Following Steps from Informative Texts to Complete Computer-Related Tasks
Design Guide
Designers for Learning - Adult Learning Zone
Table of Contents
Learner Audience / Primary Users
College & Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) Alignment
Instructional Strategies and Activities
Presentation / Modeling / Demonstration
Part 3: Supplementary Resources & References
Part 1: Lesson Description
Lesson Title
Following Steps from Informative Texts to Complete Computer-Related Tasks
Abstract
This lesson geared towards adult learners focuses on reading informative texts that describe how to perform basic computer-related tasks, including saving a document in Word and sending an email attachment. After reading the informative texts, learners will identify and sequence the 5 or more key steps needed to complete the tasks. They will then follow the steps to execute the tasks. This lesson will prepare learners to effectively find key information about how to complete technological tasks and be able to carry out the steps independently. This will assist them when future educational or job requirements require the use of computer skills they do not yet have, and they will need to use informational texts to learn the new skills.
Learner Audience / Primary Users
As it is written, this lesson is designed for teachers to use with adult learners enrolled in general education courses such as GED courses. The primary audience will have some basic technological skills but not yet be proficient in using common programs like Word. They will be learners whose educational, career, and life goals can be advanced by improving both their nonfiction reading skills and their skills in using common computer programs. For example, it may assist with goals such as creating and submitting resumes and cover letters, maintaining household and business records,and learning new computer programs to communicate with family members or assist children with homework, By modifying the complexity of the informational texts used, the lesson could be adapted for other age groups.
Educational Use
- Curriculum / Instruction
Language
English
Material Type
- Instructional Material
- Lesson Plans
Keywords
- Designers for Learning
- Adult Education
- Informative Texts
- Nonfiction Texts
- Computer Skills
- Following Directions
- Sequencing
- Saving Word Documents
- Sending Email Attachments
- CCRS RI.8.3
- CCRS RST.6-8.3
Time Required for Lesson
60 Minutes
Targeted Skills
Key skills covered in this lesson include:
- Using technology and common computer programs to obtain and maintain employment
- Using technology and common computer programs to communicate with others in educational and social settings
- Reading, understanding, and applying informative texts to solve common problems
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:
- Given an informative text describing how to complete a computer-related task (saving a Word document and sending an email attachment), students will locate the 5 or more key steps in the process successfully.
- Given an informative text describing how to complete a computer-related task (saving a Word document and sending an email attachment), students will organize the 5 or more key steps on a sequencing graphic organizer correctly.
- Given an informative text describing how to complete a computer-related task (saving a Word document and sending an email attachment), students will execute the 5 or more key steps correctly to complete the task.
College & Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) Alignment
- Level: Adult Education
- Grade Level: CCRS Grade Level D
- Subject: English Language Arts / Literacy
- Strand: Reading
- Substrand: Reading of Informational Text and Reading of Scientific and Technical Text
- Standard Description:RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events. RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
Prior Knowledge
The learner must have reading skills at or above Level D. This is equivalent to grades 6-8, or high intermediate basic education. The learner must also have an email account and be familiar with sending and receiving basic emails that do not contain attachments.
Required Resources
This lesson will require a projector, screen or blank wall, student computers, two copies of the sequencing graphic organizer per student, one copy of the assessment rubric per student, highlighters for all students, one printed copy of the text about Facebook privacy settings (Grady, n.d.), one copy of the text describing how to save a document in Word (Faccioli, n.d.) per student, and one copy of the text about sending email attachments (Hull, n.d.) per student.
Lesson Author & License
- Lesson Author: Jean Gierbolini
Part 2: Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Activities
Warm-Up
Time: 5 minutes
Share an example of a time you needed to follow a series of written directions to accomplish a computer task, such as changing privacy settings in Facebook. Then invite students to share times they needed to look up information in order to complete new tasks on their computers, tablets, phones, or other devices, and list them on the projector or board.
Introduction
Time: 5 minutes
Explain that after completing this lesson, students will be able to read texts describing how to perform new tasks on a computer and use strategies to identify and carry out the main steps. List the three main objectives on the projector or board, underlining the verbs in each step.
- Locate the key steps in the text.
- Organize the key steps on a graphic organizer.
- Execute the steps correctly to complete the task.
Then, explain that while students can use this strategy anytime they need to look up how to do something new, this class will focus on the steps required to send email attachments. The class will discuss reasons why sending attachments may be useful in school or career settings, such as submitting course assignments to teachers or sending cover letters to potential employers.
Presentation / Modeling / Demonstration
Time: 10 minutes
Revisit the previous example of changing your privacy settings on Facebook, explaining that you will model how to read a text, highlight and sequence key steps, and then carry out the key steps to complete the task. Put a printed copy of the lesson on Facebook privacy (Grady, n.d.) on the projector. Reading it aloud, highlight phrases containing the key steps of how to set a Facebook profile to private and viewable only by friends. After locating the first few steps independently, ask the students to help locate and highlight the remaining steps. Then use the highlighted phrases to complete a sequencing graphic organizer listing those key steps. After filling in the first few boxes independently, ask for student input to fill in the last few boxes in order to assess understanding. Once the graphic organizer is complete, open Facebook and follow the steps on the graphic organizer to change your Facebook settings.
Guided Practice
Time: 15 minutes
Students will first practice the objective by reading a short text describing how to save a Word document (Faccioli, n.d.). The class will review directions to first read the text and highlight key steps of how to save a document as outlined in the text. Next, students will copy the main steps onto the sequencing graphic organizer. Finally, they will open Word on their computers, and they will each create and save a simple document with a few sentences and/or a picture of their choice. Circulate throughout the room, providing immediate feedback to students as they work, praising steps completed correctly and providing corrective feedback if errors are made. Students can be invited to share which steps they highlighted and copied onto their graphic organizers to provide models to classmates along the way.
Evaluation
Time: 20 minutes
Give students a new text describing how to email an attachment (Hull, n.d). Ask them to read the text, locate and highlight the key steps, sequence the key steps on the provided graphic organizer, and complete the task of sending their previously saved Word documents to you in an email. These directions should be printed on the projector or board. Assess students’ work using the rubric that identifies whether each step of the process is completed successfully.
Application
Time: 5 minutes
Ask students to share some new things they would like to be able to do using computers or other devices that they have not yet learned to do. Make a list of these responses on the board or projector. Explain that students can search for informational texts on the web that explain how to do these things, and they can use the strategy they just learned to teach themselves new skills. Review times when sending email attachments might be useful, such as sending cover letters to potential employers or submitting classroom assignments. Provide additional opportunities for students to practice these skills by asking students to submit some future assignments using email attachments. Encourage them to try new computer skills, such as creating tables in Word, and have them use the strategies learned in this lesson to locate and execute the steps necessary to complete these tasks. Provide opportunities for students to share these new skills with the class.
Key Terms and Concepts
attachment- a computer file sent with an email
graphic organizer- a tool to help learners visualize relationships between pieces of information
informative text- a type of nonfiction writing written to inform readers about something
sequencing- putting in order
Part 3: Supplementary Resources & References
Supplementary Resources
None
References
Faccioli, M.B. (n.d.). Module 2 saving your work- microsoft word. Retrieved November 7, 2016, from https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/microsoft-word/attachment/70
Grady, M. (n.d.). Module 4 privacy- intro to facebook. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/intro-to-facebook/attachment/166
Hull, C. (n.d.). Module 1 working with attachments- intro to email 2: Beyond the basics. Retrieved November 7, 2016, from https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/intro-to-email-2-beyond-the-basics/attachment/499
Attribution Statements
Content created by Mary Beth Faccioli for Digitallearn.org originally published at https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/microsoft-word/attachment/70 under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Content created by Megan Grady of PLA for Digitallearn.org originally published at https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/intro-to-facebook/attachment/166 under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Content created by Carol Hull of Kixal for Digitallearn.org originally published at https://www.digitallearn.org/courses/intro-to-email-2-beyond-the-basics/attachment/499 under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
This course content is offered by Designers for Learning under a CC Attribution license.
Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted. Page
(Design Guide effective September 12, 2016)