Grades officially close this Friday, January 23, 2009.  I gave each student a printout of any missing work and stated that grades were closing on January 16th.  However, if they wish to come in to complete any work, I will be available Wednesday and Thursday morning at 7:20 a.m.

 

As I stated in my newsletter at the beginning of the term, I base my grading on the MA Technology Standards.  Each assignment has between 1 and 10 standards that it addresses, and students receive a grade for each of the standards.  Students may revise assignments as many times as they wish in order to achieve a "4" (Excellent) on each standard.  Many students take advantage of this opportunity to revise their work; many do not.

 

In addition to the Extra Help/Open Lab sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (7:20-8:00 a.m.), I try to offer the last class of the week as Enrichment Day.  During this time, students are to finish work from the week or make corrections to previous work.  When that is finished, they may continue working on their keyboarding skills or work on some of the enrichment activities I have.

 

Where has the time gone and why haven't I posted a message to parents earlier than this?!

 

We've accomplished a great deal already in this term.  Students created name tents for use in the computer room and learned how to insert symbols from MS Word.  They used the digital camera to take each others' pictures and then inserted the images into a Student Information Sheet.  This assignment was to be brought home as there is a section for parents and guardians to fill out.

 

After we examined a computer that has been disassembled, students worked diligently on creating a poster about the parts of the computer.  This required students to search through clip art to find the various components, format the images to fit on the poster, and then create labels using the Text Box tool in the Drawing Toolbar. 

 

Students also began working on a Self-Portrait using the drawing tools in Word.  I am so amazed that the creativity the students are showing! 

 

Of course, we continue to work on keyboarding skills through Type to Learn and Daily Thoughts.  Type to Learn is a self-paced keyboarding program that we utilize with keyboard covers so that students resist the temptation to look at their keys.  I emphasize the development of proper keyboarding skills as it is such a necessary skill in today's world.  Daily Thoughts is another opportunity for students to develop their keyboarding skills while composing at the keyboard.  Once a week I present students with an image, movie clip, quote or the like and they are given 10 minutes to write whatever they wish about the topic--using proper keyboarding skills, of course!

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any question regarding what 6th Grade Computers entails for your child.