Category: 1st
Weekend Website #71: 5 Great FREE Programs for Kids
Every Friday I’ll send you a wonderful website that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.
Age:
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd
Topic:
Overall
Review:
When I started as a tech teacher, I pushed my administration for lots of software. I wanted a different one for each theme–human body, space, math. Now, they’re all on the internet–for FREE–which means we can use our tech budget for doc scanners, Dragon Speak… Wait–we have no budget. Good thing I’m addicted to FREE. (more…)
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School’s Back–Do Your Children Need Computers?
This is a question I get from parents all the time. Most parents want to get what their child needs as affordably as possible, but they don’t want to save a few bucks at the expense of their child. If that sounds like you, here are my suggestions:
- Start by talking to the classroom teacher. What are their expectations of the child? If they’re like the ones in my school, they will want him/her to have access to basic software and the internet for research, maybe email. That’s it.
- You’re wondering whether a desktop is good for your child, or do they need a laptop? There are lots of reasons why a laptop might be a good decision for your particular family dynamics, but in general terms, a desktop is fine for a younger child (K-5). They don’t need to take it to friend’s house for group projects much until they reach middle school, and I would not suggest gearing a more-expensive laptop decision around an occasional project. I guarantee, the teacher won’t.
- There are other reasons why a desktop is a good decision. It is more durable (it isn’t carried around, so can’t be dropped). If the monitor breaks, you don’t have to replace the entire computer–just the monitor. Because it’s cheaper, it can be replaced if your child somehow destroys it or part of it (this should be expected of new users). And, a desktop has a larger hard drive, more memory and more drives/ports for input devices. That makes it more adaptable to unexpected needs.
- Now you need to select which level of desktop your child requires. Does s/he need the basic $350 on sale version or the everything-in-it upgrade? My suggestion is to start simple. Basic. See what the child uses, what else he needs before making an expensive decision. Most kids are fine with the lower end of productivity. Some, though, want the works. You’ll know by the time you’re ready for an upgrade.
Once you’ve selected laptop vs. desktop computer, here’s what you’ll want to be sure it includes:
- MS Office or compatible (i.e., Google docs, Open Office). This will provide a word processor, a spreadsheet application, and presentation software.
- If your child must have MS Office and you are trying to fit the price into a budget, start with Office Web Apps, the free online version of Office. It’s compatible with MS Office, much like it but more limited. A good starter.
- MS Publisher is a great extra (though pricey). It enables students to create magazines, newsletters, trifolds, cover pages and more.
- Download FREE software such as Google Earth to enhance learning. (more…)
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Tech Tip #46: The Easiest Way to Explain Right and Left to (Little) Kids
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy! (more…)
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Tech Tip #49: The Fifteen Second Slideshow
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy! (more…)
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Weekend Websites #59: 62 First Grade Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons
Every Friday I’ll send you a wonderful website that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine. Here’s my internet start page for first grade–you’ll see the websites we focused on at the end of this school year
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Weekend Websites #57: 28 Websites to Teach Tech to Kindergarten-First Grade
The moment students start using the computer, they need to create good habits. That includes not only posture and hand position, but internet use, In my class, that starts in kindergarten. Students need to understand the pros and cons of computer basics, the dangers and benefits of websites, and the right way to use both (they’re not just for games).
Here’s a list of websites I use with my kindergarten and first graders to both introduce them to the computer (and all of its parts) and start them on the right way to surf the internet. I start with internet basics and mouse skills at the beginning of the year and spend the remaining months working through the rest. By second grade, they’re ready for more advanced skills: (more…)
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Weekend Websites #56: 23 Websites to Support Math Automaticity in K-5
This is the time of year when teachers worry about math facts and the automaticity of math skills. The following websites focus solely on that facet of math. I’ve broken them down by grade level, but you can decide if your second graders are precocious enough to try the websites for grades 3-5 (click here for an UTD list):
K
1st
2nd
- Math Flashcards
- Math Practice Test
- Mental Math
- Mental Math Drills
- Minute Math
- More Quick Math
- Multiplication Tables (more…)
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Weekend Website #53: 41 Websites for Teachers to Integrate Tech into Your Classroom
This list has a little bit of everything, and will kick-start your effort to put technology into your lesson plans:
- 10 Tech Alternatives to Book Reports
- Analyze, read, write literature
- Animations, assessments, charts, more
- Biomes/Habitats—for teachers
- Create a magazine cover
- Create free activities and diagrams in a Flash! (more…)
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Weekend Website #52: 7 Sites About Coin Counting
Second graders (sometimes first graders) learn about money. The only way to really ‘get it’ is by repetition, so I came up with a list of websites to provide redundancy for each type of learner. Thought I’d share them with you (check here for link updates):
Do you have any to add to this list? These are mostly for youngers–I’d love some for older age groups. (more…)
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#35: Sponge Activities for Vocabulary Building
There are lots of great online vocabulary websites to help kids learn high-frequency and dolch words. I’ll share five you would enjoy this summer. Maybe you have some to share with the group. (more…)