Scratch Programming
Scratch is the programming language we use most often in Lower School. This year, Third and Fourth graders will use Scratch to code animations and maze games and engage in two physical computing projects.
Fourth Graders have their own Friends Seminary Scratch Accounts and Third Graders get their accounts in the First Semester. If your Fourth Grade child would like to use Scratch on a tablet or a computer and has trouble remembering their special Scratch username, they will be able to find it in the Canvas classroom for Creative Computing.
Scratch Desktop for Offline Scratch
For Third Grade families who want their children to be able to use Scratch at home while not being online, Scratch Desktop is available for download at MIT’s Scratch website and can be used on computers.
You can download Scratch 3.0 Desktop here
Keyboarding
All Fourth have accounts with the Typing Club. Third Graders will receive their new Typing Club accounts during the first semester of 2022 -2023.
To sign into Typing Club from home from a computer, students will need to visit,
friendsseminary.typingclub.com
To use Typing Club from home on an iPad, the EdClub app needs to be installed.
For fourth grade students who already have a firm grasp of their hand position, another fun website is Super Hyper Spider Typer.
Third and Fourth Grade students are encouraged to practice typing at home for 10 -15 minutes at least two times a week. Those Fourth Grade students who are typing less than 20 words per minute should practice during the summer before they enter Fifth Grade.
iCivics
“The practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene pool. It must be taught and learned anew by each generation of citizens.”
— Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Founder of iCivics
iCivics free games help Third and Fourth grade students learn how our democracy works. From Immigration Nation, to Do I have a Right, to Executive Command, to Argument Wars, these well-designed simulations are engaging and full of important lessons about citizenship. These are lessons that are particularly important for our children as they experience tensions rising in their country and their world.
https://quest.icivics.org/games
Data Visualizations
Here are two excellent data visualizations that you can explore with your children: