Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills

TEKS for Technology Applications, Grade 3-5

(7) Solving problems. The student uses appropriate computer-based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems. The student is expected to:

(C) use a variety of data types including text, graphics, digital audio, and video.

Students should have some experience with computer-based tools by 3rd grade. This TEKS is to make sure students learn to utilize the computer's tools. Adding a variety of data to a research paper is an important attribute to learn. As students grow in education, more will be expected from them. Here is a good way to prepare them for those High School and College research papers as well as on-line projects. Its best that our students are learning the proper way to use these tools through us rather than learning them the hard way or the wrong way on their own.

TEKS English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 3

(16)  Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

(C)  compare various written conventions used for digital media (e.g., language in an informal e-mail vs. language in a web-based news article).

 I chose 3rd grade because I will be interning there next fall, but also because it is one of my favorite grades to teach, and Language Arts because it is one of my favorite subjects. The topic of formal and informal language is taught beginning in Kindergarten. By 3rd grade they should have the basic understanding of how to write a personal letter. I think it is 4th grade when they begin learning how to write persuasive and augmentative letters. With this TEKS, 3rd grade students will learn the how language can differ between an informal e-mail and articles found on-line. A casual e-mail will be personalized between the sender and the receiver, while an article will be information based and to the point. This is an important concept to learn because the interpretation of what is being said depends upon the reader understanding between the two languages.

TEKS for Technology Applications, Grade 3-5

(3) Foundations. The student complies with the laws and examines the issues regarding the use of technology in society. The student is expected to:

(B) model respect of intellectual property by not illegally copying software or another individual's electronic work.

I believe the TEKS above is the most important concept our students must learn before they continue expanding their knowledge in technology. Students should understand the usage law of electronic work before they can properly use internet sources. As educators, it is important to teach and model to our students respect of others' work. Students start researching on the internet beginning in Elementary school, and as they move on through school and into College they will use internet sources more and more. By beginning to install the laws regarding the use of electronic work while still in Elementary school, students can build on these expectations and properly give credit when needed. Anytime I am teaching a lesson that will end with the students doing research, I will, not only model writing the paper, but also include this important information in the lesson. With the projector on, I will be able to switch between my on-line search and the paper I am writing. I will show them how to read the information, take the information needed, put it on paper in their own words, and then give credit to the source.