5th Grade Computing Technology

This site contains information concerning the activities and assignments related to the 5th Grade Computer course! This site serves as a resource for students throughout the course of the year they will spend here in the Middle School CAD-Lab. It can also be a resource for parents to learn more about what their students are doing from day to day. Please watch in the future for daily lesson plans as well as the entire curriculum document to be available here for your viewing pleasure.

What will they learn?

All Year - Keyboarding (At least 3 classes each Quarter)

Students use Type to Learn 4 to develop proper keyboarding skills using the keyboards homerow keys to become touch typists. Touch typing means that students can accurately type text on a screen without the need to look down at the keyboard. Students practice their skills using Practice & Lessons in the Typing Tutor software. All students are encouraged to find a comfortable typing speed where they can be the most accurate, and to increase their speed as they become more comfortable with the keyboard layout and the inability to see the keyboard layout due to the use of keyboard covers.

Click on thumbnail for keyboard layout.

By the end of the year, students are to achieve a typing speed of at least 15 words per minute and 85% accuracy. Achieving these two goals will result in a grade of Outstanding. Typing grades for the 1st through 3rd quarters will be based on students effort to develop those Touch Typist skills and their dedication to the task, and not on their speed and accuracy. The 4th quarter will be scored based on the speed and accuracy goals mentioned above..
 

Want to practice at home? Check out these websites!

• Keyboarding Practice
• Online Free Typing Lessons
• Gamequarium - Keyboarding Games

First Quarter - Internet Safety

Students view a PowerPoint Presentation (available for download here) concerning Internet Safety. This slideshow was updated recently to include a section on Cyber Bullying. Afterwards, they will go to a number of kid friendly websites to use what they learned to play some fun Internet Safety related games!

Second Quarter - Web Basics

Students view a PowerPoint Presentation (available for download here) concerning Web Basics, Internet vs. the Library, & Website Evaluation. Students will then complete a group activity to evaluate a website that their group will be assigned, in addition they will also complete an online scavenger hunt using age appropriate search engines and their research skills they learned!

• Activities Include:
  • Web Evaluation Techniques
    • Webquest Site
  • Internet Scavenger Hunt
    • Winter Weather
    • Penguins Around the World

Third Quarter - Internet Research

Students will use the knowledge they learned gained the 2nd Quarter to conduct research on a variety of topics. They will investigate an invention and an inventor as well as information about one of 50 states as part of the People, Places, & Things activity. This activity will actually run for the second half of the year, the focus for this quarter will be on information gathering.

• People, Places, & Things Links
  • Webquest Site
  • Downloadable Worksheet
  • Subject Bookmarks:
    • People
    • Places
    • Things

Fourth Quarter - Multimedia Presentation

Students will use the information they acquired during the 3rd Quarter about their assigned Person, Place, & Thing to produce a PowerPoint Presentation. If there is any time remaining in the school year after completing the Presentation, students will either complete an additional Internet Scanvenger Hunt, or work with the Lego Mindstorm Robotics equipment.