St. John Fisher School Technology Center

Preschool: Students will listen to and follow along with “Living Books”. Favorite Dr. Seuss classics and new favorite characters, like Arthur, will be featured.

Kindergarten:  We will continue working with KidPixs by creating various Thanksgiving projects throughout the month.

First Grade:  We will introduce Kid Works to our first graders.  This software helps them get familiar with the keyboard.  We will begin by typing a short poem and drawing a picture.  We will also create some fun pictures for Thanksgiving using Kid Pix.

Second Grade:  Students will learn a new software package called KidWorks, which allows them to type and draw.  We will begin typing a short poem and move into short stories.  This helps our little ones familiarize themselves more with the keyboard but keeps it fun because they can draw a picture of what they are writing about. 

Third Grade: On Mondays, students will research for their animal project and will make a cover in Microsoft Word. A map skill activity using Enchanted Learning website will also be done. Students will continue Keyboarding on Wednesdays, focusing on using the shift keys to capitalize letters.

Fourth Grade: Students are researching famous explorers using the Enchanted Learning Website. They will use their research for a social studies project with Mrs. Sullivan. In addition, they will examine the three branches of government and the responsibilities of each.

Fifth Grade:  Students are researching famous explorers using a number of different websites.  The information that they find will be typed into a powerpoint presentation using pictures to enhance their presentation and finalizing it with animation for every bullet point and picture.  They will finish with typing up a speech to prepare to present to the class.

Sixth Grade: We are putting a hold on the biome webquests, to give the sixth graders extra time to work on components of the Egypt portfolio and the Monument narrative essay. Students may use the time to research and/or type these assignments. If time allows, students will finish their biome brochures in Microsoft Publisher.

Seventh Grade:  The school was the recipient of a grant for two MacBooks, two digital video cameras and a variety of video editing software.  The students are working on a project in which they will research an environmental problem and propose a scientific solution for it.  Each student group will create an “artifact” (video) documenting their findings.  Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Shannon and the seventh graders are all quite excited about this opportunity to explore some new technologies.

Eighth Grade:  The 2008 National Cyberconvention Project is wrapping up, and students are very knowledgeable about the candidates and issues in the upcoming election.  Following the election, time will be spent preparing for the high school placement test in January.  There are some very valuable preparation materials available online to help the students review and gain confidence. 

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