This graphic shows how the skills needed to produce high standard are progressively developed from step one through to progression step five. Use this when planning activities to ensure that progression in skills and the appropriate level of challenge are central to any task.

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⌨️ Printed Media

Word processing software allows users to input, edit, and format text. It provides tools for tasks like typing, copying, deleting, and formatting. Common word processors include Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Pages. Word processors enable learners and teachers to write and edit documents more efficiently. They can easily revise and improve their work without starting from scratch. With cloud synchronisation, people worldwide can collaborate on documents in real time. This fosters teamwork and enhances learning experiences. Word processing tools have a range of accessibility features that can accommodate various learning styles such as text-to-speech, spell check and formatting options. Proficiency in word processing is essential for future careers as these skills will be used in the workplace and beyond.

⭐ KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS!

Teach students common keyboard shortcuts where appropriate to boost efficiency.

⭐ FORMATTING BASICS!

Cover essential formatting tools like font styles, alignment and bullet points.

⭐ ORGANISE YOUR DOCUMENTS!

Emphasise the importance of creating folders, naming files logically and using a consistent file structure.

⭐ TYPING SKILLS!

To ensure learners can navigate a keyboard, ensure these skills are taught early! Introduce keyboards when introducing sounds in phonics sessions so learners make the link between saying, reading, writing, and typing sounds and letters.

⭐ USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB!

Make sure that you are using the right tool for creating different styles of documents. As an example, consider if Word/Docs is the best place for creating infographics or would this be better elsewhere?

Suggestions 🔎

JiT5

j2create

j2office

Microsoft Word

Google Docs

Pages

Notes

Here are some applications and software that you can use to develop word processing skills. These are a small selection - there are MANY more available. It is essential that you select the applications and software that is suitably matched to the learner's stage and that each learner experiences a range of these applications as they apply and develop their digital skills.

PS1 - Explore and record sounds

What does good look like?

At this stage, learners should begin becoming familiar with the layout of the keyboard and start locating familiar letters and sounds to form simple sentences about topics that interest them. Where typing is a challenge, learners should make use of speech-to-text features (English only) to form sentences. From this, learners can make simple choices about the size, colour and style of their font in the chosen word processing tool.

How about...

Write a simple sentence about themselves or their family.
Write simple sentences that support the retell of a familiar tale or story.
Provide learners with an image to write a simple sentence about like a picture of an animal or familiar object.
Practice typing the alphabet in order. This reinforces letter/sound recognition and keyboard familiarity.

⭐ Skills ⭐

Keyboard Skills

Learners understand the positions of letters and numbers on the keyboard and can begin to type letters and numbers. Learners recognise and use full stops, the space bar and shift keys for capital letters.

Speech to Text

Learners can locate the speech to text (dictation) icon in specific programs and use this to compose simple sentences.

Word Banks

Using word banks in specific programs, learners can listen to words and input the correct words into their sentences.

Saving and Storing

Begin to save work using the save icon on simple programs.

Formatting

Learners can make simple choices about the size, colour and style of the font.

PS2 - Simple Documents

What does good look like?

Learners are now beginning to type with increased length, using additional features within their writing such as capital letters and full stops. They can navigate around the document using the mouse/trackpad and directional keys on the keyboard. They can use premade templates to support the layout of their work. They can make choices about how they present their text by considering text size, fonts, and colours. Learners will now add images to their documents and move them to specific sections. They should now name their document appropriately and save it within the files.

How about...

Create simple stories within word processing software, encouraging them to add images or use basic formatting choices such as bold or italic.
Conduct simple research by copying and pasting from one source to another and then edit the text using the formatting features for font, colour and size.
Practice editing documents by providing learners with a sample text that has simple errors.

⭐ Skills ⭐

Keyboard Skills

Identify and use caps lock, shift key, back space / delete key, enter/return and spacebar. Learners can also distinguish the difference between using caps lock and the shift key for capital letters.

Navigation

Learners can use the arrow keys and scroll bar to move around text. They can use end and home keys to move to the beginning and end of lines.

Mouse / Track Pad

They understand the idea of an insertion point (position of the cursor) and can use the mouse to position the cursor at a certain point in a piece of text to enter or delete text at that point. They are able to drag and drop objects with increasing accuracy.

Formatting and Editing

Learners can highlight text to change the text size, font style and colour. Use cut, copy, and paste to edit a document.

Saving and Storing

Learners can save work locally and, in the cloud, selecting an appropriate file name.

Inserting Multimedia

Learners are beginning to insert an object, shape or picture to a simple word processing tool from the camera, website or file.

PS3 - Increasing Sophistication

What does good look like?

Learners can now make choices about the layout of their documents, including the use of margins and orientations and appropriate text alignment. They are becoming more efficient when word processing using a range of keyboard shortcuts. The use of multimedia becomes more sophisticated by editing inserted images, creating tables for content, and providing hyperlinks to other documents or sources. Learners work comfortably in a collaborative environment, sharing documents with each other and working on them in real time.

How about...

Create a newsletter that shares updates about school and school life ensuring text is appropriately aligned or included within columns in the text.
Create or write radio scripts with appropriate formatting throughout.
Collaborative story writing could encourage learners to contribute to different paragraphs, suggest improvements and foster a culture of collaborative work.

⭐ Skills ⭐

Layout

Use page setup to set paper size, margins and orientations (portrait or landscape), adding columns along with changing the layout using centering, aligning, and justifying where appropriate.

Keyboard Commands

Use cut (ctrl+x), copy (ctrl+c), paste (ctrl+v) and select all (ctrl+a) to edit a document. Use bold (ctrl+b), italic (ctrl+i), underline (ctrl+u) to format fonts within the document.

Paragraphing

Begin using bulleting and numbering features when creating lists, indenting bulleted lists where appropriate.

Inserting Multimedia

Insert images, icons and shapes to the document and use word-wrapping to change the wrap effects of an image. Crop and re-size images and apply masks to change their shape. Begin adding tables to the document to house content and information. Add hyperlinks to external sources or documents.

Collaboration

Create a document in the cloud and invite a partner to collaborate at the same time. Expand this to sharing with several partners to collaborate at different times.

Spelling and Grammar

Begin using spell checker to check spelling and add words to the tool when confident of accuracy. Use the thesaurus feature to support language development.

PS4 - Professional Documentation

What does good look like?

Learners create professional looking documentation using the range of design features within word processing tools. They begin to take account of creating different sections for the document which supports navigation. These sections are highlighted through different styles for titles and headings. Learners are extremely efficient when using word processing tools through the use of a range of keyboard shortcuts and can input a large range of digital multimedia to a document. They use editor features to ensure that the spelling, grammar and refinements to their documents create a professional finish to their work.

How about...

Digital storytelling through the use of images, headings and formatting to create visually appealing stories.
Creating research reports on a range of topics, including references to the sources the information was gathered from.
Take data provided from other software and present this in a visually appealing report for others.

⭐ Skills ⭐

Formatting

Begin using advanced features for identifying titles, headings, and subtitles throughout the document, using appropriate fonts and sizes for each. Add headers, footers, and page numbers to the document to support navigation.

Keyboard Commands

Use Find (ctrl+f) to find words on a page and Find and Replace (ctrl+h) to find and replace words. Undo (ctrl+z) and redo (ctrl+y) actions from within the document. Format text on the page using left-align (ctrl+l), center-align (ctrl+e), right align (ctrl+r) and justify (ctrl+j).

Paragraphing

Consider the use of line spacing and adding spaces before and after paragraphs.

Inserting Multimedia

Insert images to the document, providing alt. text where necessary and referencing the source of the image.

Collaboration

Understand and account revisions made in a cloud document, using version history to restore older versions where needed. Suggest changes for collaborators using the track changes options within programs.

Spelling and Grammar

Use the ‘Editor’ features within programs to check spelling, grammar and refinements such as clarity and formality to improve their writing.

PS5 - Advanced Processing Features

What does good look like?

Learners at this stage are confident at using word processing tools and can now begin to use more advanced features that will support application to further studies or the world of word. They consider the use of watermarks when creating sensitive documentation and use the built-in referencing features to highlight the source of information they have found.

How about...

Write a letter of application to a college / university / place of work.
Present coursework in a visually appealing manner that is accessible for all.

⭐ Skills ⭐

Formatting

Begin using features such as cover page, blank page and page breaks to create specific sections for your documents.

Keyboard Commands

Insert a hyperlink (ctrl+k), page break (ctrl+enter) and apply a bulleted list (ctrl+shift+l) to the document.

Inserting Watermarks

Add a watermark to the background of the document to create confidentiality or a disclaimer.

Accessibility

Use built in accessibility checkers to ensure the document can be read and accessed by all who need to use it.

Referencing

Add table of contents, footnotes, citations and captions where appropriate throughout the document.