Text Formatting Activities for the Computer Lab or Classroom

to Read (

Words)

Text Formatting Activities

Learning keyboarding can be super boring and tedious for students. This set of formatting activities aims to bring engagement and a sense of purpose to the practice of typing. This blog post shares the rationale behind doing mystery text formatting activities plus has a bonus freebie you don't want to miss. Keep reading!

Click on this image to buy the Months set on TpT.

By the time students finish all 12 months they will have practiced each of the keyboard rows four times.

GET ALL OF THE TEXT FORMATTING ACTIVITIES

Non-Holiday Monthly Themed Text Formatting

Holiday Themed Text Formatting

Winter Themed Text Formatting

Spring Themed Text Formatting

Summer Themed Text Formatting

Students will also (hopefully) have a sense of pride over the final outcome and an understanding of the learning objective.

Each month has 2 sets of directions pages. The first one is lowercase letters and the second one is uppercase letters. This is to give you choice to match your student keyboards. When the students actually type the text, it should all be in lowercase to match the finished examples provided.

Ways to add challenge:

Have students Highlight the text with the color instead of changing the font color.
Have students add a line at the end that says what the shape is.
Have students add a clip art image that represents the design.
Have students type a reflection about how the activity went and what they might do differently next time.

Ways to provide supports (make it easier):

Provide students with a second sheet of paper or a flat edge like a ruler so that they can be looking at one line at a time.
Dictate the directions one line at a time to students.
Demonstrate each line as you go using a projector or screensharing software.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Strand: Innovative Designer

Standard: 4.b. select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.

I Can Statements:

I can stick with a problem until it is solved

I can use the materials around me to help me solve a problem

I can create an original work using a digital tool

Strand: Empowered Learner

Standard: 1.d. understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

I Can Statements:

I can learn a new technology tool by exploring it.

I can find any letter or number on a keyboard.

Designs in the Months Set:

January: Snowman

February: Mitten

March: Kite

April: Umbrella

May: Flower

June: Tent

July: Beach Ball

August: Sun

September: Apple

October: Leaf

November: Acorn

December: Evergreen Tree

Free Bulletin Board Letters

In my Free Resource Library in the INSPIRE section, there is a PDF with bulletin board header letters that spell out MYSTERY TEXT FORMATTING that you can use in your classroom. Click on the image above to go there.