Children's Literature

Describe to students how the character in Click Here: (To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade), by Denise Vega, has her own Web page on the school's Web site. Read how Erin mistakenly gets discs mixed up and posts her private journal on the school's intranet, pages 158-164. She discovers this over the Thanksgiving holiday. Have students make individual notes on what she should or could do, and then put them in groups to share their ideas and reach a group recommendation.

Mathematics

Manipulatives are important tools for helping students understand the meaning of mathematics concepts. The following URL takes you to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html. The homepage contains a chart of topics, and the manipulatives are arranged by grade ranges. Explore a wide range of mathematics topics and concepts on this site, taking advantage of the power of the digital classroom.

Science

How can you make rain? Search for the topic on the Internet. How many different ways can you share this information with your classmates, friends and family? Discuss how technology has changed how students collect and share information.

Technology

The classroom of the future may not look anything like the one that our students are learning in now. Computers, Digital Blackboards, Smartboards, Thinkpads and tablets are finding use in the classrooms of today. The Internet and distance learning are also features that teachers rely upon to expand the classroom into the world around our schools. Teachers and students must have some information technology processing skills to perform well in schools. The question is: What will classrooms of the future look like? Has all the information technology enhanced the teaching and learning process?

Ask students to design the classroom of the future, based on the remarkable changes that have occurred in the last few years. On sheets of paper, encourage students to design a classroom of the future. They should list any information technology used in the class. When their drawings and lists are completed, they will explain their ideas to the other members of the class.