Exploring Technology

Lesson Overview

This lesson is designed for Year 1 students within the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, specifically addressing the learning strand of Digital Technologies. The focus of this lesson is to familiarise students with basic word processing skills by typing a short sentence and using a search engine to find a matching picture. This aligns with developing foundational digital literacy skills.

Australian Curriculum Alignment

• Subject: Digital Technologies
• Year Level: Year 1
• Content Descriptions:
  • Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose (ACTDIK001).
  • Collect, explore and sort data, and use digital systems to present the data creatively (ACTDIP003).

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Understand how to open and use a word processing application to type a sentence.
• Practice using a search engine to find an image that corresponds with their sentence.
• Save and print their work.

Materials Needed

• Computers or tablets with internet access (1 per student)
• Microsoft Word or Google Docs
• Printer
• Whiteboard and markers
• Projector and screen for teacher demonstrations

Lesson Plan

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome students and briefly discuss what computers can do.
• Explain the goal of the lesson: "Today, we will use computers to write a sentence and find a picture that matches it."

Demonstration (10 minutes)

1. Opening Word Processor:
   • Show students how to open Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
   • Demonstrate typing a simple sentence, e.g., "The cat is playing."
2. Finding Pictures:
   • Explain how to open a web browser and access a search engine.
   • Show students how to safely search for "cat playing" images.
3. Inserting Images:
   • Demonstrate how to copy and paste an image from the web into the document.

Guided Practice (15 minutes)

• Allow students to access their computers.
• Guide them to open the word processor and type their own simple sentence, e.g., "My favourite fruit is an apple."
• Walk around the room to offer assistance and ensure correct procedure.
• Once sentences are typed, help students navigate to a search engine.
• Assist in finding and inserting an image that matches their sentence.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Have students save their documents.
• Ask volunteers to share their sentence and picture with the class.
• Collect printed documents to display in the classroom.

Reflection and Assessment

• Observe students’ ability to follow steps and use digital tools.
• Check completed documents to ensure sentences are correctly matched with images.
• Provide positive feedback and address any difficulties encountered during the lesson.

Extensions

• For students who quickly grasp the task, challenge them to add another sentence and image to their document.
• Introduce additional formatting features like changing font size or colour for further exploration of the word processor's capabilities.

Follow-Up

Plan a subsequent lesson to reinforce skills learned, possibly extending into creating a simple digital story with multiple sentences and images.