:
- Digital Citizenship - Social Media
- Computer Programming - PLTW
- Computer Programming - Hour of Code
- Research Based Persuasive Writing
- Genius Hour - Student Based Interest Projects
- MinecraftEDU?