Middle School Computer Science & Technology Webquests

Three great Winter Holiday Lessons (each is also sold separately):

LESSON #1 Winter Holiday Christmas Cards - Video, eCards & Paper

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The Winter Holiday Greeting Card Unit gives teachers and students three fun options to choose from to create a holiday project to share. Tutorials and projects are included for:

• Video eCard utilizing Kizoa (www.kizoa.com)

• Animated greeting card utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint

• Printable paper card, designed in Microsoft Word

Kizoa is a free Web 2.0 tool which allows students to create and edit videos online, as well as create ecards, photo collages, and edit photos. They can then share their finished product online or by saving it to their computer. No download is required to use the product, making it easy for teachers who are not able to download software on classroom computers to still give their students a choice in learning. The quick start tutorial included with the lesson is intended to help students get started with the program and then use the resources within the program to refine their creations. General project instructions and expectations, along with a grading rubric are also included.

They can also utilize Microsoft PowerPoint to create an animated greeting card. A complete, step-by-step instruction guide is included, along with the project expectations and rubric.

The third option is a more traditional paper card, created in Microsoft Word. A complete, step-by-step instruction guide is included, along with the project expectations and rubric.

Choose one for your students or let them choose! This is a great activity for that week before Winter Break

Files Included with this Lesson

• Teacher Notes and Resources

• Quick Getting Started Guide: Kizoa Tutorial for Students

• Video eCard Project Expectations & Rubric for Kizoa

• Animated eCard in Microsoft PowerPoint: Step-by-Step tutorial

• Animated eCard in Microsoft PowerPoint Project Expectations & Rubric

• Winter Holiday Printable Card in Microsoft Word: Step-by-Step tutorial

• Winter Holiday Printable Card in Microsoft Word: Student Expectations & Rubric

LESSON #2 - Winter Holiday WebQuest & Puzzles

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Three short activities with a Winter Holiday theme that your middle school students will love! Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are covered in a WebQuest / Internet Scavenger Hunt that help students understand the traditions of the different holidays.

There's also two activities that don't require computers: a word search puzzle with a Winter Holiday theme and a fun "How Many Words Can You Make?" activity that is great to play as a competition with teams.

Created for middle school, these lessons will work for upper elementary as well. Each lesson takes approximately one (50 minute) class period.

Files Included:

• Teacher & Student Resources

• Fun Facts about the Winter Holidays WebQuest Activity

• Fun Facts about the Winter Holidays WebQuest Answer Key

• Word Search Puzzle – the Winter Holidays Vocabulary

• Word Search Puzzle – the Winter Holidays Vocabulary Answer Key

• How Many Words Can You Make Puzzle – Winter Holidays

• How Many Words Can You Make Puzzle – Winter Holidays Answer Key

LESSON 3: Winter Holiday Pixel Art in MS Excel or Google Sheets

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Need a fun way to introduce Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to upper elementary or middle school students? This great lesson lets students learn the basics of Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets) as they create pixel art using the program. First, they'll create a quick pixel art from a given example and then they'll create their own! These are also fun lessons to use if you just need something for a one day lesson.

I've used this with 7th and 8th graders who used their free time to create even more art! I hope your students have as much fun as mine did learning Excel or Google Sheets!

Files Included

• Teacher & Student Resources

• Introduction to Pixel Art Lesson (Microsoft Excel project) with tutorial

• Introduction to Pixel Art Lesson (Google Sheets project) with tutorial

• Legends and Sample Pictures for 6 Additional Pictures

• Full Excel (2016) editable files for all pixel art projects (note: these can be opened in Google Sheets too)

Includes instructions and samples for these pixel art designs:

Example Pictures and Legends

Easy Picture 1: Christmas Package

Easy Picture 2: Stocking

Easy Picture 3: Menorah

Additional Pictures and Legends

Picture 1: Candy Cane

Picture 2: Christmas Packages 2

Picture 3: Christmas Stocking

Picture 4: Wreath

Picture 5: Christmas Tree

Picture 6: Gingerbread Man

Remember to leave feedback for credits on future purchases!

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Mesopotamia, means “Land between Two Rivers”.This area is called the cradle of civilization and is where archaeologists have found the remains of the oldest historic people(dating back around 3000BC)People called the Sumerians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Akkadians and Assyrians, all called the region of Mesopotamia home. These people left behind many ideas which we still have in our world today.

This bundle includes the following resources which I also sell separately.

1.A Unit of study includes notes, map work, a webquest, activities and resources to help you teach your students about the people of Mesopotamia. Click here to see a preview:Mesopotamia: First Historic People

2. A fun/informative Reading Passage with comprehension questions and extension activities on Hammurabi, King of Babylon. Check here to see a preview: Hammurabi, King of Babylon: A Reading Passage

3. A webquest on the Middle East. Check here to see a preview: Let's Explore the Middle East: A Webquest

4. My Mesopotamian Review Puzzler. An activity using vocabulary words for a unit of study on Mesopotamia. Check here to see a preview: Mesopotamian Puzzler(Secret Message Vocabulary Review!