CT03_Word_Nelson_2009

Computer Technology Workshop (July 2009) Standard 03: Word Processor Lesson Plan

D. Nelson, July 2009
 * Documenting Gettysburg**


 * Purpose**: This lesson will help students to apply document-processing skills by gathering source material for a report. The focus of this lesson is word processing (standard 03) with specific attention to gathering online source material, inserting text into a document, understanding word-wrap, changing the format to match a given standard, and citing references.


 * Grading**: There are 100 points available for this assignment.
 * Artifact: The student’s product will represent 80 points. The instructor will provide a model document on a transparent sheet. The students can place the model over their document to check their own work. The instructor will use the same method to grade the student’s document.
 * Assessment: There will also be a quiz worth 20 points. It will test how well the student understands the concepts illustrated during the lesson. The questions for the quiz are given with the assignment to reinforce their importance.


 * Materials**: To complete this lesson plan the following resources need to be available.
 * Have this lesson available to students.
 * Have the model printed on transparent sheets.
 * Make sure the students have access to MS-Word. (If they are using a different word processor then substitute those features when they vary.)
 * Make sure the students have access to the on-line material. (If they can not reach these sites then find another way to simulate the process.)
 * Enter the quiz questions into your test system.


 * Introduction**: Assume that you are writing a report on the Civil War and need to gather source material. Your assignment is to prepare a document showing the version of the Gettysburg Address that is carved in the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in our country’s capital. I will list below the concepts to learn and steps to perform.

Q: What is a shortcut for copy? A. ctrl-c. Q: What is a shortcut for cut? A. ctrl-x. Q: What is a shortcut for paste? A. ctrl-v.
 * Find Sources**: A great source for the memorial version is the Library of Congress. Type or past the LoC link ( [] ) into the address bar of an internet browser. This should bring up a picture of a transcription of the memorial version. If you relied only on this source you could type everything you see in this picture in your document. There are other sources for the memorial version that you could copy into your document. Type or past the WikiSource link ( [] ) into the address bar of an internet browser. This should bring up a Web page with many versions of the Gettysburg Address. Scroll the page until you have the memorial version on your screen. A government maintained site is usually a more credible source than a community maintained site. You will use both sources but consider the government site as the standard against which you will be tested.

Q: What is a shortcut for switching between applications? A. alt-tab. Q: How do you paste plain text? A. “Past special” & “Unformatted text”.
 * Insert Text**: Please open a new document in your word processor. Switch back to the wiki page and select the desired text (the title, the speech, and the date). (Note: Sometimes in Windows it goes faster if you select from the bottom to the top.) Copy the selected text from the page into the clipboard. Switch back to the new document and click where you want the text to go. Past the text from the clipboard into the new document. (Note: If you use the “Past special” feature you can select “Unformatted text” to strip out formats and graphics.) Please leave the text alone until the next step.

Q. What is the shortcut for “Select all”. A. ctrl-a. Q. When changing top margin consider what space? A. Header. Q. When changing bottom margin consider what space? A. Footer.
 * Setup Page**: In order for you to get a good grade on your document it will need to match the model document. There should **not** be a header or footer so make sure **no** space is allocated for them. Set the left and right margins to 2.0 inches. Set the top and bottom margins to 1.5 inches. Use the “Select all” shortcut (clrl-a) or use your mouse to select all the lines in your document. Change the font for everything to “Times New Roman” at a size of 12 points. Change your view of the document to something that suits your task. (I usually like to edit with a zoom to “page width”.) Use the “Save as” feature to store your document in an appropriate place and with a suitable name. I will discuss proper naming and storage.

Q: What is breaking text on the word before the margin? A. Word-wrap. Q: If I change side margins what adjusts paragraphs? A. Word-wrap.
 * Wrap Text**: Please note that the text you pasted was broken up at places other than the end of a sentence or paragraph. Many programs break a sentence that extends beyond the margins and “wrap” the rest of it on the next line. Word processors usually break sentences after the last word before the margin and this is called “word-wrap”. This means you can change the side margins at any time and word-wrap will adjust all the paragraphs for you. Please edit the main body of Lincoln’s speech into a single paragraph. Remove the line breaks from the previous application that fragment sentences and inhibit word-wrap. Then use the “Replace all” feature to replace any occurrence of two character spaces with one character space. We want uniformity in spacing. The body of the speech should now be ready for formatting.

Q. What font was required for this assignment? A. Times New Roman. Q. What point size was the title in? A. 24. Q. How many tabs were required? A. 2.
 * Format Text**: Please note how the text is formatted in the picture from the Library of Congress. Other than two indents, everything is flush against the left margin. The title is in uppercase, has a larger font, and each word is on its own line. The body of the speech is broken up into three paragraphs, with no line spaces between them. To make your document match the model you will need to make some changes. Make sure there are no line spaces before the title and only one after it. Select the title and change the font to 24 point size. Select the first character (F) in the speech and change its font to 24 point size. Make sure it is uppercase and on three lines. Break the speech into three paragraphs as shown in the LoC. Indent the last two paragraphs a quarter inch. If you use the tab key it may default to a half inch but you can adjust it. Two ways to modify the distance of the indent are on the ruler bar or within paragraph formatting.

Q. Which reference was your primary source? A. Library of Congress. Q. What point size were the references in? A. 10.
 * Provide Context**: What day was this speech given? Who gave it? What was the source of your information? You need to include this information in your document. Make sure there is one space after the body of the text. (There should only be one line space before and after the speech body in 12 point size.) Select the lines from the date to the end of the document. Change the font for the context at the bottom to 10 point size. Below the date, insert the speakers name and title. Have one line space and then insert the reference section. A reference section should follow the standards expected by your audience. The reference information required here is the organization name, a description of the link, and the link. Type the reference items on separate lines. List the government source before the community source as a subtle way to indicate it is the primary source. Select both references and click the “Bullets” button. Delete any lines after the references.

Q. How many bulleted items are in the document? A. 2. Q. What is more important – facts or format? A. Facts. -Rough Data--- THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
 * Final Steps**: Compare your document with the primary source. It is more important that your document says the right thing than that it follows the right format. Before you turn in your work, place the model over your printed document to check your formatting. Save your work and turn in a final printed copy with your name on the back. Before the deadline, you must complete your work, turn it in, and take the quiz.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle- field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate…we cannot consecrate…we cannot hallow…this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

November 19, 1863 -Final Product--- THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

F ourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate…we cannot consecrate…we cannot hallow…this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. References: -The End---
 * Library of Congress: Picture of a transcription of the version inscribed on the walls at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. ( [] ).
 * WikiSource.org: Text of the version inscribed on the walls at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. ( [] ).