Spreadsheet Basics - GPA Calculation - Teacher Tips

Students may need some orientation to the features of Excel.  See the Excel Basics handout.  You might want to provide individual copies to your students as reference sheets for their notebooks. 

The student directions cover most procedures for completing the workbook assignments, but there are some aspects of using spreadsheets that deserve review:

Ways to Select Cells:

• Hold down the Shift key to select a continuous group of cells. 
  • Precision selecting: select the first cell of a group, hold down the shift key, then select the last cell--do this with a column, a row, or a block of cells (corner to corner). Cursor movement is easier to control.
• Hold down the Ctrl key to select non-continuous cells or groups of cells.  Very important in creating charts.
• These methods also work in other applications--Word, PowerPoint, etc.

Using Save and Undo, & Closing without Saving

• Always start by saving a document, appropriately named, to a logical file.
• SAVE OFTEN!--especially when results are good.  This can't be emphasized too much.
• Use the Undo button to reverse one or more steps that didn't work out.

• Close without saving to return to the format of the last save.  Best if you save often!

Move or Copy Sheet (an Edit menu option)

A valuable Excel tool that deserves emphasis.  Direct students to study all of the Edit menu options.  Copy Sheet is different from basic copying, and it's listed farther down on the menu.  With a copy of a formatted spreadsheet, you can practice using formulas or rearranging data without endangering your original version or data.  It's good to have a backup.

Spreadsheet Terms

All of the assignments in the spreadsheet module ask students to complete workbooks.  The term refers to any spreadsheet file, which can contain 1 or many worksheets.  When Excel opens a new document, it is called "Book1" until it is saved with a unique name.

The worksheets that are part of a workbook each have names on the worksheet tabs at the bottom of the work window.  Sheet tabs are easily renamed by double clicking on them, and easily moved if you click on them and then drag and drop them to a different order in the workbook.  A practice demonstration might be helpful.

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