First grade students completed  their Word Sorts for Words Their Way Spelling  by using the laptops and software Kidspiration Program. They had a list of words completed on their notebooks, but used the computer to make the Word Sort Chart. 

 Students were instructed on what to include on the chart, but the rest was left to their creativity.
Once they completed their work, they printed a copy to display.
Spelling was an especially fun subject today, thanks to Kidspiration and a laptop lab!



Here are some examples of their work. 

Students were asked to place the main word in an oval, then add the other words beneath it by using the rectangle.

Some students experimented with changing colors of categories. 

Projects in Kidspiration

TAG students from Mrs. Horony's Grade 3 group are creating some projects using the Kidspiration software.

The topic was" Someone Special to Me," and students used the graphic organizer to select pictures to characterize that person.

Once they completed the project, they printed them to put with the rest of their independent study project. Projects were also saved electronically to present as well.

Absorbed in Learning!

First grade students in Mrs. Zientek's room are used the Laptop Lab
at Blackland Prairie to research animals. Prior to today, the class had completed a class research project on penguins, but now they are able to research different topics.

Each student, armed with a graphic organizer and clipboard, used the school and district online resources to find various facts about their subject.

One source used is Pebble Go, an award winning PreK-3 database for reading and research. There is a built in reading and research tool so students may listen or watch the passage as it is read. Students listed facts about their animal in a graphic organizer, which will be used when students compose their papers.

Another online source used was World Book Kids. Students were able to access various articles or videos on their topics.

All these resources may be used at home as well. Parents may be provided with the user name and password for these either from the classroom teacher or the librarian.

Election Day at BPE!

Students at Blackland Prairie participated in an online voting election last Tuesday. Martha Kuhl, Social Studies committee representative, gave each class a schedule of when and where they would vote.

Parent and 5th grade student volunteers were available to help with getting the screen ready for the next voter, and handing out the "I voted" sticker as they exited the polling places.

Hallways were decorated with art posters from Mrs. Gonser.

Ballots were submitted electronically, and results were revealed at the end of the day. 

Hopefully this voting experience will encourage them to participate in elections when they are eligible to vote.