Computers at GICS

Our computer lab is located in the library building.  It has 11 networked workstations for student use.  All students receive weekly computer instruction, and all grades and subject areas are welcome to use the lab for additional studies.

Be sure to check out our Monthly Highlights following the Curriculum Overview!

Curriculum Overview

Pre-Kindergarten

     The Pre-Kindergarten computer program is designed to help students see computers as familiar learning and working tools.  Pre-Kindergarteners become familiar with terms such as computer, mouse, mouse pad, keyboard, click, double click, and enter, and learn to open and navigate through programs on their own.  The emphasis at this level is on graphic-oriented programs, allowing students to practice their motor skills while becoming comfortable using a mouse and keyboard.

Kindergarten

    The Kindergarten program continues to provide students with opportunities to use computer hardware and software to enhance their learning.  Students locate specific alphabet keys on the keyboard, and type their first names on their work.  They continue to work on their mouse skills, selecting buttons and objects to change the appearance of their designs.  Experimentation is encouraged as graphics programs are explored more fully.

1^st Grade

    Students become more familiar with navigation tools in the first grade, sending their work to the printer, opening new pages, and exiting programs.  They begin to type simple sentences in different programs, using the Shift key to capitalize letters and the space bar to properly space between words.  The first graders work with a variety of programs that reinforce their language arts and math skills, and page design is emphasized as students work to make their computer-created designs match their intended results.

2^nd Grade

    In Second Grade, students continue to expand their knowledge of the keyboard, backspacing, deleting, and adding lines while typing.  Students learn to save their work to a hard drive and re-open it in later classes.  More use is made of programs that involve reading skills as well as computer skills, and students use encyclopedias on CD-ROM and the Internet to conduct research.

3^rd Grade

    Third graders continue to expand their knowledge of computer operations and software.  They write and illustrate stories, create brochures for class presentations, work with two open programs simultaneously, and learn to save their work to both floppy disks and network drives for later editing.  Text and images are copied and pasted between programs, and the Internet continues to be explored as a source for information and graphics.

4^th Grade

      Fourth graders navigate through a variety of programs independently, compare different Internet search engines, format and edit text, scan images, copy and paste images from other sources, and create simple PowerPoint presentations.  Basic troubleshooting techniques are taught, as well as ways of modifying desktop appearances, mouse controls, and sounds.  Keyboarding practice begins as students learn to use proper hand positions and to memorize keys’ positions on the keyboard.

5^th Grade

     Fifth graders continue to practice keyboarding and file management skills and now begin to work with spreadsheets as well.  They regularly use non-print sources to locate information, copy, paste and multi-task on their own, and use their knowledge of software programs’ generic similarities to explore, navigate and use new and unfamiliar software packages.

     The fifth graders also have the use of personal laptops throughout the year.  The laptops are given to the students toward the end of their 4th grade year.  They take them home to use over the summer, then use them as a normal part of their school day throughout their senior year.  When May comes around again, they are collected, re-formatted, and given to the upcoming 5th grade class for use in their fifth grade year.

     Begun in the 2007-2008 school year, the laptop program has proven both popular and beneficial.  The students use the laptops as a normal part of their academic day, taking notes, writing reports, doing research, tracking data in spreadsheets, and creating presentations, as well as learning essential computer use and maintenance skills.  The program has proven to be a success, and we hope to continue it for many years to come.

Back to Top

Computer Highlights

May & June 2008

Pre-K:  In May and June, the students will be using their skills to create a variety of designs including Mother’s Day cards and scenes showcasing aquatic mammals. They will also be working their way through Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo and other interactive programs.

Kindergarten:  In May and June, students will be working on selecting and moving objects as they sort a variety of transportation vehicles. They will then create backgrounds showing the different environments – water, land, and air – for those vehicles.
 

1^st Grade:  In May, students will create pictures that reflect their studies of Mexico. They will have time to design cards for Mother’s Day as well. Toward the end of the month and into June, we will find some interesting ways to illustrate fractions and hopefully combine those sheets into a book that can be kept on display in the classroom.
 

2^nd Grade:  The students will be introduced to Microsoft Publisher this month. They will use existing designs to begin their projects and then explore editing options to change colors, fonts, and backgrounds. Toward the end of the month, they will practice some logical reasoning skills using the Zoombini’s Logical Journey program.
 

3^rd Grade:  To finish the year, the students will be working their way through Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego? They will be using a variety of reference tools and their deductive reasoning skills in their pursuit of Carmen while learning about the United States at the same time.
 

4^th Grade:  In preparation for next year’s use of individual laptops, each student will be given a school network account this month and will begin to login to this account each class period.

They will begin the month exploring Microsoft Publisher, learning how to edit existing templates as well as how to create a new publication. Each week’s work will be saved to the student’s personal account with a unique file name so that student’s can better understand the difference between Save and Save As options as well as track the changes that they make to their work.

Students will be receiving their laptops/notebooks at the end of the month. We will use our time in early June to practice logging in, creating shortcuts, exploring personalization options, and reviewing the work that they are to do over the summer. (Next year’s going to be great!)
 

5^th Grade:  We will be working with spreadsheets in these final weeks. The students will begin with a graphing activity that will introduce them to formatting options, then they will record data about their class and school demographics and create a variety of graphs to reflect that data.

Back to Top