This checklist is for teacher use when planning and preparing a new unit. This checklist may be revised and/or photocopied for each planning session. It is available as a template by clicking on the anchor provided below.
Suggested Time Allotment: 5-7 hours
This unit has been developed in partial fulfilment of the objectives for Module 4: Keyboarding and Word Processing. Teachers are reminded that Core Module 1: Information Processing for Personal Use and Module 4: Keyboarding and Word Processing are used in Information Processing 10.
The selection of the following C.E.L.s for emphasis in this unit does not preclude the development of other C.E.L.s in the suggested activities and strategies. However, the following C.E.L.s objectives should be emphasized by the teacher within this unit:
The personal-business letter and envelope are correspondence that may be used by students for their personal communication. In this unit, students will learn the purpose of the personal-business letter. Guidelines for preparing and formatting the letter and accompanying envelope will be included. Touch keyboarding, composition, and word processing skills will be integrated and applied. Efficiency in processing information will continue to be demonstrated. In Core Module 1, students are introduced to the information processing cycle. Students will continue to experience the stages of the cycle in this unit.
Students should have acquired the following knowledge, process, attitude, and skills prior to beginning this unit:
A. Cognitive Learning Objectives
The student will be able to:
B. Skills, Abilities, and Process Learning Objectives
The student will be able to:
C. Affective Learning Objectives
The student will be able to:
To annotate, produce, and compose correctly-formatted personal-business letters in extreme block letter style with open punctuation and accompanying envelopes. (Objective 4.5)
Part 1
Suggested Instructional Methods: advance organizer; concept attainment; didactic questions; or, cooperative learning groups.
Part 2
Suggested Instructional Methods: drill and practice; problem solving; guided inquiry; or, case studies.
Part 3
Suggested Instructional Methods: drill and practice; problem solving; or, case studies.
Part 4
Suggested Instructional Methods: case studies; problem solving; cooperative group learning; or, focused imaging.
| Personal-Business Letter | Foundational Objectives | Rationale for this Unit | Prerequisite Student Learning | Content and Process Objectives | Content and Instructional Outline | Suggested Instructional Methods and Assessment Techniques | References and Resources for the Unit |
This section of the unit plan will outline instructional methods that promote the C.E.L.s of Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking and Technological Literacy. However, it is acknowledged that the instructional methods described in this section could also develop other C.E.L.s or could be adjusted and adapted to achieve other learning objectives. C.E.L.s are intended to be developed and assessed simultaneously, not separately and discretely from the Information Processing objectives.
Some of the instructional methods from the Content and Instructional Outline section are discussed below. These methods are discussed in general terms giving examples of introductory, developmental, and culminating activities that may take place throughout the unit. Suggested assessment techniques are also provided. Instruments that may be adapted for use in this unit are found in the Templates for Assessment and Evaluation section of this curriculum guide.
Two lesson plans are offered at the end of this unit. In these lesson plans, the instructional methods are further described with suggested assessment and evaluation techniques.
Advance Organizer
A. Introductory. The advance organizer may be used to connect past learning and experiences to the teachings in the new lesson(s). The information processing cycle provides the perfect organizer when teaching the material in this unit. A visual representation of the cycle should be made available to students at all times. The information processing cycle may be seen as a process allowing information to be transformed into some desired form of communication. In this unit, students will follow the stages of the basic information processing cycle of input, process, output, and distribution to produce personal-business letters and accompanying envelopes.
B. Developmental. At the beginning of each new student learning activity, concepts or skills should be acknowledged as having their place in the information processing cycle.
C. Culminating. The information processing cycle may be used in a culminating sense to anchor the new learning to the student's existing cognitive structures. Refer to the information processing cycle noting the knowledge that took place before the lesson and the knowledge that has been presented. At the end of the unit, students should be able to place all content and processes within the cycle.
Suggested Assessment Techniques:
Teachers may assess student identification of the stages of the information processing cycle. Information on student ability to analyze and judge the relationships between student activities and the appropriate stages of the information processing cycle could be recorded. Anecdotal records could be used.
Case Studies
A. Introductory. Case studies provide students with real-life scenarios for applications of the personal-business letter and an accompanying envelope. Students could analyze a variety of situations requiring the processing of information.
B. Developmental. Students could integrate their touch keyboarding and word processing skills to process personal-business letters and accompanying envelopes.
C. Culminating. At the end of the case study activities, students may reflect on the processes used and the final products. Students may revisit the case study and assess the appropriateness of the final product and the effectiveness of the processes used.
Suggested Assessment Techniques:
Case studies actively involve students in applying their knowledge and skills to process and produce a suitable solution to a situation. Templates that may be adapted and used to assess the process and final product include Assessing Application (Process) Skills (T-4, T-5) and the Suggested Checklist to Grade Case Studies Using A Problem-Solving/Decision-Making Process (T-37).
Drill and Practice
In order to use drill and practice effectively as an instructional method, students need to be provided with enough practice to perform a skill or process automatically. Students could practice processing personal-business letters beginning with simple examples and moving to complex applications. For example, students would experience drill and practice by processing letters that are printed and arranged; printed and unarranged; handwritten and unarranged; and, concluding with their own compositions. Copy selected for drill and practice must be free of bias with respect to gender, age, culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
Drill and practice may be used in the following way:
A. Introductory. Students may be given a copy of a personal-business letter that is printed and arranged accurately.
B. Developmental. Students would use their touch keyboarding and word processing skills to process and produce an exact replica of the initial copy.
C. Culminating. The final product could be compared to the original copy. Assessment of the accuracy of the final product should be made.
Drill and practice of document production could focus on parts of the document, progressing to production of an entire document.
Suggested Assessment Techniques:
Drill and practice tends to focus on skills. To assess the level of touch keyboarding and word processing skills applied in the processing of letters, teachers may use performance tests. Criteria should be established indicating the performance to be demonstrated. Criteria may be inserted into templates for anecdotal records, rating scales, and checklists.
Assessment instruments that may be adapted and used include Criteria for Rating Keyboarding Technique (T-13) and/or Rating Student Efficiency in the Application of Knowledge/Skills for Using Software (T-23).
Composition
Composition allows students to process and express their ideas independently. Composition would progress from one-word responses to responses requiring sentences, paragraphs, and specific formatting procedures. (Composition activities allow opportunities for integration of this unit with other Information Processing modules and other areas of study.)
A. Introductory. Students may internally visualize a situation or be given a scenario that would involve the composition of a letter of response. Students would compose rough drafts of the communication using touch keyboarding and word processing skills.
B. Developmental. Keeping the purpose of the communication in mind, students would apply their word processing skills to edit and refine the rough drafts. The goal would be to improve the communication with each editing trial.
C. Culminating. Students would format and distribute the final communication, assessing its appropriateness to the initial situation. Further editing of the final product could take place after reflection and conferencing with others.
Suggested Assessment Techniques:
Assessment may focus on the processes used in preparing the composition and the formatting of the final product. Criteria from A Rating Scale for Assessing Information Processing Document Production (T-21) and/or the Sample Criteria for Assessing the Application of the Writing Process (T-26) templates could be adapted and used.
The guidelines for assessing content (knowledge), process (application), keyboarding skills, and attitudes (business-like) in this guide give the teacher flexibility in determining the emphasis desired within each area. The following are two examples of how the emphasis within the four areas may be proportioned. *This section is not meant to be prescriptive but is offered to provide examples.
Example One:
|
Content (knowledge)................................... 30% Process (application)................................... 50% Keyboarding Skills..................................... 10% Attitude (business-like).................................10% |
Example Two:
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Content (knowledge)................................... 20% Process (application)................................... 40% Keyboarding Skills..................................... 20% Attitude (business-like).................................20% |
Note: Resources must include not only student references (textbooks) but also resources and references that can assist with the development of real-life situations in which students may apply their knowledge and skills to compose personal-business letters and accompanying envelopes.
Students may prepare personal-business letters and accompanying envelopes for a variety of personal situations. Some examples are provided below.