FARMINGTON – Students and teachers at Mallett school got a chance to showcase their literature and technology lessons for friends and family during their portfolio presentations Wednesday night.

With the aid of a $2,700 grant made possible by MBNA and Mallett PTA, teachers got to try out some new software to help their students achieve Maine’s Learning Results.

Cindy Stevens, technology coordinator of grades K-3 in SAD 9, along with Mallet school Librarian Betsy Turcotte, came up with the idea for the grant.

“We had a lot of new titles in the library and a lot of new software, so we thought we’d integrate the two of them,” said Stevens.

With the help of new digital cameras and various software, 16 teachers were given the opportunity to update their lesson plans. “A lot of the staff didn’t have any idea how to use some of the software and this gave them a chance to learn how,” said Stevens.

Literature titles ranged from “Going on a Safari” to “This is the Rain” and each specific presentation addressed several Maine Learning Results standards.

Each teacher chose a piece of literature and then, with the help of their students, created presentations on the computer.

Students in grades K-3 brought in pictures and music to go along with their projects. They also had a hand in creating the presentations.

“Finding the backgrounds was the best,” said 8-year-old, third-grader Richie Leslie.

Stevens also commented on how rewarding it was to see teachers getting excited about their creations and also to see students’ eyes light up when they saw what they created.

Each of these lesson plans will be filed in a lesson plan bank and be at the disposal of all the teachers within the school.

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