Sneak Peek

This is the computer table in my room. It used to be a little station, but now it's pushed against the wall because I have no room to spare :( oh well! My bulletin boards look awesome this year! Here's a sneak peek...

My Fourth Grade Classroom

My room is FINALLY ready for business (good thing because the first day is tomorrow!!) so I thought I'd share some photos...i know you've been dying to see what I've

been up to :P

My Desk is already messy! haha

Teaching: Learning

The thing I love most about teaching is that there is ALWAYS something to learn. This week I had decided to teach the fourth graders about the parts of a computer. Problem: I know NOTHING about the parts of a computer. I figured it out thanks to this marvelous invention called the internet. It took a while but I put it all together and now the kids know exactly what a motherboard is (and so do I!!!).

xxOOxx

BBC Typing

When I started in this position there was NO lesson plans, NO schedule of what to teach, NO idea what had gone on in years before. So, I asked the teachers what usually happens in computer lab and what they would like me to teach. The unanimous request was typing.

Apparently, the prior teachers didn't thing learning to type was a priority in computer class... nobody had ever taught it before. Although I did find a program in my bottomless pit of a closet (a story for another time) so I installed it and began teaching the 3 & 4th graders to type properly. This program turned out to be quite boring & as a result, groans accompanied the lessons *never a good sign*. So I began searching online for a better program to buy & came across the best resource EVER: the BBC website. Among MANY other resources they have a typing program.

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing

This site is awesome for typing lessons for the following reasons:

1. It's FREE

2. It's musical

3. It encourages with an onscreen keyboard & tips.

4. It's musical

5. It has fun characters

6. It builds slowly with 12 different lessons

7. It's FREE!!!!

It's so much fun that I even learned to type better because I play it too :P

BUT, probably the best aspect to it is that the characters speak with a British accent. Because of this, I get to hear about sixty kids speaking with mock British accents! It's completely awesome and I laugh a little when they start calling each other "mate."

xxOOxx