Introduction to Educational Support Software

Credits:

Steve Gandy
Mountain View Elementary
Broomfield, Colorado
steve@stevegandy.com


VITAL INFORMATION

Subject Matter:
American Studies, Elementary, English Language Arts, Health, History, Information Literacy, Library/Information Sciences, Mathematics, Reading, Research, Science, Social Studies, Technology

Grades:
Kindergarten-5

Software Application:
In this lesson, the software selection, of course, varies. It will depend on what is installed at the school location. It will also depend on which grade level is using it.

LESSON DESCRIPTION

Summary:
While our technology use focus is on productivity, students cannot always be involved in a project. Some will finish early, some will join the group late, and sometimes schedules do not allow the time necessary to start an involved project. So, we use educational software and web sites to "soak" up this lost time as a "sponge".

Students will be introduced to the basic use of the grade level appropriate software that is available in the lab. They will be given sufficient "hands-on" time to become independent users of said software.

State & National Standards:
The curricular standards addressed by this lesson depend totally on which piece of educational support software is being used and on which part of that software is being used. The teacher must become familiar with the various products to determine which ones are appropriate and meet the needs of the students.

Local Standards:
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY SKILLS CONTINUUM
Standard #4 Instructional Software - Students use instructional software to enhance learning in content areas.

4A. Use age-appropriate software to help understand and/or practice concepts in various content areas.

4A.1 Uses site-specific software to accomplish various content standards.

Lesson Outcomes:
Students become independent users of the resources available in the computer labs for educational "play". Thus, when productivity projects near an end or when schedules do not permit project based lab use, those that finish early can become aides or use their time pursuing practice or exploration with the educational software.

Assessment:
Most educational software is self-assessing or can easily be observed by the attending teacher.

Assessment/Rubrics:
N/A

CLASSROOM & TIME MANAGEMENT

Student Prerequisites:
Students should be familiar with the computer lab rules and norms. They should be able to login and launch programs.

Lesson Preparation:
Teachers should arrange the different programs into a sequence that makes sense for their grade level and classroom curriculum. That sequence can then be used as a guide to answer the question, "What next?"

Each piece of software is different, of course, so the teacher may need to review the functions and features of the particular program they are going to review. Often we only use these programs once a year or at a certain point in the year so it is easy to forget the details.

It is recommended that the teacher launch and perform the basic functions prior to reviewing it with the class. Optionally, they may want to review the reference materials available.

Time Frame:
8 class periods. 45 Min. per class.

Implementation Steps:
The time frame listed above is the longest case scenario. The number of actual sessions depends on the grade level, the number of software choices, and how much time the teacher feels is needed on the entire lesson. K, 1, and 2 have traditionally done more work with this type of software than the older students.

These software introductions might take place over a span of weeks or months. We do not recommend doing them back-to-back. Rather, pick a few of the best choices, introduce them and move on to project based activities. Then, if the need arises introduce more of the choices. Many primary teachers switch back and forth from educational software to project activity.

Steps for introducing educational software:

1. Explain why we use it. Some students will not realize it is educational.
2. Model just enough of the use of the program that they can begin. Include any "rules" we use with the program. (10 min)
3. Allow the students to begin using the program. (15 min)
4. Bring the students back to see the "next" part of the program. (10 min)
5. Hands-on time again. (15 min)
6. Repeat until all the features you want to cover are done.

RESOURCES

Lesson Resources:
Attachments:
Software List
A list of all the software choices for students at Mountain View Elementary, Mac Lab.

Links:
 Primary Internet Sites- mountain.adams12.org/21k.html
A clickable list of our pre-screened Internet resources for K, 1, and 2.
Grade 3 Internet Sites- mountain.adams12.org/3rdSites.html
A clickable list of our pre-screened Internet resources for 3rd grade.
Grade 4 Internet Sites- mountain.adams12.org/4thSites.html
A clickable list of our pre-screened Internet resources for 4th grade.
Grade 5 Internet Sites- mountain.adams12.org/5thSites.html
A clickable list of our pre-screened Internet resources for 5th grade.

STUDENT PRODUCT(S)

Product(s) Description:
N/A

REFLECTION

Comments:
We have successfully used this lesson plan at MVES for 8 years.




Kindergarten Software Choices - Mac Lab:
 

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

BIG_TEXT

Fun Fair

McGee

Zoo Zillions

WiggleWorks® Plus

Scavenger Hunt©

Boogie Bunny 1.0

Kindergarten Keys

Logic Blocks 2.0

MacRobots™

Neko's Back! v1.0

MacMemory 1.0

Mac Concentration

Katie's Farm

ODS Robot Challenge

Reader Rabbit 3.0

First Grade Software Choices - Mac Lab:

MatchWord

Zoo Zillions

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

Word Munchers

WiggleWorks® Plus

TurboMathFacts

BIG_TEXT

Mac Concentration

MacMemory 1.0

Base Ten Blocks

Logic Blocks 2.0

MakeEmTalk

PlaceMaker™ Network

Turbo Math Facts

TimeTeacher

Scavenger Hunt©

Reading Journey 1

Reader Rabbit 3.0

Game of the Winds

Boogie Bunny 1.0

Second Grade Software Choices - Mac Lab:

Inspiration® 6.0

MakeEmTalk

MacMemory 1.0

Mac Concentration

Zoo Zillions

Reading Counts!

PlaceMaker™ Network

Middle Text

MatchWord

Boogie Bunny 1.0

Logic Blocks 2.0

Launcher

Word Munchers

WiggleWorks® Plus

TurboMathFacts

Turbo Math Facts

TimeTeacher

Storybook

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Reading Journey 1

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

Base Ten Blocks

hyperPuzzle

AppleWorks

Game of the Winds

BIG_TEXT

Third Grade Software Choices - Mac Lab:

MacChess 3.0

Storybook

Stack - Blank

TEXT

super sentence

MacUSA

MakeEmTalk

Game of the Winds

Base Ten Blocks

MacGlobe

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Reading Counts!

Word Mania 1.0

Type To Learn

HyperStudio 3.2

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

PlaceMaker Network

MapMaker 1.0

Logic Blocks 2.0

Inspiration 6.0

TurboMathFacts

Turbo Math Facts

Zoombini

Zoo Zillions

2 Column Notes

AppleWorks

hyperPuzzle

EARTHQUEST

Fourth Grade Software Choices - Mac Lab:

HANGMAN 1.5

Storybook

Stack - Blank

Space Adventure

2 Column Notes

Number Munchers

Math Blaster Mystery

MakeEmTalk

MacGlobe

HyperStudio 3.2

MacChess 3.0

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

AppleWorks

TurboMathFacts

Turbo Math Facts

TEXT

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Reading Counts!

PlaceMaker™ Network

MacUSA

Peg Board 2.0a

OUT OF THIS WORLD

Oregon Trail

Decimal & Fraction Maze™

Catch A Letter

Zoombini

Word Mania 1.0

Type To Learn

EARTHQUEST

Inspiration® 6.0

Game of the Winds

Fifth Grade Software Choices - Mac Lab:

2 Column Notes

ODS Air Explorer

Kid Pix Deluxe 3

Decimal & Fraction Maze™

The Age of Discovery

TEXT

EARTHQUEST

Catch A Letter

Peg Board 2.0a

Fraction Matching 3

Scholastic Reading Inventory

Reading Counts!

MacChess 3.0

Game of the Winds

HyperStudio 3.2

HANGMAN 1.5

MakeEmTalk

AppleWorks

Zoombini

Word Mania 1.0

USA map game

Type To Learn

PlaceMaker™ Network

Inspiration® 6.0

MacGlobe

Math Blaster Mystery

TurboMathFacts

Turbo Math Facts

MacUSA

Storybook

Stack - Blank

Number Munchers


Developed under a grant from Sun Microsystems, Inc. Open Gateways at Mountain View
Elementary School by Steve Gandy, Technology Coordinator - mountain.adams12.org/TISS © 2003