Chapter 7, The Word Processor

7.1 Introduction to Word Processing (10 to 15 hours)

Introduce word processing using the following steps.

  1. Review the previous lesson (Screen Readers).
  2. Introduce the functions of word processors.
  3. Provide practice navigating window-menus, toolbars, and program settings including
    • activating and exiting toolbars, menus, and tabs; and
    • moving between ribbons and tabs.
  4. Provide practice using navigation commands within a document including
    • navigating by word, line, and paragraph;
    • finding the top and end of documents, and the beginning and end of lines;
    • using Page Up and Page Down to move by section and page; and
    • inserting a page break.
  5. Provide instruction on working with documents including
    • opening an existing document;
    • saving a document to the default folder;
    • changing view (for example, draft, print, or outline);
    • switching between documents; and
    • closing documents.
  6. Provide instruction and practice formatting text including
    • selecting text by word, line, paragraph, and document;
    • changing font, font size, italic, bold, underline, and highlighting;
    • inserting text using typeover and insert function; and
    • cutting, copying, deleting, and pasting text within a document.
  7. Provide instruction on printing options and print preview, and practice printing
    • a single page,
    • the current page, and
    • more than one copy of a document.
  8. Provide practice finding help on various topics from the help menu within the word processor.
  9. If applicable, provide instruction on retrieving program-specific help from the assistive software help menu.

7.2 Performance Objectives and Measurements

Measure the following during the introduction to word processing.

  1. The consumer can launch and close the word processor — Yes or No.
  2. The consumer can open a new document and an existing document — Yes or No.
  3. The consumer can move the cursor within a document — Yes or No.
  4. The consumer can navigate by line, word, paragraph, and page — Yes or No.
  5. The consumer can explain document viewing options — Yes or No.
  6. The consumer can print documents — Yes or No.
  7. The consumer can access the help menu and locate the appropriate information — Yes or No.

7.3 Intermediate Word Processing (10 to 15 hours)

Teach intermediate word processing using the following steps.

  1. Review the previous lesson (Introduction to Word Processing).
  2. Provide instruction on formatting within the word processor including
    • changing the page margins;
    • changing page orientation;
    • changing text alignment and justification (center, left, and right aligning and full justification); and
    • changing the space between lines and paragraphs.
  3. Practice formatting text including font settings and attributes.
  4. Practice spell check and grammar check by
    • exploring the spell check dialog box and the commands Ignore All, Add to Dictionary, Change, Ignore, and Change All;
    • identifying types of errors such as extra spaces, missing spaces, capitalization errors, and misspelled words;
    • making corrections within the spell check dialog box;
    • changing options to include grammar check;
    • resetting options to recheck document; and
    • accessing word count and reading statistics.
  5. Provide instruction on find and replace including
    • using the feature to find and replace text, and
    • using the Page Up and Page Down keys after the find and replace feature.

7.4 Performance Objectives and Measurements

Measure the following during intermediate word processing training.

  1. The consumer can change the page margins and orientation — Yes or No.
  2. The consumer can change the font type and size — Yes or No.
  3. The consumer can set line spacing to double-spaced — Yes or No.
  4. The consumer can check spelling within a document — Yes or No.
  5. The consumer can use the find and replace feature — Yes or No.

7.5 Advanced Word Processing (4 to 6 hours)

Teach advanced word processing using the following steps.

  1. Review the previous lesson (Intermediate Word Processing).
  2. Provide instruction on advanced editing functions Including
    • styles,
    • sections, and
    • columns
  3. Provide instruction on page numbers, headers, and footers.
  4. Practice working with tables including
    • inserting a table;
    • choosing a table layout;
    • copying and pasting a table into a document;
    • converting table to text, and text to table;
    • moving the cursor within cells;
    • inserting cells, columns, and rows;
    • removing cells, columns, and rows; and,
    • deleting a table.
  5. Practice working with lists including
    • creating a bulleted list, and
    • creating a numbered list.
  6. Provide instruction on creating address labels and envelopes.

7.6 Performance Objectives and Measurements

Measure the following during advanced word processing training.

  1. The consumer can check the spelling and grammar in a document — Yes or No.
  2. The consumer can set page numbers — Yes or No.
  3. The consumer can insert lists, tables, headers, and footers within a document — Yes or No.
  4. The consumer can create a numbered list — Yes or No.
  5. The consumer can create a multicolumn document — Yes or No.
  6. The consumer can address an envelope and create address labels — Yes or No.