Class Content
Overall Goal
In teaching the computer content listed below, I make connections to the core classroom content of 5th grade from the areas of language arts, math, science, and social studies. I sprinkle bits and pieces of the core classroom content into my computer lessons in the lab.
In teaching the computer content listed below, I make connections to the core classroom content of 5th grade from the areas of language arts, math, science, and social studies. I sprinkle bits and pieces of the core classroom content into my computer lessons in the lab.
Keyboarding
Software: Focus on Typing.com website
Overview:
Research says that a student needs to keyboard using the Home Position method for typically 20 minutes a day 3 or more times a week over the course of about 12 weeks to develop a comfort level and fluency at the keyboard. If the student invests this amount of time, they should be able to keyboard without looking at the keyboard.
We don't have that volume of time during the 25 to 30 class periods each classroom comes to the lab during the school year to develop that level of fluency at the keyboard while also teaching other computer literacies such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel along with using the Internet as a tool for education.
We focus on keeping the left hand on the left side of the keyboard and the right hand on the right side along with using a few fingers on each hand. In 6th grade the students have a computer class for one report card marking period that is devoted to learning Home Position keyboarding. They also receive a second keyboarding class when they reach high school.
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Desktop Publishing
Software: Microsoft Word 2013 (We no longer do this project.)
Overview:
The Theme of this project is "My Yard Sale". The kids plan for a yard sale and create their own advertisement. This ad must include 4 categories of items, 3 unique graphics to illustrate the category, a title utilizing WordArt, and a text-box with information such as Name, Street Address, Date, and Time.
The skillset includes: Creating textboxes, formatting text-box fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate graphics/images, resize and rotate images, format image line color/pattern, copy & paste, order text-boxes and graphics via overlapping in layers, and attractively laying out 6 text-boxes, 20 graphics, and one WordArt in a single file so nothing is in the margins.
The goal is to creatively catch the reader's attention while being very informative. This project is graded with a rubric. There are two written tests on the parts of Microsoft Word 2007.
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Research
Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 365 / Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Internet Explorer 11
Overview:
The Theme of this project is "Explorers for Hire". The kids choose two world explorers from their social studies curriculum to research. After they complete their research, they must pick one of the two explorers they researched to be a guide for them on a trip to a remote part of the world to explore. They must state why they chose that explorer to be their guide.
The skill set includes: Researching, comparing/contrasting, analytic review, creating text-boxes, formatting text-box fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate graphics/images, resize and rotate images, format image line color/pattern, copy & paste, and designing a layout that is visually pleasing.
This project is graded.
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Multimedia Slide Show
Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 365
Overview:
The theme of this project is "Explorers for Hire". The students share the information they collect and generate from the Research using Internet Explorer to create a slideshow of their findings.
This is a graded project.
Projects from Previous Years
The Weird and the Odd! In this project the kids will write 5 sentences (in complete sentence format) about something weird or odd. Examples: Rain that falls upward through the sky! Dogs that ride a skateboard on the sidewalk. Cats that fly with wings through the air! This is a graded homework assignment.
Next the kids will keyboard each sentence into a textbox so that each weird thing is on a different slide. They must illustrate each sentence. Using the cat sentence from above, they would need to find a cat and then find a pair of wings (maybe a butterfly) online. The kids copy the cat into their slide. Then they copy the butterfly. Next they would crop the butterfly image so they end up with two wings. They would crop the cat to make the wings fit. They would group the two wings with the cat so the wings are attached to the cat.
Animation is utilized in each slide to make the image illustrate the weird sentence. In the cat example the wings may be flapping while the cat is flying through the air.
Alternative Theme:
The Unattainable Gift
The children will use the data collected from researching and reviewing a gift they always wanted but never received. The purpose is create a persuasive multimedia slide show to present a sound rationale that is appealing to reach their desired goal of obtaining a specific gift. The ability to persuasively present something on your child's mind is a vitally important skill used both in home life and in their future career life. This is a skill they will use throughout their life.
The Computer Skill set includes: Composing complete sentences, creating textboxes, formatting text-box/placeholder fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate images, resize and rotate images, crop and group images, format image line color/pattern of images, copy & paste, order images in layers, animate images, create attention grabbing slide transitions, and utilize color to set the mood for the theme of the project. Regular classroom skills that are reinforced include but are not limited to creative thinking and the usage of complete sentences including but not limited to a subject, verb, and direct object,.
The overarching goal is to utilize higher level thinking and computer skills to build upon what the kids have learned this year along with creativity . This project is NOT graded. My desire is to have the kids let their creative juices flow. If the kids think they are being graded on the project they will worry about "doing it right" instead of taking a risk in being creative.
The grade comes from their homework and also a written test on the parts of PowerPoint.
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Spreadsheets
Software: Microsoft Excel 365
Overview:
The theme of this project is the annual district wide Science Fair. Every year the 5th graders create a hypothesis, design an experiment to test the hypothesis, then collect and display the data on an approximately 4 foot by 4 foot cardboard poster-board. The kids learn to create a professional looking data table and graph/chart to display their findings from their experiment.
The Computer Skillset includes: Entering/editing data, formatting data, identifying the parts of Excel, resizing columns and rows, designing and formatting a data table using color to draw attention to the data. Create a graph/chart to visually display the collected data. Select a chart that is appropriate for the type of data. Format the chart's X & Y axis, scale, legend, titles, and layout. Regular classroom skills that are reinforced include but are not limited to math combinations, analyzing data, designing data tables, and creating charts/graphs to pictorially display data.
The grade for Excel will come from a hands on test in Excel on the computer in which they must create a data table and chart according to specific directions. A vocabulary section on the test.
Software: Focus on Typing.com website
Overview:
Research says that a student needs to keyboard using the Home Position method for typically 20 minutes a day 3 or more times a week over the course of about 12 weeks to develop a comfort level and fluency at the keyboard. If the student invests this amount of time, they should be able to keyboard without looking at the keyboard.
We don't have that volume of time during the 25 to 30 class periods each classroom comes to the lab during the school year to develop that level of fluency at the keyboard while also teaching other computer literacies such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel along with using the Internet as a tool for education.
We focus on keeping the left hand on the left side of the keyboard and the right hand on the right side along with using a few fingers on each hand. In 6th grade the students have a computer class for one report card marking period that is devoted to learning Home Position keyboarding. They also receive a second keyboarding class when they reach high school.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Desktop Publishing
Software: Microsoft Word 2013 (We no longer do this project.)
Overview:
The Theme of this project is "My Yard Sale". The kids plan for a yard sale and create their own advertisement. This ad must include 4 categories of items, 3 unique graphics to illustrate the category, a title utilizing WordArt, and a text-box with information such as Name, Street Address, Date, and Time.
The skillset includes: Creating textboxes, formatting text-box fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate graphics/images, resize and rotate images, format image line color/pattern, copy & paste, order text-boxes and graphics via overlapping in layers, and attractively laying out 6 text-boxes, 20 graphics, and one WordArt in a single file so nothing is in the margins.
The goal is to creatively catch the reader's attention while being very informative. This project is graded with a rubric. There are two written tests on the parts of Microsoft Word 2007.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research
Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 365 / Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Internet Explorer 11
Overview:
The Theme of this project is "Explorers for Hire". The kids choose two world explorers from their social studies curriculum to research. After they complete their research, they must pick one of the two explorers they researched to be a guide for them on a trip to a remote part of the world to explore. They must state why they chose that explorer to be their guide.
The skill set includes: Researching, comparing/contrasting, analytic review, creating text-boxes, formatting text-box fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate graphics/images, resize and rotate images, format image line color/pattern, copy & paste, and designing a layout that is visually pleasing.
This project is graded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multimedia Slide Show
Software: Microsoft PowerPoint 365
Overview:
The theme of this project is "Explorers for Hire". The students share the information they collect and generate from the Research using Internet Explorer to create a slideshow of their findings.
This is a graded project.
Projects from Previous Years
The Weird and the Odd! In this project the kids will write 5 sentences (in complete sentence format) about something weird or odd. Examples: Rain that falls upward through the sky! Dogs that ride a skateboard on the sidewalk. Cats that fly with wings through the air! This is a graded homework assignment.
Next the kids will keyboard each sentence into a textbox so that each weird thing is on a different slide. They must illustrate each sentence. Using the cat sentence from above, they would need to find a cat and then find a pair of wings (maybe a butterfly) online. The kids copy the cat into their slide. Then they copy the butterfly. Next they would crop the butterfly image so they end up with two wings. They would crop the cat to make the wings fit. They would group the two wings with the cat so the wings are attached to the cat.
Animation is utilized in each slide to make the image illustrate the weird sentence. In the cat example the wings may be flapping while the cat is flying through the air.
Alternative Theme:
The Unattainable Gift
The children will use the data collected from researching and reviewing a gift they always wanted but never received. The purpose is create a persuasive multimedia slide show to present a sound rationale that is appealing to reach their desired goal of obtaining a specific gift. The ability to persuasively present something on your child's mind is a vitally important skill used both in home life and in their future career life. This is a skill they will use throughout their life.
The Computer Skill set includes: Composing complete sentences, creating textboxes, formatting text-box/placeholder fill/line colors, format font, locate appropriate images, resize and rotate images, crop and group images, format image line color/pattern of images, copy & paste, order images in layers, animate images, create attention grabbing slide transitions, and utilize color to set the mood for the theme of the project. Regular classroom skills that are reinforced include but are not limited to creative thinking and the usage of complete sentences including but not limited to a subject, verb, and direct object,.
The overarching goal is to utilize higher level thinking and computer skills to build upon what the kids have learned this year along with creativity . This project is NOT graded. My desire is to have the kids let their creative juices flow. If the kids think they are being graded on the project they will worry about "doing it right" instead of taking a risk in being creative.
The grade comes from their homework and also a written test on the parts of PowerPoint.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spreadsheets
Software: Microsoft Excel 365
Overview:
The theme of this project is the annual district wide Science Fair. Every year the 5th graders create a hypothesis, design an experiment to test the hypothesis, then collect and display the data on an approximately 4 foot by 4 foot cardboard poster-board. The kids learn to create a professional looking data table and graph/chart to display their findings from their experiment.
The Computer Skillset includes: Entering/editing data, formatting data, identifying the parts of Excel, resizing columns and rows, designing and formatting a data table using color to draw attention to the data. Create a graph/chart to visually display the collected data. Select a chart that is appropriate for the type of data. Format the chart's X & Y axis, scale, legend, titles, and layout. Regular classroom skills that are reinforced include but are not limited to math combinations, analyzing data, designing data tables, and creating charts/graphs to pictorially display data.
The grade for Excel will come from a hands on test in Excel on the computer in which they must create a data table and chart according to specific directions. A vocabulary section on the test.
