Digital Tracks tech center expeditions @ Newman Elementary 

Students in a 1st-grade class had an opportunity to practice their computer skills along with math and reading skills when they visited the tech center for their first time this week. They accomplished a lot!

Computer Skills Demonstrated

1. logging in
2. opening up an application on the Dock
3. navigating to selected math and reading links from the tech center site
4. using the Back button
5. scrolling up and down with the scroll bar in FireFox, a Web browser application
6. quitting an application
7. logging out of the computer

After reading the book Molly’s Pilgrim, third grade classes published their own accounts of family pilgrims. They each chose a stationary design in Stationary Studio to use as a background for their narratives. The students interviewed family members to learn facts about the “pilgrims” in their own families who had traveled from far away. The published work will be shared with families during a December Publishing Palooza Celebration.

Over the last two weeks, the 2nd grade classes had an opportunity to review the travels of last year’s flat friends on the school’s website. Viewing the pictures and stories created a lot of excitement about the adventures their own flat friends might have this year when they begin the flat friends (Flat Stanley) project.

DIY Tips/Reminders/Lessons (and other exciting stuff for grown ups):


• The value of publishing student work online can extend beyond the current class and the current year.

A grade 4 class is continuing to add their research information to their SMART Notebook presentations. Some students had difficulty finding specific facts about their tribes online. Fortunately, the media center is next door so they had access to useful print resources.

Next week, students will be adding images and have the option to change the background color of their SMART Notebook pages, if they have time.