Special Ideas for Younger Children: Using the Internet in the Primary Grades

Chapter 9

Teaching With the Internet K – 12: New Literacies for New Times
Leu, Leu, and Coiro

Again this week, I responded to the four suggestions of what we should be able to do according to the textbook. I reviewed Websites that were available for each of the four suggestions listed. I took a thorough look at about ten or more sites.

At recess time, I talked with our building Computer Specialist to let her know our Social Literacies Class was working on Preschool – 3 use of the internet. I told her there were some sites for Parents regarding the child’s safe use of the internet and also information about commercialization of not only .com sites but also of the educational sites. Great suggestions were given in the text to help counter these problems such as try not to use sites that have ads. Teach children not to open any ad site or to write their name anywhere without parent permission on the web sites. Our Computer Specialist encouraged me to publish these safety sites URL’s for the teachers. Perhaps the P.T.A. newsletter would be willing to publish these sites as well for the parents.

Since I don’t work directly with the K-3 students, the only way I could really assist is to share some of the exceptional sites that I have looked at. When I looked for emergent reader’s information, I found a really fun site that was recommended by others. It is www.professorgarfield.org/parents_teachers/home. There were colorful pictures, sound, action, and helpful topics. The child could go fishing for initial consonants or final consonants with Garfield with action and sound. There were electronic field trips to pick from. Then the Dolch words were listed and printable for Word Walls for PrePrimer on up. Lots of other fun activities could take place at this site.

Mrs. Silverman’s Webfolio was an impressive site to share with teachers at our school, also. Although it has to be searched out more carefully to find what is useable and where it is located.

I found that the Mind’s Eye Monster Exchange had no Wyoming schools involved in it. But for an Internet project this site would be very educational and a helpful site. There are lesson plans, time lines, and the objectives of reading, writing, drawing and technology. It is set to run the spring of 2008 for those who are interested.

This past week our class has been solidifying their multiplication facts. I have work sheets with 20 problems on each of the times two, times three, times four, and so on. They take a one minute test on it. When they get all twenty problems correct, they move to the next level as from the times two to the times three. We have taken one test a day. I needed printable flash cards for the students to practice with. These I found at www.funbrain.com/flashcard/ so that I could make a set for each child who wanted a set to use to practice. Today after they had gotten their flash card sets, they were eager to practice with a friend without even being told to. I believe that this idea could be used with younger student also.

Today, I used the A Plus Math site to make some division worksheets from scratch. The teacher can set up the parameters for number size, number of problems, types of problems, number ranges, how far apart, and so on. What an exciting tool to learn how to use.

So this coming week, I plan to share a few of these exceptional useable sites for the Preschool to third grade teachers but it will be sent out to all the building staff. It will be interesting to see if it generates some greater technology interest by the staff for the young ones at our school.