Thursday, December 15, 2011

Internet Scavenger Hunt

Today we will review how best to search the Internet to find answers to research questions.

First, we will watch a video from Common Craft titled: "Web Search Strategies in Plain English."  This short video gives a quick overview of how Search Engines work, then discusses the use of effective keywords and Boolean search strategies.



Next, we will watch another short video from BrainPop titled: "Internet Search."  This also gives a good overview of Internet Search strategies from the perspective of the ever popular Tim and Moby.



We'll discuss what we have seen on the videos, then review key strategies from the website Common Sense Media.  Armed with this knowledge, we'll tackle a Internet Search Scavenger Hunt.  Students will be required to use at least three different search engines, and list the keywords they used to find the answers to a series of trivia questions.

Parents - Please refer to the following page from Common Sense Media.  It's a great resource to have on hand next time your student is working on Internet research at home.





Thursday, December 8, 2011

Using PBS Sites to Explore Internet Safety

Today, we will play a pair of games to explore issues of web safety, information literacy and digital citizenship.  Both games have been created by PBS Kids.

The first is a simple introduction to some of the major topics in Internet safety, such as downloading, passwords, meeting people online and being safe.  By navigating this game, and answering questions correctly, students will earn an official web license:

http://pbskids.org/old_license/



PBS has also created a more comprehensive game titled Webonauts, to be found here:

http://pbskids.org/webonauts/








These games will kick off a discussion of Internet Safety that will take place next week.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Researching Jesuit Saints

Each 5th grader will be completing a report of the life of a Jesuit Saint for religion class this month. This week, we will consult the website of the Jesuit Curia in Rome to research Saints.  We will talk about why this is an excellent online resource to use.

The link to the site can be found here:

List of Jesuit Saints

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

National Gallery of Art Field Trip

Today we will create a Comic Life comic strip about last week's trip to the National Gallery of Art.

I'd like you to combine photos of the trip with photos of the paintings you studied... and provide thoughtful commentary about the adventure.  Please be sure to include at least one fact about the symbolism in Nativity Art.   If you need a bit of help remembering all you've learned, I'll provide a fact sheet for you to use in class.

If you finish, I'd like you to visit the National Gallery of Art Kids page:

http://www.nga.gov/kids/

Mrs. Morell

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Keyboarding once again!

Hi there 5th graders,

This week, while I'm away, I would like you to spend your technology time working on Type to Learn.  Be sure to use your orange keyboard covers, and keep your fingers on the home keys!

And wonder: Where in the world is Mrs. Morell?

See you next week!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

If Type to Learn is still not working...

Hello Dear 5th Graders,

Type to Learn has been experiencing some major technical difficulties, so if it is still down today, we will still spend some time typing, but a bit creatively.

You may spend some time exploring the author websites on my summer learning blog, then write an letter to an author of your choice, using the format below:


We'll talk a bit more about the format during class.  Wow me with your language and creativity, and we'll send them off to our favorite authors when you finish.

Happy Typing!

Mrs. Morell

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Just Keep Typing

This week, we'll continue to work on Type to Learn.  Focus will be on proper finger placement and keeping those keyboard covers on. 

For those students who are typing more than 30 words a minute - based on last week's timed typing test - you may have the option to type a letter to an author of your choice. I will give you a handout with some guidance.

Happy Typing,

Mrs. Morell

Monday, October 17, 2011

A Bit More Keyboarding...

This week, we'll take a timed typing test to see how much progress has been made with our keyboarding over the past few weeks.  We'll continue to practice with Type to Learn.  Based on the results, I may make some recommendations that some students take a copy of TTL home for extra practice.

Happy Typing,

Mrs. Morell

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

More Keyboarding this Week

This week, we will have a chance to practice logging into Cornerstone and Gmail... and I will have a chance to trouble-shoot any issues with these new systems.  Be sure to continue to let me know if you can't log into either one.

We will then spend the bulk of the class practicing keyboarding skills with Type to Learn. 

As always, happy keyboarding!

Mrs. Morell

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Housekeeping Week


This week we will:

Introduce the students to our new Gmail accounts,










Teach them to log into Cornerstone, so they can see their grades,














Ask them to complete a survey on their current online use, to help us decide which topics would be most relevant for our kids on the Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship and Online Safety units:










and

teach them how to use Uberprints to design a Holy Trinity Spirit Shirt:
















That should keep us busy for 45 minutes!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

More Practice with Microsoft Word

We discovered last week that Microsoft Word is new to many of our students, so this week, we'll take on another Microsoft Challenge - to review what we learned last week, then introduce a series of new skills focusing on the Insert tab.  Here is a copy of what we will do this week in 5F:

Microsoft Challenge #2 for 5F – With Many Thanks to Lemony Snicket
Name:
Insert Date

Change the font to Papyrus, the font size to 14, and the font color to brown.
If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.
~The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Change the font to Cambria, the font size to 9, and the font color to purple.
“Having a personal philosophy is like having a pet marmoset, because it may be very attractive when you acquire it, but there may be situations when it will not come in handy at all.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto

Change the font to Juice, put the quote in bold, and center it.
“For some stories, it's easy. The moral of 'The Three Bears,' for instance, is "Never break into someone else's house.' The moral of 'Snow White' is 'Never eat apples.' The moral of World War I is 'Never assassinate Archduke Ferdinand.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Wide Window

Change the font to Agency FB, put the quote in italics, and double-space it.
“Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course. Piracy, for example, is a tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean we should all attack ships and steal their gold.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

Change the font to Gigi, the font size to 14, and the font color to blue.
“I suppose I'll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

Change the font to Kristin ITC, the font size to 12, and highlight the quote in yellow.
“Reading is one form of escape. Running for your life is another.”
― Lemony Snicket

For the next three quotes:
Change the font to Berlin Sans, put the quotes in bold, change the color to red, and spell-check them:
A new expirience can be extremely pleasurible or extremly irriteble, or somewhre in betwen, and you never know until you tri it out.
~The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

“A pasport, as I'm sure you knuw, is a dociment that one shows to goverment officals whenever one reaches a border between two coutries, so that the official can lern who you are, where you were born, and how you look when photigraphed unflateringly.”
― Lemony Snicket

“If you are a studint you should alwuys get a good nights sleep unles you have come to the good part of your book, and then you should stay up all nite and let your schoolwurk fall by the wayside, a phrase which meens 'flunk'.”
― Lemony Snicket

Change the font color to orange, and put the following list in bullets:

Change the font color to green, and number the following list:

Insert a clip art picture of an apple here:

Insert the shape of a circle here:

Insert a call-out from the shapes menu here.  Insert the word Sunny:

Use Word Art to insert your name here:

Insert a text box here: 

Insert five letters of the alphabet with accents on them:

Put a page number at the bottom of the page.



-         
Delete All the Instructions.
Move your favorite quote to the top of the page
Save your work and ask Mrs. Morell to print it.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A Microsoft Word Challenge

This week, we will be exploring the many functions of Microsoft Word.   We will review the basic functions of MS Word - changing font colors and sizes, cutting and pasting, using bullets and number sequences.  Next, we will explore inserting clip art, shapes, WordArt and symbols.  For some of our new students this might be completely new.  We do use MS Word quite a bit in the Upper School, so it is important the students familiarize themselves with the program.


A Challenge has been placed in each student's network folder.  Part of the challenge is following the instructions!  The text of the challenge is as follows:

5th Grade Microsoft Challenge
Your Name:
Insert Date and Time Here:

-         
Make this quote bold and change the font to Bradley Hand:
I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.
-          Winnie the Pooh

Change the font color to red, and center this quote:
"All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk."
-          Lemony Snicket

Put this in italics and change the font to Comic Sans:
It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
-          Albus Dumbledore

Underline this quote and make it 10 point:
"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings."
-          J.M. Barrie

Change the font color to blue, and change the font to Juice:
"A person's a person, no matter how small."
-          Dr. Seuss (Horton Hears a Who!)

Highlight this quote in green, and change the font to Castellar:
"It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting."
-          Lemony Snicket (The Grim Grotto)

Highlight this quote in yellow, and change the font to Berlin Sans FB:
"There's a name for people with an interest in the moon," Alex said. "They're called lunatics."
-          Anthony Horowitz (Crocodile Tears)

Change the font color to orange, and change the font to Garamond:
"The more men see of the world, the bigger their hearts"
-              Avi (Crispin: At the Edge of the World)

Highlight this quote in green, and change the font to Century Schoolbook:
"You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair."
-          Sharon Creech (Walk Two Moons)

Change the font color to red and make it 14 point:
“Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.”
-          from The Lightning Thief  by Rick Riordan

Put the following characters in a list with bullet points.  Change the color to purple, and the font to Papyrus.

Gilderoy Lockhart
Minerva McGonagall
Poppy Pomfrey
Pomona Sprout
Sybill Trelawney


Put the following characters in a list with numbers.  Change to color to blue, and the font to Comic Sans.
Godric Gryffindor
Helga Hufflepuff
Rowena Ravenclaw
Salazar Slytherin

Spell check the next three quotes:
“You mustn’t dispair!” cried Mr. Wonka. “Nothing is empossible! You wotch!”
-          from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

“Luc  had nuthing to do with this,” said the gose. “It was good manigement and hard woork.”
-          from Charlotte’s Web by E B White

“Menewhile,” said Mr. Tumnus, “it is winter in Narnia, and has been for evir so long, and we shall both cath cold if we stand here taling in the snuuw.”
-          from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis

Insert a clip art picture of an apple here:

Insert the shape of a square here:

Insert a call-out from the shapes menu here.  Insert the word Expelliarmus:

Insert your name using Word art here:

Insert an alphabet text box here: 

Insert five letters of the alphabet with accents on them:

Put a page number at the bottom of the page.



-         
Delete All the Instructions.
Move your favorite quote to the top of the page
Save and print your work.

Monday, September 12, 2011

More Typing this Week

Most of the classes have completed the timed typing test, and we have lots of work to do!

This week, we will continue to use Type to Learn (with keyboard covers!) to improve our keyboarding skills.  A reminder that it is possible to install a copy of Type to Learn onto home computers - just have your parents send me an Email, and I'll send home a copy to you.

Happy Typing!

Mrs. Morell

Sunday, September 4, 2011

This Week, We Begin to Type!

 Dear 5th Graders,

Today, we will begin our class by taking a timed typing test.  This will give me a sense of how quickly you have learned to type, and how much work we need to do this quarter!

We will be devoting much of the first quarter to keyboarding, and will be using keyboard covers in class, so that you are sure to learn proper finger placement.

By the end of 5th grade, the goal is that you should be typing at least 25 words a minute.

Each of you will have an account on Type to Learn.

Your account name will be:
LastnameFirstinitial (CookL)
The password is: htstype
The account code is: 10092

If you would like extra practice to reach that goal, you may take home a copy of Type to Learn to install on your home computer.  You must have your parents Email me on: mbmorell@htsdc.org to do so, as I would like their permission before you install new software on your home computer.

Happy Typing,

Mrs. Morell

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

First Week of School

During the first week of school, the 5th grade will be given an overview of what we will do in technology class this year.  The PowerPoint we used can be found on the page of class rules found on the right column of this blog.

For homework: I would like you to post the answers to two questions using Wallwisher.

First, please answer the question: What was your favorite book and why:

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/5thsummerreading

Next, what is your favorite website and why:

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/5thbestwebsites

You may add the link to your favorite site to share with your classmates.

You will need to enter an Email address to post - if you do not have one, ask to use a parent's Email.  Next week, we will be assigning HTS Email accounts to you - sorry we don't have one ready for you quite yet!

I will need to approve your post before it appears, so don't worry if it doesn't appear right away!


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Welcome to 5th Grade Technology Class!

Welcome to 5th Grade Technology Class,

We're going to have a great year!


Mrs. Morell