Session 17: Create & Format Documents (Part 2)
At a glance: pupils choose bullets or numbers correctly, build a clear heading hierarchy, fix the red and blue squiggles (including Ghanaian names), and check Print Preview before printing their finished "A Greener School" notice. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, pupils can:
- Decide when to use a bulleted list (order does not matter) or a numbered list (order matters), and create both.
- Explain visual hierarchy (title, Heading 1, Heading 2, body) and apply a heading using the Styles pane.
- Use right-click to fix spelling, and use Add to Dictionary or Ignore All for Ghanaian names and words.
- Open Print Preview with Ctrl + P, spot an accidental page 2, and choose portrait or landscape.
Before the session
- Check every pupil's Greener_School file from Session 16 is still in Documents > BIH_Practice > Notes on their PC. Keep a spare copy on USB for anyone whose file is missing or on a different PC.
- Confirm which word processor each PC uses (Word, LibreOffice Writer or Google Docs).
- Google Docs needs a Google account. Pupils under 13 must use a school-managed account (Google Workspace for Education); otherwise use the desktop app. Google Docs users download the finished file as .docx into BIH_Practice (page 5, step 5).
- Decide whether you will actually print. If yes, check paper and the printer; if not, pupils stop at Print Preview.
- Load the Format a Real Document 3D lab on the projector PC and test it.
- Bring a newspaper, ideally the Daily Graphic.
Running order
| Time | Activity | Workbook | What the mentor does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Typing warm-up | – | Pupils open the typing trainer (Typing in the menu, or the warm-up banner on the session page) and do the 10-minute warm-up. Walk round checking posture and home-row fingers. |
| 10–20 min | Recap Session 16; bullets vs numbers | Page 1 | Market basket vs boiling rice. Show the auto-list trick. |
| 20–30 min | Visual hierarchy and built-in Styles | Page 2 | Hold up the newspaper; click Heading 1 in the Styles pane. Pupils do Check Your Knowledge. |
| 30–40 min | Squiggly lines, Ghanaian names, AutoCorrect | Page 3 | Type "computter", "They is here" and "Kwesi" live and fix each. |
| 40–45 min | Print Preview, portrait vs landscape | Page 4 | Show Ctrl + P and the "Page 1 of 2" trap. |
| 45–57 min | Format a Real Document 3D lab | — | Demonstrate, then pairs continue. |
| 57–77 min | Hands-on lab: the complete notice | Page 5 | Check heading, bullets, squiggles and Page 1 of 1 before saving. |
| 77–85 min | Review and verification | Page 6 | Pupils work alone, then mark together. |
| 85–90 min | Self-assessment and word-processing sign-off | Page 6 | Sign off pupils who meet the evidence below. |
Key ideas and how to explain them
- Bullets vs numbers: bullets when order does not matter (garden eggs, tomatoes, ginger in the basket); numbers when it does (you cannot add rice before the water boils).
- Visual hierarchy: like the Daily Graphic: big headline first, smaller section headers, then body text. Title biggest, Heading 1 next, Heading 2 smaller, body 11–12 pt. Built-in style sizes vary by programme and version, so teach the order, not exact numbers.
- Built-in Styles: one click on Heading 1 formats the line and tells the computer how the report is organised. Faster and more consistent than changing size and bold by hand.
- Squiggles: red means not in the dictionary; blue means grammar or spacing. Right-click for suggestions.
- The Ghanaian name dilemma: the dictionary was made in Britain or America, so Kwesi, Akosua, Bolgatanga, Waakye and Dumsor look "wrong". They are not wrong; teach the computer with Add to Dictionary, or use Ignore All for this document only.
- AutoCorrect: if Waakye turns into "Wake", press Ctrl + Z at once.
- Print Preview: paper and ink are expensive. Check Page 1 of 1 and remove the extra empty line that creates a blank page 2.
The 3D lab
Continue Format a Real Document from Session 16. Demonstrate Turn the three actions into a bulleted list (Shift-click the three lines, then Bullets) and Turn the three sorting steps into a numbered list, asking "Does the order matter?" each time. Pairs then do Give "Three actions" and "How to sort litter" the Heading style, Run the spell check and fix every red squiggle (one is a real mistake, one is a Ghanaian name, so the answers differ) and Open Print preview and print your page. This is the only place pupils practise a numbered list today.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
| Pupils often… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Cannot stop the bullets | Press Enter twice on the empty bullet, or click the Bullets button again. |
| Make the heading by hand with Bold and a size | Lab step 2 uses the Heading 1 style. Show them the Styles pane and click Heading 1 once. |
| Accept a wrong suggestion for a Ghanaian name | Undo, then choose Add to Dictionary or Ignore All instead. |
| Print without looking | Ctrl + P first and check "Page 1 of 2"; Backspace at the end removes the blank page. |
| Cannot find the Styles pane | Word: Home ribbon. LibreOffice: the "Paragraph Style" box on the left of the toolbar. Google Docs: the "Normal text" drop-down (the note on page 2 says this too). |
When things go wrong
- No internet: Word and LibreOffice Writer work offline. Google Docs pupils move to a PC with an offline word processor and use the USB copy of their file.
- Not enough PCs: pairs: one reads each step aloud, the other does it; swap at the spell-check step.
- A PC freezes or the power goes: press Ctrl + S after each step. If the Session 16 file is lost, give the USB copy so pupils start at step 2.
Answer key
Page 2, Check Your Knowledge (title of the Central Region water report): 18–20 pt, Bold, Centred (the same title range as Session 16).
1. Bullets or Numbers?
- Step-by-step Jollof rice recipe: Numbers.
- Tech Club supplies (pen, notebook, USB drive): Bullets.
- Morning assembly procedure (Step 1 to Step 4): Numbers.
- Qualities of a good digital citizen: Bullets.
2. Written Review Questions
- The computer's dictionary was made with British or American words, so it does not recognise Koforidua or Bolgatanga; they are not misspelt. Right-click and choose Add to Dictionary (or Ignore All for this document).
- Look for: it shows exactly how the document will look on real A4 paper, so you can spot mistakes or an accidental blank page 2 before wasting paper and ink.
- Ctrl + P.
Support and stretch
- Needs more support: give them the USB copy of the Session 16 file and focus on just two steps: the bulleted list and spell-check.
- Finished early: add a numbered list "How to sort litter" under a second heading, apply Heading 1 and Heading 2 from the Styles pane, or switch the notice to landscape in Print Preview and decide which looks better as a poster.
Evidence for sign-off
This is the word-processing sign-off. The pupil shows their saved notice with: the Session 16 formatting intact, a "Three Priority Actions" heading in the Heading 1 style, a three-item bulleted list, no red or blue squiggles left (Ghanaian words added or ignored), and Print Preview showing Page 1 of 1.
Safety and wellbeing
Add to Dictionary changes the dictionary for everyone using that PC; that is fine for Ghanaian names, but ask pupils not to add misspelt English words. Only print with your permission, one copy each, to save paper and ink. Pupils should open and save only their own file and ask before deleting or replacing anything.