Fern Bluff’s K-2 students have access to Raz-Kids, an online leveled reading library. It is an interactive site where they can improve their reading skills by: listening to books; reading books and clicking on works that don’t know or can’t pronounce for help; or reading independently. They can also check their comprehension through accompanying quizzes. Pictured is a student from Mr. Tidwell’s 2nd Grade class.
In addition to helping our students find books in the library, our librarian Ms. Dalton instructs classes on how to access an array of online resources for reseach. In the picture, you can see Ms. Dalton utilizling an interactive whiteboard (a.k.a. Smartboard) to test some kindergartners knowledge of animals that they recently researched.
Before the Internet was invented we used to have rely on books and other printed materials to find information. But what do must of us do now when we want to find something out quickly? We Google it! In order for today’s students to hone their own skills using the Internet, they need exposure to online research (in a safe-search environment) and instruction and practice on how to effectively sift through all of the sites that are in cyberspace to find what they are looking for. Webquests are a great way to create a lesson that gives them that exposure. “A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.” These 4th grade students from Ms. Gray’s and Ms. Barrett’s classes are participating in a webquest to find out about metamorphosis.
Along with the bound copies of the RRISD adopted math books, teachers and students now have access to that same material and much more online. All students (and/or parents) have to do is go to the Fern Bluff homepage, and under “Student Resources” select “Pearson/Envision” [their username and password are provided by their teacher]. Besides the exact same content as the textbook, the online version also has a premium section that teachers can assign that walks students through concepts with guided pratice and follow-up assessments. In addition, students also have access to virtual manipulatives in both the standard and premium sections to help them out. In the picture is a student from Ms. Barrett’s 4th grade class learning about capacity/measurement.
