Home | Contact | District Main | School Hours
206 Boulevard, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
Phone: (973) 616-6080
Home | Contact | District Main | School Hours
206 Boulevard, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
Phone: (973) 616-6080
Technology instruction follows the curriculum outlined in the Pequannock Township School District Elementary Technology Curriculum guidelines adopted in 2006, the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards for Technology, and is guided by the needs of the classroom teachers. Grade level technology proficiencies build upon prior computer and information literacy knowledge and encompass new skills. Projects are interdisciplinary and integrated with grade level curriculum. The expectation is that by the end of fifth grade students will be able to:
The following outlines technology instruction (September 2008 –present) by grade level at Hillview School.
Kindergarteners have learned the parts of the computer, how to use the mouse, double clicking and are becoming familiar with technology terminology and the keyboard. They have utilized the Kid Pix Program to create age-appropriate, curriculum-related projects. The tools used in Kid Pix so far are: backgrounds, stampers, stickers, auto-shapes, free-form drawing tool, color picker, line tools, and fill bucket. They have also learned how to position and resize graphics and how to insert text in the “Small Kids Mode”. Some of the projects that have been produced so far using Kid Pix are self-portraits, “scaredy-cat” projects that were displayed during our author visit, Halloween and turkey pictures, and a math project using graphics and number stampers. Students were able to tie all of their skills together when creating a set of coasters (using Kid Pix) for their family for the holidays. Students have also worked on strengthening their literacy skills by using the www.starfall.com website.
First Graders have continued to build on the technology skills learned in Kindergarten. They have been practicing opening and closing programs on their own, and have begun to “log in” with their usernames when using a program (i.e.: Kid Pix) so that their work can be saved and retrieved in their own file. They have reviewed the Kid Pix tools learned in Kindergarten and have added new tools to their repertoire (i.e.: paintbrush, spray can, delete key). The Kid Pix projects that they have created have enhanced their classroom studies and have included a digital quilt, a Johnny Appleseed project, Thanksgiving and Halloween projects, and a holiday house. They have also used the Kid Works Deluxe program to type short writing assignments (i.e.: holiday traditions) and have learned basic keyboarding skills necessary for typing their pieces: shift key, space bar, enter key, backspace. They have also learned how to follow instructions for printing. They enjoyed exploring our visiting author, Stephen Krensky’s website (www.stephenkrensky.com), www.starfall.com, and have begun using Turbo Math to strengthen their addition and subtraction skills. All First Graders have learned how to log into Accelerated Reader and take quizzes on the books they’ve read.
Second Graders have continued to build on the skills they’ve learned in Kindergarten and First Grade and have used almost all of the tools on Kid Pix when creating curriculum-related projects (i.e.; drawing a creative “Silly Bug”). They have begun using the Text Box tool to insert text into their pictures and have begun changing the color, size and font of the text. They have also used Kid Works Deluxe to type related writing pieces. Second graders have been paying careful attention to the weather and have used the Hillview Weather Station and the Weatherbug Achieve website (http://achieve.weatherbug.com) to access data regarding temperature and precipitation. Students have used Microsoft Excel to create graphs to display the data. They have also completed cooperative “snow-web quests” using the Weatherbug site and have learned how to change weather station cameras and tracking stations to access data from around the country and compare it with local conditions Second graders utilized www.stephenkrensky, www.enchantedlearning.com, worldbookonline.com (for research) and www.iknowthat.com and Turbo Math for strengthening computation skills. All Second Graders have reviewed how to log into Accelerated Reader to take quizzes on the books they’ve read.
Third Graders began the year with an introduction to the Type to Learn Keyboarding program and spent several classes on the lessons and learning to keep their fingers in the home position while practicing the lessons and games related to the new keys. They spend some time each week advancing to new lessons. (Students also have the opportunity to practice this program during Library Lunch.) Because the students are familiar with the Kid Pix Tools, third graders have been able to apply their knowledge of the drawing tools to create curriculum related projects (i.e.: a compass rose and posters for the Presidential election). They have begun using Microsoft Word and have learned how to change the color, size, font, how to bold, underline and center. They put their new skills to use when typing recipes for a class book. Additionally they have used the www.achieve.weatherbug.com site, www.iknowthat.com All third graders are currently completing a Power Point presentation on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are learning how to insert and manipulate slides, insert pictures and movies from clip art, and change the slides’ backgrounds with fill effects. Third graders have begun to name their files and save them in a folder on the server. All third graders have reviewed how to log in on Accelerated Reader and take the quizzes.
All fourth graders have reviewed the Type to Learn program and spend time each week advancing to a new lesson so that their accuracy and speed continues to improve. Fourth Graders have utilized the Microsoft Word program to type poems and short writing pieces related to curricular studies. They have learned new skills on Microsoft Word which allowed them to design the rock cycle: (i.e.: drawing and filling auto shapes with texture, Word Art, formatting text boxes) They have reviewed and are able to save and retrieve their own files from the server. They have used www.enchantedlearningcom, www.worldbookonline.com for research, have completed webquests with partners, explored author Stephen Krensky’s website, used www.brainpop.com, www.achieve.weatherbug.com, and sent online greetings to soldiers using www.letssaythanks.com. They have created cards on Publisher and have just completed Power Point 2008 Memory presentations. They learned many features which enhance their projects: movies, custom animation, sound, transitions and motion paths. All fourth graders reviewed how to use the Accelerated Reader program.
Fifth Graders have reviewed the Type to Learn Program and continue to make progress learning all of the keys and increasing their speed and accuracy. New Microsoft Word skills have helped them to publish many writing pieces. Students have learned how to minimize and toggle between a browser and document (i.e.: when accessing images). Students have learned how to format images so that that they can be displayed behind text and have continued learning how to manipulate auto shapes, text boxes and Word Art. All students used their skills to create magazine covers, flow charts for “How a Bill Becomes a Law”, and projects related to Stephen Krensky’s books. These types of projects combine many MS Word tools. Students also used Kid Pix to illustrate the digestive system. They have used many websites including Hillview Weather station site at the beginning of the school year to track hurricanes, created graphs with MS Excel, used the Narnia (Disney) interactive site to prepare for Narnia Night. and brainpop.com in conjunction with curriculum studies. Students are currently working on research projects using www.worldbookonline, www.enchantedlearning.com, EBSCO Host databases and will showcase their knowledge through PowerPoint presentations. All fifth graders have the opportunity to spend a marking period working on the school newspaper, Hillview Highlights. Lessons are taught on newspaper layout, interviewing techniques and the inverted pyramid style of writing. Students use MS Word to type/revise/edit and publish their interview questions and articles. Additionally, students use the digital camera to take pictures to accompany their articles. All students have reviewed how to use the Accelerated Program.
Turning Point Technology Grant
Mrs. Munro, Mrs. Scillieri and Ms. Lutkenhouse wrote a grant for Turning Point Technology. This grant allowed HV to further build and expand our students’ technology skills
In addition to Technology instruction in the Computer Lab, we are in the process of implementing Turning Point Technology (clickers) in each classroom. So far, the clickers have been used with a lexile group, and in three classrooms. This technology utilizes PowerPoint slides and allows students to “click in” their responses to questions during lessons and encourages increased student participation.
Additional Instruction and Responsibilities