Computer K, 1, 2

Second Graders will begin each session with Type to Learn. They will be expected to become familiar with the use of the keyboard. In January they began to use Student Writing Center to expand upon their keyboarding skills. The expectation is that they will not have to ask when told to use the: enter, space bar, shift, tab or escape keys.

First Graders are currently beginning each session with Type to Learn, Jr. The initial focus is on Upper/Lowercase letters using the shift key. In January the children will begin using Type To Learn New Keys for Kids which introduces them to Internet addresses, e-mail, etc. Listening skills & following instruction are very important. In addition to the mouse, we will emphasize using keystroke commands to move from program to program. It is important that the children understand how to open and exit each of the programs that we use. Class time is limited, we have only 1/2 hour.

In both First & Second Grade the second half of each class is spent on other software like
Language Explorer, Making Music, or Disney Classic Artist.

Kindergarten students begin each session with A to Zap for letter & keyboard recognition. After the Christmas break they will begin Type to Learn, Jr. There are 4 lesson areas of the program. They begin the year with only one option available. The first is keyboarding skills which begins with mastering the location of each key and ends with shifting, punctuation marks and sentences. When the children have mastered Upper and Lowercase letters they will gain access to options 2 and 3. The second and third options are simple reinforcement games of typing the letter they see to proceed. Level 1 is all lowercase, by level 3 they need to understand the use of a shift key. As children have mastered the skills, the other areas of the program have been made available to them. Lesson 4, which will not be added this year, involves identifying rhyming words and typing them.

We also spend time using very simple drag & drop games, since not all of the children have an understanding of the mouse. They will all need to master the click, hold, drop routine before moving on to other programs.