Month: September 2021

Tools for Typing!

The days of typing class are over – no more IBM Selectric typewriters lined up in class, with the Business Department teacher intoning ‘A, S, D, F, J, K, L, semi’.  Students today have grown up with computers, they must know how to type, right? Not based on what I’ve observed in the classroom and library.

The key to typing faster and more accurately is no surprise……PRACTICE. Lucky for us, learning to touch type has gotten a LOT more fun. This year, I have a dedicated class for 6th graders on keyboarding (file that under ‘better late than never’). While we used Type to Learn 4, this year we needed a new platform. We moved on to EduTyping, which we found to be an affordably priced platform that allows me to be able to track student progress and assign lessons, and allowed students to practice from anywhere using this cloud-based program. There are some other tools that can help students fine tune their typing technique and speed:

FreeTypingGame has games to play and lessons you can download. It is free, but it has ads, which are distracting.

BBC has Dance Mat Typing, which is a ton of fun. The typing ‘DJ’ has a pretty thick Scottish brogue, which American students may find difficult to understand. There is also some reading to do, which makes this less usable for the youngest students.

Nitro Type is the most popular typing game in my library. Student love to race each other and collect in-game currency.

I see my Kindergarten students an extra class time each week for a technology/computer class. The keyboarding skills I focus on with them are primarily letter identification, but we will spend some time looking at the keyboard and trying to find the keys for each letter. Simple keyboarding games like Typing Rocket Junior and Keyboard Zoo are just right.

Aaaaaaand we’re back!

It’s only about 9pm here, the night before school starts. I have lesson plans zipping around my head, and scattered thoughts of Big Plans. One thing at a time. First task is to get everyone (including me!) back in the library swing. I need to take my time.

Who would have thought that the 2021-2022 school year would feel more perilous than last year? 200 of the 300 students in my school are too young to be vaccinated against COVID19. It is inevitable that there will be students quarantining throughout the year. I am back in the library space this year, after a year of helping 2nd grade remote learners. That means it’s been *18 MONTHS* since I have been in, let alone taught in, my library. YIKES.

So these first weeks are going to be filled with library ‘refreshers’ like where to sit (we have to know who’s where in the event contact tracing becomes necessary), and rethought circulation procedures. I’ve claimed an ipad and have the Follett Destiny app installed so I can check books out while students are seated. One little thing solved.

Instruction is going to be mostly the same content, but I’m embracing the best practice learned during remote instruction of using a visual agenda. Each class will have a Google slide with that week’s plan. You can see an example here. The benefits are that for in-person instruction, my links are ready to go at a touch. In the event of quarantined students learning remotely, all I need to do is pop the slide into my Google Classroom and they will have everything they need in one compact place..

Grades K-3 lessons will focus on storytime and discussion, with some additional materials brought in to enrich the lesson.  We’ll work on library orientation a little bit at a time, until I feel they are ready to check books out. I have to remember it has been a looooong time since they have been in the library, or even seen me.

We have a whole school 9/11 Remembrance planned. I will share a paired reading with grades 4 and 5, which will be a good vehicle to introduce notetaking. This is a skill we will practice throughout the year, building up to a summary. These grades will also review library orientation and getting started with locating books by section and in the catalog. Ebooks will be an exciting addition to the lineup. The Connected Libraries Consortium through Mackin has been a game-changer in terms of the value and ebook collection. We’ll be putting those new chromebooks to good use!

 

Time to finish this week’s lesson plans. Sweet dreams and happy reading!