Your Child and Technology: What your Third Grader Needs to Know Part 2

Your Child and Technology: What Your Third Grader Needs to Know

From managing a mouse to using an online encyclopedia, your third grader will find technology an increasingly valuable learning tool.

By GreatSchools Staff

Technology in language arts

Language arts — once exclusively the realm of paper and ink — get an enormous boost from technology. Third grade students learn basic essay writing skills and begin to write short opinion essays and informational reports, and they're likely to do some of their research on the Internet. (See the Common Core Standards.)

Audio books and audio-enhanced text books allow third graders to immerse themselves in a culture of storytelling, fit more books into their busy lives, allow books to compete with other media for entertainment value, and get hooked on reading as a lifelong pleasure. Using a tablet or a computer, students can learn to look up unfamiliar words to master new vocabulary and practice pronunciation. And digital book creation, video editing, and animation tools enable students to become authors of their own stories. A word processor — with grammar correction — can improve students' grammar and spelling as they write, by noting mistakes as they happen and offering corrections.

Math with a multimedia twist

Technology helps kids master math concepts with games and apps that illustrate more complex multiplication and division, as well as fractions and geometric concepts. A host of educational apps for tablets ask children to touch and manipulate math concepts on the screen. Math-based computer games transform rote drills into games that take advantage of gaming fever to drill facts into memory. Online animations and multimedia lessons can turn a math lesson into entertainment that teaches as it enthralls; they also allow students to review a lesson whenever they wish. And the Internet brings concepts and teachers — outstanding teachers like Salmon Kahn of Kahn Academy (which offers hundreds of video classes on math, science, and other subjects) — into the classroom to inspire young minds.

Technology as a science aid

To track and chart scientific data, your third grader may use spreadsheet programs like Excel. You child may be also introduced to creating and using database software such as FileMaker Pro or Microsoft Access to classify information. Kids may work from templates in which a spreadsheet or database has already been created and they need to enter the information. Your third grader may contribute to a spreadsheet of the class's favorite foods or a database classifying their library of books.

In an Internet-connected classroom, science is as close as the whiteboard, monitor, tablet, or computer screen. At this level, children can watch close-up footage or animation of the human body, dinosaurs, space, or cells. They can play with animated versions of the elements in the periodic table or simulations of tornados or the night sky. Websites like Khan Academy, Brainpop.com, Discovery Education, ,and The Jason Projectallow kids to access multimedia lessons and animations that transform science instruction into adventure. And to help young students imagine themselves as scientists, the teacher can invite working scientists — virtually — into the classroom and let students ask questions of the researchers themselves.

Your Child and Technology: What your Third Grader Needs to Know Part 1

Your Child and Technology: What your Third Grader Needs to Know

From managing a mouse to using an online encyclopedia, your third grader will find technology an increasingly valuable learning tool.

By GreatSchools Staff

Technology enhances learning

Technology in the third grade classroom can provide a rich, entertaining range of learning opportunities that engage young minds and get them excited about all aspects of the curriculum. Your child will use technological tools to enhance her understanding of core subjects, including language arts, science, and math. According to the Common Core Standards Initiative that the majority of states adopted in 2010-2011, third graders should master certain basic technology skills that can be used in core subjects like reading, writing, science, and math. (Many states also follow the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.)

In third grade, your child will build on essential reading and writing skills, memorize math facts, and, through the lens of science, learn about the world around them. While using technology is no substitute for reading a book, mastering the multiplication tables, or conducting research for a science project, it's an important tool to supplement classroom instruction. Even more important, technological literacy is essential for your child's future.

Technology skills your child should have by the end of third grade

Should haves:

•Basic keyboarding and typing skills

•Ability to use a mouse to click, drag, and drop

•Introductory Internet research skills (with adult supervision)

•Experience using online dictionaries and glossaries to look up words

•Basic understanding of cybersecurity do's and don'ts

Nice to haves:

•Basic ability to use clip art and photo editing tools

•Basic ability to use PowerPoint or other presentation software

•Basic ability to use Excel or other programs to organize data and create graphs

Technology your third grader may find in the classroom

•One or more computers or tablets with access to the Internet (including Internet safeguards) and a printer

•Still and video digital cameras, photo editing software, animation tools

•Interactive whiteboard and a large monitor or projector the teacher can use to engage students in multimedia lessons

•Educational software, including multimedia encyclopedias and dictionaries, typing programs, interactive books, and educational games

The amount and quality of technology third graders have access to varies widely from school to school. Some schools have the resources to provide state-of-the-art computers and whiteboards in every classroom; others have a single computer lab that all students share. When evaluating your third grader's technology experience, the number and brand of computers in the classroom is less important to consider than how well technology is integrated into learning at your child's school.

Your Child and Technology: What Your Second Grader Needs to Know Part 2

Your Child and Technology: What Your Second Grader Needs to Know

Your second grader will learn to use technology tools like email and simple graphing software.
By GreatSchools Staff

Technology skills your second grader needs

To be on track, here’s what your child should know by the end of second grade:

•Computer terminology: learn the proper terminology to communicate about computers, such as the monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and speakers, and software terms (and how to find them on the screen) such as menu, file, save, print, and quit.

•Keyboard and mouse: continue mastering (after learning the basics in first grade) use of the keyboard and mouse; use a mouse to click, drag, and drop; know the keys on the left and right side of the keyboard; practice typing the home keys and using the space bar; use the correct body position, hand-wrist position, and proper techniques for striking the keys. (Some schools may be using a program that teaches your second grader how to type).

•Send email: know the basics of how to send and receive email.

•Publishing basics: with guidance from the teacher, write and publish or print a simple document using a web-publishing program.

•Web basics: understand how to do online research and navigate websites the teacher has bookmarked for them.

By learning these skills in second grade, your child will have the basic knowledge needed to start doing research and communicating thoughts in writing, which are essential to learning core academic subjects like reading, writing, math, and science.

Using technology for language arts

As second graders become more proficient in reading and writing, multimedia tools can be used more frequently as academic aids. According to the second grade Common Core Standards, second graders should know how to use digital tools to "produce and publish" written work (anything from a short story to a poem to a report on a historical figure) — and even illustrate this work using KidPix or digital photos. Your second grader may use presentation software such as PowerPoint to add to a class book or slide show, making a slide with both pictures and text. Your second graders might also be expected to know how to use online dictionaries and glossaries to find definitions. In addition, as second graders refine their abilities of self-expression, they might be asked to create audio recordings of stories or poems.

Using technology for math

Your second grader may use spreadsheet programs like Excel to organize data and make graphs (technical skills that will also be essential for science). He may work from a template in which the spreadsheet is already created, so your child can enter the information needed. Free websites like Kahn Academy can help second graders complete a full math curriculum whether they want to brush up or they’re ready to race ahead. A bonus for parents whose kids love playing with smartphones or tablets: knowing how to navigate a touch screen device comes in handy for strengthening math skills by taking advantage of educational apps (like this), which allow children to touch and manipulate math concepts on the screen.

Using technology for science

In just a few years, your second grader will need to know how to research and write detailed reports on everything from sea turtles to supernovas. This year, your child may build toward that goal by learning more advanced techniques for conducting online scientific research (for example, looking up facts about Saturn on a website about the solar system). Your child’s classroom may be equipped with a full range of tech tools, like cameras, computers, tablets, or white boards, which help bring science to life. Children can watch close-up footage of whales, rainforests, or space. They might use apps to play with animated versions of the elements in the periodic table or simulations of tornados or the night skyor even watch science experiments online (like this). As with math, your second grader may be required to use online graphing tools like Excel for science assignments to, for example, contribute to a class spreadsheet about temperatures taken over a period of time.

Your Child and Technology: What Your Second Grader Needs to Know Part 1

Your Child and Technology: What Your Second Grader Needs to Know

Your second grader will learn to use technology tools like email and simple graphing software.
By GreatSchools Staff

Second graders in a high-tech world

In our tech-savvy world, even second graders need some basic skills. By the end of the school year, your second grader may be using word processing programs, draw and paint software, and presentation software (like PowerPoint) to complete classroom activities in a range of subject areas, including reading, writing, math, and science. Used judiciously, multimedia tools like these can help develop a young child's higher order thinking skills (problem solving, critical thinking, and analyzing), promote creativity, and be an invaluable academic aid.

According to the Common Core Standards Initiative, which the majority of states adopted in 2010-2011, second graders should be learning a suite of technological skills to support core subjects like reading, writing, and math. (Many states also follow the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S). Reality check: although these technology standards exist, how much teachers incorporate them varies widely.

Some mastery of basic skills in the second grade will start your child on the road to technological literacy — a necessity in the 21st century. The goal is that by the end of elementary school, students will know how to make use of multimedia tools that support their education. Here’s a primer for the types of technology you might find in your second grader's classroom, what skills your second grader needs to have, and how these skills can help your child learn.

Tools of the second grade

Your second grader may have one or more computer workstations in the classroom, visit a computer lab once a week, or may not use technology regularly at all. If your child's class does use technology to support learning, here are the tools you might expect to find:

•Educational software that reinforces reading and math skills
•Multimedia encyclopedias and dictionaries
•Digital camera
•Video camera
•Interactive story books on a computer
•One computer or more with access to the Internet and a printer
•Large-screen display connected to a computer
•An interactive whiteboard
•One tablet or more

Even if your child's class has little more than a computer and printer, there’s no need to panic. The skills a second grader needs can be taught using these basic tech tools.

10 Sugar Bombs Healthier Than Children's Cereal

10 Sugar Bombs Healthier Than Children's Cereal

According to an article from msn.health.com, you wouldn’t serve Oreos or ice cream sandwiches for breakfast, but you’re ingesting a similar amount of sugar when you eat some kids’ cereals

By Emily G. W. Chau

 

Sweet Scott!

A Twinkie is hardly the breakfast of champions, but it turns out that the much-maligned childhood favorite contains less sugar than a bowl of Honey Smacks. According to a report from the Environmental Working Group, a number of cereals pack at least as much sugar as cookies, candies, and cakes—turning the most important meal of the day into another opportunity for dessert. (Search: Healthy breakfast ideas) To show just how bad children’s cereal can be, we’ve rounded up 10 surprising foods that contain fewer grams of sugar than the worst cereal offenders.* The findings are hardly sweet.

Twinkies

You might not believe it, but these golden cakes contain less sugar than a bowl of Honey Smacks. Twinkies pack a whopping 18 g of sugar per roll, but the Kellogg’s breakfast cereal contains more—a full 20 g of sugar per cup.

Klondike Ice Cream Sandwich

If you’re shoveling spoonfuls of Golden Crisps into your mouth for breakfast, you might as well be eating dessert. One cup of Golden Crisps contains more sugar than a Klondike ice cream sandwich (18.7 g vs. 16 g).

Milano Double Chocolate Cookies

Holy sugar bomb, Batman! You can chomp down two Milano Double Chocolate cookies and still get less of a sugar rush than if you ate 1 cup of Froot Loops Marshmallow cereal. Two cookies contain 10 g of sugar, while the cereal has 14 g per cup, or one extra teaspoon of sugar.

Ho Hos

Ho Hos are hardly healthy, but one of these chocolate and cream rolls contains one less gram of sugar than a bowl of Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries (14 g vs. 15 g). Oops is right.

Jolly Ranchers

Finish off four of these suckers and you’ve still got sugar to spare compared to a bowl of original Cap’n Crunch. Essentially pure sugar, four Jolly Ranchers contain 14.7 g; a bowl of the Cap’n contains 16 g.

Pixy Stix

Pour seven Pixy Stix down your throat and you’ve almost eaten as much sugar as if you munched on a cup of Oh!s—but not quite. While a fistful of sugar sticks contains 15 g of sugar, a bowl of the seemingly innocuous Oh!s packs 16 g.

Chips Ahoy

You’re practically eating spoonfuls of sugar—or cookies—if you pour yourself some Kellogg’s Smorz cereal. One cup of the chocolaty, marshmallow-y cereal has two more grams of sugar than three Chips Ahoy cookies (13 g vs 11 g).

Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnut

Nothing says sugar overload quite like a Krispy Kreme doughnut fresh out of the oven, but fact is, a cup of Apple Jacks contains more of the sweet stuff. While a doughnut will set you back 10 g of sugar, the appley Os sneak in 12 g per cup.

Oreos

Any way you twist ‘em, three Oreos actually have fewer grams of sugar than a cup of Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries (14 g vs 14.7 g).

Starbucks Iced Caffe Latte

Coffee drinks get a bad rap for packing hidden sugars—and for good reason. However, kid’s cereal can sneak in even more. Who knew, but a grande iced caffe latte actually has one less gram of sugar than a bowl of original Froot Loops.

Talking About Migraine

Talking About Migraine

According to an article from msn.health.com, a  headache specialist discusses the causes of and treatments for migraines.
By Harvard Health Publications

What is a migraine headache?

Migraine can be defined as a limiting headache — a headache that stops you from functioning. The pain is not a mild, insignificant thing you can ignore; you must actively decide what to do about it. Nausea is also a common symptom.

More and more it seems like migraine is a separate illness. In the future, it's likely that we'll be able to define migraine by its distinct genetic pattern.

Where does the pain come from?

We think that migraine "lives" in the brain. The brain doesn't have pain receptors, but it processes pain signals from other parts of the body. It's the pain processing networks, or centers, in the brain that are overly reactive or dysfunctional in migraine.

Isn't there a theory that the pain comes from the dilation — widening — of blood vessels in the brain?

That was the dominant theory in the '60s. But much of the evidence now is that blood vessel constriction and dilation is an epiphenomenon — something that accompanies the pain from migraine but doesn't cause it.

Where do triggers fit in?

The notion of triggers is central to the diagnosis of migraine. We look for patterns of reactivity and for events or circumstances that set off individual headaches. The problem is that even when you identify triggers, there's frequently not a lot you can do about them. You can't control weather changes, for example.

I think triggers have often been overemphasized in some of the self-help approaches to migraine. Advice on managing triggers can suggest a sense of personal control over migraines that often isn't there.

And dietary triggers?

They exist, but I also think that people can drive themselves crazy trying to identify them. We frequently hear patients report that when they are adequately treated, chocolate, alcohol, and other dietary triggers disappear.

Have drugs like Imitrex made a big difference?

Imitrex [sumatriptan] is one of the triptan drugs. The triptans have revolutionized treatment of migraine headaches once they start to occur — what we call abortive treatment. They allow people to take a specific medicine to target a specific condition and often get back to having a fairly normal day.

People also take medication on an ongoing basis to keep the headaches from occurring, don't they?

Yes, we have three major groups of preventive medications that we prescribe: antiseizure medications, blood pressure drugs, and the older tricyclic antidepressants. It is a diverse set of agents, and why they work is not entirely clear, but they seem to reduce headache reactivity — the triggers may still be there, but they fail to set off the migraine event. Botulinum toxin — Botox — injections into various places the head seem to help reduce headache reactivity in some people.

Is there one that you prescribe more than the others?

I have found amitriptyline [Elavil, Endep, others], one of the older tricyclics, to be particularly effective, often at a low dose: 10 milligrams a day compared with the 100- to 150-milligram dose that was used for depression. Sedation and weight gain are side effects. Amitriptyline is long-acting, so I usually recommend that people take it around dinnertime so they don't sleep too late.

Are there any alternative approaches that work?

Complementary and alternative therapies are usually not strong enough to treat a tough migraine problem alone, but they might be helpful for a mild one. And a lot of these treatments are very hard to study in a double-blind fashion.

The technique for which there is the most evidence is biofeedback, but the problem is that biofeedback is not widely available and often isn't covered by insurance. My own personal favorite for patients is yoga, because it is so widely available and affordable, and it probably has other health benefits.

What about supplements?

Headache specialists seem to love to argue about them. Everybody has their favorite combinations. I suppose the ones I like are melatonin, the sleep hormone; coenzyme Q10; and magnesium.

How has your own understanding of migraine evolved over the years?

Certainly our knowledge about migraine has improved. But if I had to pick one thing, it would be my appreciation of just how much of an impact migraines can have on people's lives. It took me 15 to 20 years to really understand what migraine patients are going through and what a huge impediment migraine is on their lives. I've also come to understand that it often takes a lot for people to come in for care. Many patients have some level of shame about their migraines.

Shame? Really?

Shame is a strong word, but I think it's appropriate. They have shame because they think they should be able to handle it on their own. And shame because they have often made an effort to talk to doctors about migraine and have been passed off as complainers.

Your Child and Technology: What Your First Grader Needs to Know Part 2

Your Child and Technology: What Your First Grader Needs to Know

When first graders use technology in the classroom, they start to use a keyboard; master terms like menu, file, save, and quit; and even learn to navigate the web.
By GreatSchools Staff

Using technology for reading and writing

Common Core Standards recommend that first graders be able to listen to a story online and answer questions about key details in the text. At a minimum, first graders should also be able to read basic computer terms ("Menu," "File," "Print," "Quit") so they can use a standard word processing program. Ideally, they'll even have enough reading and technical fluency to understand how to navigate a child-friendly website and read everything from electronic menus to icons.

As your first grader’s reading improves, he may even start learning how to do basic research online, another essential skill for future grades. According to the Common Core Standards, with guidance and support from adults, first graders should be able to "use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers." First graders may also learn a suite of other computer fluency skills like knowing how to change the font, color, and size of the text.

Multimedia and math

By using tech tools, your first grader can become more skilled at mouse and keyboarding skills while reinforcing basic math concepts. With draw and paint software programs, for example, your first grader can model addition and subtraction word problems with number sentences and pictures. (A number sentence includes numbers, an operation symbol, and an equal sign, e.g. 2+3=5.) Or the class may draw graphs on paper, then work with the teacher to create graphs using graphing software or a spreadsheet program.

Outside of class, free websites like Kahn Academycan help your child learn math, whether she needs a brush-up on basics or she’s ready to race ahead. (A bonus for parents whose kids love playing with smartphones or tablets: knowing how to navigate a touch screen enables them to easily use educational apps (like these), which allows children to touch and manipulate math concepts on the screen.

Scientific discovery aided by technology

Key areas of focus in first grade science include the ocean and sea life, the human body, states of matter, measuring temperature, electricity and magnetism, and properties of sound. (Read all about your first grader and science here.) . In an Internet-connected first grade classroom or computer lab, science can be as close as that white board, monitor, tablet, or computer screen. For your first grader, understanding how to navigate the Internet becomes an invaluable skill for scientific discovery. If your child's first grade class is equipped with more multimedia tools, the teacher might lead your child through experiments and hands-on learning, using tools such as digital cameras, video cameras, and web publishing programs as a way to help your child document and record scientific inquiries and observations.

Outside of school, you can help foster your first grader’s thirst for science using digital tools, too. Children can watch close-up footage of whales, rainforests, or space online at National Geographic and on YouTube. They can play with animated versions of the elements in the periodic table or simulations of tornados or the night sky on your smartphone or tablet. Or they can take pictures or videos (like this) of experiments they create at home.