Category Archives for "Computer Lesson Plans"

Ultimate Trip Travel Brochure

school-lesson-plans3

Appropriate for Grades: 3 up

Overview:

Using a Word Processor or desktop publishing template, produce a travel brochure that depicts the students’ ultimate trip. Unlike an adult’s trip, it might include theme parks, outer space, food outlets or places kids like to go.

Activity:

  • Start a word process or desktop publishing program.
  • Choose a brochure template.
  • Discuss as a class where specific information should go on a
  • brochure such as what shows when it is folded.
  • Fill in the title information and contact information.
  • Launch an Internet browser .
  • Search for images and information about places that they would like to visit. (Try to use royalty free images.)
  • Save images to the local computer (delete when finished).
  • Collect and type this information into a usable format.
  • Add the images and text to the brochure.
  • Ensure that data such as prices, dates available, accommodation choices are all included.
  • Save and print a color copy on a duplex printer so that both sides of the paper are printed.
  • Fold and present the brochure.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: Word Processor, desktop publisher, Internet browser
  • Paper / Printer
  • Internet connection
  • Clipart / photos

 

Further ideas and comments

Skin My Mobile

Appropriate for Grades: 6 up

Overview:

Mobile phones are the latest fashion accessory. Have students measure an example phone, or their own, and design a sticker/skin to fit. It should express something about them, their interests and loves.

Activity:

  • Take a mobile phone and measure the main surfaces where a sticker could be attached.
  • Record the measurements.
  • Open a drawing program.
  • Draw the outline of the sticker to scale to the measurements they took.
  • Slowly build the complete layout for the sticker. This might include the keyboard too.
  • When the outline is done, select all components and group them into one shape.
  • Using a mixture of fonts, clipart/graphics and colors, build a design that could go onto the phone.
  • Save and print a copy in color.
  • Possibly print a copy onto clear sticker sheets which can be purchased from Office supplies store.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: graphics / drawing software
  • Paper / Printer
  • Plastic sticker sheets
  • Measuring tools

Further ideas and comments

Game On!

Appropriate for Grades: 4 up

Overview:

Use PowerPoint to build a storyboard for a video game. Use each slide as a level of the game explaining what would happen. Students can add graphics, directions and maps for their game.

Activity:

  • Open PowerPoint.
  • Begin a new slideshow.
  • Start storyboarding the game.
  • Use one slide for each level of the game.
  • Insert graphics and text to illustrate what they would like to see and what the player would be required to do.
  • After each graphical slide, add a slide to explain what the player is required to do to complete that level.
  • Include slides for the rules, tips, cheats, etc
  • Save as “game slides”.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: PowerPoint
  • Paper / Printer
  • Clipart, graphics

Further ideas and comments

MP3 Radio

Appropriate for Grades: 5 up

Overview:

Produce a radio show using MP3 files taken from downloaded royalty free music. Add in voiceovers to lead from one song to another or add local news and advertising.

Activity:

  • Open Windows Media Player.
  • Download royalty free music from sites such as MySpace.com.
  • Write a series of radio voiceovers, advertisements or news on
  • paper or using a word processor.
  • These should be worded so that they fit between certain tracks.
  • Open a recording program such as Audacity (freeware).
  • Plug in a microphone.
  • Record the series of radio voiceovers, advertisements or news.
  • Save each as an MP3
  • Import these MP3s into media player
  • Intersperse them between the songs so that the play list sounds
  • like a radio show.
  • Save the play list as “radio show”.
  • Output the list back to an MP3 player to share or burn to
  • CDROM.
  • Please consider the copywrite implications of this project and
  • take the time to use music respectfully.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: media player, Audacity, word processor
  • Paper / Printer
  • CDROM burner , blank CDs
  • MP3 player
  • www.myspace.com

 

Further ideas and comments

Animated Paintings

Appropriate for Grades: 3 Up

Overview:

Use a drawing program and GIF animator to animate a famous painting. It might be a portrait whose eyes move or a bike rider whose legs move.

Activity:

  • Open an Internet browser .
  • Navigate to a site with royalty free photographs of famous
  • paintings.
  • Choose a famous painting such as the Mona Lisa and save the
  • image to the local computer.
  • Open the image with a drawing program.
  • Redraw the eyes, mouth or changes you wish to apply and save
  • as “mona1”.
  • Make another small change and save as “mona2”.
  • Repeat the process until you have all of the pictures that make
  • a moving sequence.
  • Close the drawing program and browser.
  • Start GIF Animator .
  • Import each of the images drawn in order.
  • Export as a moving GIF file.
  • Save the file.
  • Open the GIF in the Internet browser to see it move.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: Drawing program like PhotoImpact
  • Paper / Printer
  • Gif Animator software – www.jhepple.com/gif_animator.htm

 

Further ideas and comments

The Animated Moon

Appropriate for Grades: 5 up

Overview:

Produce an animated slideshow that shows how the moon moves around the earth. Include a written and verbal explanation.

Activity:

  • Start PowerPoint.
  • Fill in the title slide.
  • Insert a new slide and make it blank.
  • Import clipart or pictures of the Moon, Earth and Sun.
  • These could also be drawn using the Drawing tools.
  • Click on the first object.
  • Go to Slideshow menu then Custom animation.
  • Click on Add effect: Motion Path: Draw custom path: Freeform.
  • Using the pencil, draw the path that the object takes e.g. the
  • moon moves around the Earth
  • Insert a text box and add an explanation of the illustration.
  • Using the microphone, record a verbal explanation and set it to
  • play when clicked.
  • Add new slides to show the way that the Earth moves around
  • the Sun
  • Insert buttons to click to move to the next slide.
  • Complete and test the presentation.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: PowerPoint
  • Paper / Printer Microphone

 

Further ideas and comments

 

How Fast will it Fall?

Appropriate for Grades: 6 up

Overview:

Use a webcam to record a collection of objects being dropped from the same height. Import the videos into Moviemaker and work out the time taken for the objects to hit the ground. Use this data to work out their speed in a spreadsheet.

Activity:

  • Plug in a webcam to your computer.
  • Start a moviemaker program.
  • Measure a set height above the floor and mark it as the drop
  • height.
  • Set the camera so that it can capture the full drop from top to
  • bottom.
  • Choose an object and get ready to drop.
  • Start the camera recording.
  • Drop the object and record its fall.
  • Stop the camera recording.
  • Repeat for a set of objects.
  • Load each movie into your editing program.
  • Slowly move the frames through until you see the object hit the
  • ground and record how long it took.
  • Open a spreadsheet.
  • Enter the object and results into 2 columns.
  • In a third column, enter the formula to work out speed S =
  • Distance / Time
  • Repeat the formula to work out the speed of drop for each
  • object.
  • Students might like to weigh the objects and record these
  • results as well.
  • Save and print a copy of the spreadsheet.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: Moviemaker, spreadsheet
  • Paper / Printer / Items to drop, Tape measure

 

Further ideas and comments

Virtual Cows Eye Dissection

Appropriate for Grades: 6 up

Overview:

Students watch and record the process of dissecting a cow’s eye online. They record what they see as a science report.

Activity:

  • Open a word processor.
  • Title the page “Virtual Cow’s Eye Dissection”.
  • Leave a line space.
  • Launch the Internet browser.
  • Click in the address bar and type: www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/index.html
  • Press the Enter key or click Go.
  • Students work their way through the website watching the videos and reading the text.
  • Switch back to the Word Processor and type notes about the information that they learn in a science report format.
  • Leave space to draw diagrams to illustrate what they see.
  • Save and print a copy.


Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: Word Processor
  • Paper / Printer
  • www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/index.html


Further ideas and comments

Mystical Creature Zoo

Appropriate for Grades: 1 up

Overview:

Students will love this activity because they get the chance to mix and match animal parts to come up with a previously undiscovered creature for the class zoo.

Activity:

  • Open a drawing program like KidPix.
  • Start a new drawing.
  • Using the drawing tools, have the students design and draw a
  • creature that combines parts of all different animals.
  • They could have the head of a lion, eyes from a fly, legs from
  • an emu, and the body of a crocodile.
  • Choose the text tool and type the creatures name – “A
  • Lionodile”
  • Draw lines to each body part.
  • Label the parts of the body and which animals they come from.
  • Save and print a copy.
  • Collect and place in a wall display laid out like a zoo.

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: KidPix, drawing program
  • Paper / Printer

Further ideas and comments

Phasing the Moon

Appropriate for Grades: 3 up

Overview:

Over the period of a month, chart the phases of the moon into the table. Students could use photographs of the moon from each night or simple icons/clipart taken from drawings that they have created / scanned in.

Activity:

  • Open a word processor .
  • Insert the heading “Phases of the Moon”.
  • Leave a line space.
  • Insert a table that is 7 columns x 6 rows.
  • In the first row, type the days of the week.
  • Select the days, apply bold and adjust font size and style.
  • Insert the dates into each box to make a calendar.
  • Save the file.
  • Each night take a photograph of the moon and download.
  • Insert and resize the photograph into the calendar each morning.
  • Repeat the process until the calendar has been completed for one month.
  • In the event the moon can’t be photographed, have the students draw the moon in a drawing program or on paper then scan it into the computer.
  • Import and resize the image to fit into the calendar.
  • Upon completion, print a copy.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  • Software: word processor, drawing program
  • Digital camera, scanner
  • Printer, paper

 

Further ideas and comments

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