Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Hoover Happenings November 2010

I hope you all have a wonderful winter break.

Students in fifth grade are now using MAPS Apps, our local name for Google Apps. They have taken home a letter describing the program and including directions and their login. Please remember that for elementary students their email will enable them to send and receive within the “isd77” domain. They are working on a presentation, similar to Power Point, which includes text and graphics. Most of them are pretty excited. In January they will contribute to blogs and wikis within the district.

Students in fourth and third grades are finishing up Word documents that include text and graphics. They will start using MAPS Apps in January. Look for the letter including their username and passwords then.

Second graders are exploring illustrated books and how pictures help tell the stories. We are focusing on quality literature as exemplified by Caldecott Award books. They will be learning how to save and retrieve on the computer and how to give credit to book creators.

First graders are using KidPix to demonstrate their understanding of stories and information. They will retell stories and ask questions about them. Kindergarteners will identify fiction and non-fiction and navigate to appropriate websites.

You can easily get to the Hoover website by putting the URL (web address) in the search line. www.isd77.org/he

Enjoy your time with your families.

Anne Hanson

Monday, October 25, 2010

More good intentions


Greetings all, and I hope there's at least one person out there.

The media specialists in Mankato Area Public Schools are embarking on a new adventure. We hope you will join us.


In media classes we are finishing up Halloween stories and activities and making sure we finish our Learner Outcomes for this grading period. Then students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will begin to use Google Docs and Microsoft Word.

Please join us again.