I am currently working on the Pre-Kindergarten lessons. I have put together the exit outcomes, so now I have to create all the pages and links. As I create these links there will be nothing at the end of the link until I get to that part of the process. This Pre-K thing is Under Construction. Please be patient. I will post a message when I have completed enough for you to begin to use it.
Links will usually be to Eazy Draw files and PDF files. Remember you must Control-click on an Eazy Draw file and choose Save Link As. The computer system cannot automatically download these MAC files like it can a PDF file.
I just added two Eazy Draw Kindergarten lessons – Color Words.
The extensions on Eazy Draw files is not 3 characters – it is 5 – .ezdraw
You cannot click on the link like a pdf or doc link and begin a download. For all .ezdraw files you must Control-Click on the link and then choose Save Link As from the dialog box.
You must have the Eazy Draw program installed on your computer to open the file.
To enter the student’s name just keep clicking 4 or 5 times until you have a vertical text cursor. You can ignore the computer number. I use this in my Kinder computer classes.
Remember – Eazy Draw is MAC only.
This year is a real milestone for me. I have been teaching for 40 years. My how time flies. I wish I had more time to work on NU. Months go by without any new lessons, and this has pretty much been the pattern since the web site was launched in the year 2000.
I anticipate some changes around here in the coming months. Here’s my plan:
Since my oldest grandchild is nearing the age of five, I have decided to concentrate on Kinder and Primary lessons. We have been homeschooling around here, so I hope to provide some enrichment and remediation activities on NU to supplement my grandchildren’s basic curriculum. I won’t ignore the middle and upper grades during this process, and hope to add lessons for these grades little by little.
Over the last 10 years, online lessons and activities have really gone Hollywood – with Flash and Shockwave programs adding a colorful and interactive dimension to educational activities via the Internet. Though my personal expertise is limited in this area, I will be throwing in a little glitz and glitter, but will most likely bow to the expertise of others and provide links to worthwhile activities I discover on the www. I already have interactive study guides, tests and puzzles, and I promise more of this type of presentation.
Over the years I have used both a PC and a MAC platform, and have settled in with the OS X MAC operating system. To me, it’s not about hardware, but about an operating system that is intuitive and stable. IMO the MAC beats Windows hands down, especially since OS X was introduced and the Intel MAC. In my computer lab I have used Appleworks Draw for creating lessons for my students. Unfortunately, the MAC is no longer supporting the future of Appleworks. So, I am taking a new direction, especially with the primary grade lessons.
Unlike the upper grades, primary students learn easier when they can be more interactive with their lessons. Therefore, most primary activities will be designed and performed with the software – Eazy Draw. I find Eazy Draw to be a lot like Appleworks Draw, but much more sophisticated. You may download a demo version at http://www.eazydraw.com/. The good news is – you don’t have to buy it to use my lessons. The demo version limits the number of graphics you can create in the program, but it does not limit the use of a file that has been created by a registered owner of the software – like me! So, if you are a MAC OS X user you will be able to download the lessons for your child. I will make every effort to provide an alternative pencil/crayon type lesson sheet that may be printed out as a pdf, but it won’t be near as fun as the interactivity of the filename.ezdraw files.
Click on Gr 1 Reading to find a new lesson for first grade students. The lesson helps children learn the 52 Primer Dolch Sight Words. Your child/children should do this lesson until they know all of the words by sight. Students should master this list by mid 1st Grade if at all possible.
The student should look at the word and try to read it. Then, click on the audio file to hear the word spoken. You may pause after the word is spoken and go on to the next word or, you may allow the file to finish to listen to a sentence using the word. You might ask your child/children to come up with a sentence of their own.
If your student is in second semester first grade or higher, it would be good practice to make sure he/she knows all of these words.
Click on Kinder to find a new lesson for Kindergarten and pre-first grade students. The lesson helps children learn the Pre-Primer Dolch Sight Words. Your child/children should do this lesson until they know all of the words by sight. Students should enter first grade with this ability if at all possible. There are 40 words.
The student should look at the word and try to read it. Then, click on the audio file to hear the word spoken. You may pause after the word is spoken and go on to the next word or, you may allow the file to finish to listen to a sentence using the word. You might ask your child/children to come up with a sentence of their own.
If your student is in first grade or higher, it would be good practice to make sure he/she knows all of these words.
The Nibble University school year will start next Monday – September 14. Until then, daily lessons will not work. We’re starting about a week later this year, but we’ll run a week longer into June.
Christmas vacation will run from December 21 to January 1.
Spring vacation will be April 5 – 9.
End of the 2009-2010 NU school year will be June 11th.
Grade 3 Daily Corrections under Language Arts was recently added to NU, but you won’t be able to access it until September and the beginning of the next school term. Unlike any of the other daily lessons, it includes lessons on weekends.
Basically, the student is given a sentence that needs to be corrected with proper word usage and punctuation. Only one sentence is given each day for a total of 7 sentences for the week. So all you 3rd graders. Get ready for a challenge this Fall.
The grade 4 lessons have been transfered over to the new system. Let me know if you find any problems.
I have finished converting all the grade 5 & 6 material from the old format to the new. I moved the South America Map from grade 5 to grade 6 as I am going to follow the traditional curriculum of grade 5 for United States and grade 6 for World.
Let me know if you run into any problems with the lessons. Remember, Daily Lessons won’t begin again until September.
You can go to Info and send me a message – under Contact Professor Nibble, or you can make a comment to a post.
Yesterday was the last day for Daily Math, Daily Geography and Daily Writing. Back lessons are not available due to the big makeover. Part of the makeover involves moving Nibble University to a new server, so I’ve been moving features and files as fast as I can. I’ll post the new school year schedule as soon as I know it (I use my school district’s dates) and when daily lessons will be back in operation.
There are some new activities in the Recess section and some cool Timeline resources in the Data Bank. On the home page, in the sidebar, you will find This Day In History and Born On This Day. They will play an important part in future lessons.
I’ll keep you posted on new features and our makeover efforts as we go along.