GoogleDocs & TuxPaint

First graders are pros at TuxPaint! We looked at some artwork in books and noticed that illustrators sometimes draw in a dark color like black and "fill in" with other colors. So we tried it with TuxPaint. Using the "Magic"tool with "Fill" sure makes coloring in easier! Students illustrated sentences written in GoogleDocs Presentation slides - a soon-to-be slide show about what they learned about plants!

Keyboarding Practice

Every January, third graders begin to learn to type. The program we use, Type to Learn 4, is a series of lessons, games, and challenges through which students progress to learn the efficient use of the keyboard. For kids who like to practice at home or in after school programs, here's a link to a previous  blog post about alternatives to Type to Learn: http://snipurl.com/26klttv.

And for all you third graders, this is how fast you'll eventually type if you train your brain the correct way now. Sit up straight, index fingers on the f and j, curl your fingers...

Dividing The Keyboard in Two

This month second graders practiced using two hands and two sides of the computer keyboard - left fingers for keys on the left side, right fingers for keys on the right. They drew winter pictures in TuxPaint and used their beginning word processing skills to make captions for their work.

Learning to Type

This month, third grade joins fourth and fifth in working with Type To Learn 4 during their ICT times. To practice at home, try the links posted here, or try one of these games -

Keyboarding games from the Learning Games for Kids website:
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html

Alpha Munchies
http://www.abcya.com/kids_typing_game.htm
Type the letters above the critters as they fall from the sky - to protect your character's lunch! Letters appear on screen as upper case but do not need to be typed that way. That's good!

Typer Shark

http://kids.aol.com/games/typer-shark/

Type the words and letters on the sharks before they can attack the diver. There are several levels to this fast-paced game. 

Typer Spider

http://funschool.kaboose.com/gamesFiles/flash/kaboose/spidertyper/spidertyper.swf

Type to help the spider escape the hungry chameleons. 

Remember to sit up straight and keep your fingers on the home row keys!

Keyboarding

This winter, third grade has begun the Type to Learn 4 program for keyboarding skills. Here's the post from last fall with online keyboard games and programs in case any of you want to practice at home. Just please remember to keep your fingers in place, thumbs on the space bar, and reach to tap keys! Train your brain!

image by Cy21.WP:CC-BY-SA

Type at Home

Fourth and fifth graders are gearing up for another year with Type to Learn 4. You love this program! Some are disappointed to find that they cannot access Type to Learn at home, so I promised a few web-based alternatives to practice keyboarding:

TypingWeb:  at www.typingweb.com.
There are ads on this site, shown mostly while pages load. Don't bother with them, don't click on them. Just wait for the free program, which has lots of levels and starts right off with the home row keys, where your fingers need to rest. It will ask you to create an account before you start - but to practice, you really don't need to.

PowerTyping: at www.powertyping.com/. 
Not the prettiest typing program but it has the lessons you'll need! It's good practice!

BBC DanceMat Typing at www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ 
This keyboarding website from England and it's fun! Start at Level One and work your way up!

Bubbles: at www.typingmaster.com/individuals/bubbles.asp. 
A fun game to help you practice your typing skills. In the game your goal is to burst the bubbles by pressing the correct key. Have fun!

Kids Learn 2 Type: http://kids.learn2type.com/
To use this one, you do need to create a free account, so ask a trusted adult to do that for you. 

Free Online Typing Course: http://www.goodtyping.com/

Keyboarding and Typing Skills: http://www.dillon2.k12.sc.us/students/keyboardingskills.asp