LEARNING LANGUAGE ARTS WITH COMPUTERS extends the original LEARNING WITH COMPUTERS K-5 series with core curriculum topics. The three new discipline-specific texts offer 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students multiple opportunities to reinforce and maintain language arts skills with basic word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, graphics, and Internet skills. Students are introduced to new grade-level-appropriate computer skills based on the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). These texts are a supplement to basal texts in language arts and emphasize writing, as compared to other language arts skills such as reading or listening. A helpful grid identifies language skills covered in each project. Language arts topics include sentences, paragraphs, essays, reports, e-mail, and stories of various types that teach language arts using the computer as a tool. At the end of a unit is an Extension Activity for extra practice and critical thinking. This includes topics that reinforce grammar, study skills, speaking, reading, listening, viewing, and vocabulary. In addition, keyboarding practice exercises are provided. The characters from the LEARNING WITH COMPUTERS K-5 series--Bernie, Jess, Jake, and Professor Keys--can also be found in these new books. Miranda Macaw is a new character that is introduced. The texts are written to support both PC and Macintosh computers. For the PC, Windows XP and Office 2003 are used; the instruction also works with Office versions XP and 2000. For the Macintosh, OS 10 and Office 2002 are used.
