Another New School Year, Another Computer Lab Upgrade

Welcome to another school year.  I am returning again to the computer lab and It is hard to believe that 5 years ago I started this blog.  I have learned a few things along the way and I have to say staying current in a continually evolving field brings challenges!  One rule of thumb when the computers are updated in the classroom is probably a good time to review the curriculum. After reexamining our curriculum I realized I needed to incorporate more research projects.  In fact, I am incorporating a lot of new lessons this year!

One new research I incorporated is this research lesson on spiders for the Second graders.  I had them complete a questionnaire that used www.enchantedlearning.com  to research some basic facts about spider.  Next, we went to the internet and copy and saved pictures of spiders to be used for our drawings.  The students used PowerPoint to insert their picture and type three facts about spiders (spiders can/are/have). I did put the headings Can, Are and Have on the board and called on students to generate a word list to help them with their sentences. We finished it up with designing a background and talked about fall colors, the students added animation and transitions.    This was a GREAT project to start off for the fall season! 

Summer T-shirt

This is a wonderful review to do with 2nd grade students.  First, I review how to insert clip art and word art.  The directions are to share their summer plans, or what they did last summer.  If students aren't sure what to put on the shirt I encourage them to either design a t-shirt or make a t-shirt with their favorites.  I ask them to save it independently (directions are written on the board for help) and print (the students need to change the printer to a colored printer).  They could all be hung up on a bulletin board with clothes pins! A neat idea I saw on Pinterest is to hot glue a thumbtack to a clothes pin! 

Inserting Text Boxes

Inserting text boxes can be a quick lesson when short on time. I did this lesson with my 2nd graders. They asked if we could do it again for a different season, i.e. label the Easter Bunny! My classroom is near the Spanish room so I can see this lesson extending because the students create their own vocabulary study guides.

Picketing Turkeys!

My favorite lessons are when I can relate a book to an activity. This lesson was inspired from my community center after voting! I saw picketing turkeys in the hallway and thought about what a great idea to pair up with the book called A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. The students used paint to color in the picketing turkey and completed the phrase Eat More….. They printed them and it really makes a great display of colorful projects. This lesson can be adapted in many ways:

1. Put the pictures in Photo Story to read what they wrote.


2. Write a story about the picture they colored.


3. Talk about healthy food choices.


4. Translate Eat More in Spanish (Coma Mas) and pair it with a food in Spanish. Record students reading what they wrote!