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Lincoln Meadows

Elementary (K-5) Tech News

Welcome to Mr. Martin's Technology Specials ClassThe 2025-26 school year is Mr. Martin's seventh year teaching at K-5 Technology at American Academy. 
 
Before coming to American Academy, he spent 20 years as the Library Media Specialist for a small K-12 school in Wyoming. In addition to library sciences, he also taught computer applications and typing. 
Course Overview
 
In elementary technology students will constantly be working on keyboarding skills. We encourage students to practice typing daily, not just when they have technology rotation.
 
In addition to typing students will learn computer basics and how to use Google Workspace apps, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawing and Classroom. We will discuss digital citizenship with an emphasis on how to stay safe while online as well as thinking like a technology producer with beginning coding.
Grading
 
2-5 Grades: 50% of a student's grade is based on engagement.. In Specials classes, engagement and participation are an important part of the grade. This doesn’t just mean showing up - it means being present, trying your best, following directions, staying on task and contributing to activities.
 
We understand that every student brings different strengths and comfort levels, so participation is measured by effort, focus, and a willingness to grow, not just talent or performance.
 
Specials teachers look for things like:
  • Active involvement in class activities
  • Positive attitude and cooperation with peers
  • Trying new things and responding to feedback
  • Respecting materials, space, and expectations.
 
These behaviors help students get the most out of their learning experience and build the life skills that Specials are uniquely designed to support - like creativity, collaboration, discipline, and confidence.
 
Students earn 47/50 points each rotation. Students can lose points by talking during instruction, disrupting the learning of others, or not following directions. Students can earn points by demonstrating American Academy Manners and Character Traits in class.
 
50% of a student's grade is based on how they do on individual assignments, projects and assessments.
 
K-1 Grades: Students will receive: + (excellent), v (proficient), or - (not proficient) grading marks instead of points. Grading categories include Engagement which is based on behavior and participation in class; as well as Assignments, Assessments, Projects, & Skills.
Access Current Assignments from Home
 
All current classroom activities are listed under Learning.com which will take you to the necessary platform for the assignment. Follow these step-by-step directions to access from home:
  1. Using a web browser, navigate to the American Academy website www.aak8.org.
  2. In the blue line at the very top of the browser, click Clever-AA.
  3. When prompted, enter student's regular AA username and password.
    • The QR code you may have received is the login for Douglas County Clever, NOT the American Academy Clever site.
  4. Once logged into Clever, locate the pink icon with the girl with the big hair and click it to go to Learning.com.
  5. If a student is missing assignments they can click on them to complete.
    • Learning.com: Students will earn up to 3 stars depending on how well they complete the assignment tasks. If a student does not receive any stars after completion, I recommend they redo the assignment.
    • BrainPop / BrainPop Jr.: Students should always LOGIN (found in the upper right corner), using Clever.
      • Learning.com will display these with 3 stars no matter how well the student did on the work (even if not completed).
    • Google Classroom: Students may have to login again using their email address and password.
      • Locate the student's Technology class and finally check for Coursework (at the top) to find all assignments.
      • Once completed students should click Turn In.
      • Learning.com will display these with 3 stars no matter how well the student did on the work (even if not submitted).
    • Code.org: Login via Clever.
      • Complete instructions to turn each lesson a green color.
      • Ones appearing in light green mean too many blocks of code were used and should be redone.
  6. Once a student has completed missing assignments, email me and let me know they are complete.
For additional assistance, please see the Student Google Chrome Browser Login (At Home) page.
Keyboarding Practice
 
Students should type at least 15 minutes every day (not just when they have technology specials) in order to become familiar with using Home Row to type on the keyboard. Use Typing.com for keyboarding practice, it is listed in Learning.com as assignment #1.
 
Students should meet or exceed these goals to meet typing proficiency:
Grade Words Per Minute (WPM) Accuracy
1st Grade 5 90%
2nd Grade 10 90%
3rd Grade 15 90%
4th Grade 20 90%
5th Grade 25 90%
Parent / Teacher Conferences
 
Specials Parent / Teacher Conferences
 
K-5 parents may schedule to meet with me on Wednesday, January 28 or Thursday, January 29 from 4:30PM-7PM at Lincoln Meadows room 213. 
 
Please use this link to sign up for a 10 minute, in-person, conference slot. In the additional information slot, please include the name(s) and grade(s) of each of your children.
 
You can also always contact me via email.
 
What are we doing in class?
 
*The following lessons are subject to change.
Rotation 3 Classwork
 
  Nov. 3-7 Nov. 10-14 Nov. 17-21 Dec. 1-5 Dec. 8-12
K Reyes Krien Hunter Baladad Schneider
           
  Oct. 20-24 Oct. 27-31 Nov. 3-7 Nov. 10-14  
1 Yocom True Quinn Crain  
2 McNeil Liebelt LeDoux Beckel  
3 Wilson Lederhos Izzi Gappa  
4 Wilson Server McKee Canino  
5 Tobler Hunt Borror Blocker  
 
 
Kindergarten: Our third week in the lab we will learn word processing basics in Learning.com and then creating our own Google Doc that includes our name, an animal picture and basic formatting. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
1st Grade: Our third week in the lab we will review word processing basics in Learning.com and then creating our own Google Doc that includes our name, an animal picture and basic formatting. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
2nd Grade: Our third week in the lab we will review word processing basics in Learning.com and then creating our own Google Doc that includes our name, an animal picture and basic formatting. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
3rd Grade: Our third week in the lab we will review word processing basics in Learning.com and then demonstrate our skills using a Google Doc template. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.
 
4th Grade: Our third week in the lab we review spreadsheets in Learning.com and create an Animal Research Google Sheets. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.
 
5th Grade: Our third week in the lab we will begin our TechnoEntrepreneur unit where students use a variety of Google Workspace apps to assist them in creating a restaurant. To determine their kind of restaurant, students will use Google Sheets to survey their classmates and create a chart of their results. Students will then use Canva to create an original logo of their restaurant. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.
Rotation 4 Classwork
 
  Dec. 15-19 Jan. 5-9 Jan. 12-16 Jan. 19-23 Jan. 26-30
K Reyes Krien Hunter Baladad Schneider
           
  Nov. 17-21 Dec. 1-5 Dec. 8-12 Dec. 15-19  
1 Yocom True Quinn Crain  
2 McNeil Liebelt LeDoux Beckel  
3 Wilson Lederhos Izzi Gappa  
4 Wilson Server McKee Canino  
5 Tobler Hunt Borror Blocker  
 
 
Kindergarten: Our fourth week in the lab we will learn presentation basics by creating a basic Google Slides that includes their name and an animal picture. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
1st Grade: Our fourth week in the lab we will review presentation basics by creating a basic Google Slides that includes their name and an animal picture. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
2nd Grade: Our fourth week in the lab we will learn the basics of using a web browser and navigating the Internet using Welcome to the Web. We will continue using Typing.com for keyboarding practice.
 
3rd Grade: Our fourth week in the lab we learn animation basics in BrainPop and create an animation using Microsoft Paint and Pivot Animator. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.
 
4th Grade: Our fourth week in the lab we review animation basics in BrainPop and create an animation using Microsoft Paint and Pivot Animator. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.
 
5th Grade: Our fourth week in the lab we will continue our TechnoEntrepreneur unit where students use a variety of Google Workspace apps to assist them in creating a restaurant. This week students will use Google Docs to create a professional letter to potential investors. They will then use Google Draw to create their restaurant floor plan. We will continue using Typing.com for typing practice.