Lesson plan

Topicm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449000663_0Topic

Inserting symbols into text

Levelm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449084556_0Level

Second

Core curriculumm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449076687_0Core curriculum

Grade IV‑VI

II. Programming and solving problems by using the computer and other digital devices. The student:

3) develops and presents solutions to problems by using basic applications (a text and image editor, a spreadsheet, a programme for creating a multimedia presentation) on the computer or in a cloud to demonstrate the following skills:

b) creating text documents: selecting fonts, formatting paragraphs, inserting illustrations, headings and shapes, creating tables and bulleted and numbered lists.

Timingm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449068082_0Timing

45 minutes

General objectivem2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449523725_0General objective

Creating text documents.

Specific objectivesm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449552113_0Specific objectives

1. Identifying diacritic charactersdiacritic charactersdiacritic characters.

2. Inserting symbols into text.

Learning outcomesm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528450430307_0Learning outcomes

The student:

- defines the term ‘diacritic character’,

- inserts symbols into text.

Methodsm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449534267_0Methods

1. Learning through observation.

2. Using the knowledge in practical situations.

Forms of workm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449514617_0Forms of work

1. Individual work.

2. Class work.

Lesson stages

Introductionm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528450127855_0Introduction

Text editors and other programmes that enable entering text (e.g. image programmes) have sets of fonts. As you may notice, some fonts do not enable writing in Polish since they do not include letters which can be found only in the Polish alphabet. They are letters containing the so called diacritics (diacritical marks), i.e marks used in alphabets and other writing systems which are added to a letter. change its articulation, and therefore create a new letter.

In the Polish language there are nine letters created with the use of diacritics: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż. They are the so called diacritic charactersdiacritic charactersdiacritic characters, letters containing diacritics.

Task 1

The teacher divides the students into the groups of five. Each of them finds on the internet the examples of other languages which, similar to the Polish language, are based on the Latin alphabet and contain diacritic characters. Finally, the students compare the results of their work.

Procedurem2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528446435040_0Procedure

Text encoding:
The text which is displayed on the screen is actually stored as numerical values in a text file. The computer converts numerical values to displayed characters. This is performed with the use of a specific coding standard.

A coding standardcoding standardcoding standard is a numbering system that assigns a numerical value to every character. Particular languages contain various sets of characters, therefore there are many different coding standards. In order to standardise these differences, the Unicode standard has been created, which contains characters of numerous alphabets. It includes most characters of all languages used the most commonly by computer users.

A problem in former years was also the encoding of Polish letters used in computer systems. Both Polish and international standards were developed, and in consequence many unoficial norms were used, which was impractical and caused many problems. It was not until 1990s that the Unicode standard (UTF encoding) was introduced, which solved these problems for various languages containing national diacritic charactersdiacritic charactersdiacritic characters.

Task 2

On the internet find other systems of character encoding.

The most common keyboard layoutkeyboard layoutkeyboard layout used on computers in Poland is the so called the ‘programmer’s keybord’. It enables entering Polish diacritic charactersdiacritic charactersdiacritic characters by using the right‑hand ALT key with a corresponding similar letter from the Latin alphabet. For instance, to access ‘ń’, you must use the key combinationkey combinationkey combination ALT + N. The only exception is ‘ź’, which as accessed by pressing the key combination ALT + X. An alternative solution, however rarely used, is the ‘Polish’ keyboard.

Character Mapcharacter mapCharacter Map is a program built into Windows that enables viewing the characters that are available in a selected font.

[Illustration 1]

Task 3

With the use of Character Map, view the set of characters of any font.

To enter a symbol:
- place the text cursor where you want the symbol to be inserted,
- on the Insert tab, select Symbol,
- if the symbol you want to add is on the gallery, insert it,
- if not, select the More Symbols option to open the Symbol dialogue box,
- scroll the list of symbols of the chosen font up or down to find the symbol you need,
- use the Subset drop‑down list to find the symbol quicker,
- if you do not see the symbol listed on that gallery, change font,
- when you find the symbol you want, double‑click it or press the Insert button,
- close the Symbols dialogue box with the Close button.
Symbol, Webdings and Wingdings are fonts which contain many symbols.m2e0fa2c5e5364026_1527752256679_0To enter a symbol:
- place the text cursor where you want the symbol to be inserted,
- on the Insert tab, select Symbol,
- if the symbol you want to add is on the gallery, insert it,
- if not, select the More Symbols option to open the Symbol dialogue box,
- scroll the list of symbols of the chosen font up or down to find the symbol you need,
- use the Subset drop‑down list to find the symbol quicker,
- if you do not see the symbol listed on that gallery, change font,
- when you find the symbol you want, double‑click it or press the Insert button,
- close the Symbols dialogue box with the Close button.
Symbol, Webdings and Wingdings are fonts which contain many symbols.

[Illustration 2]

Inserting ASCII characters

Press and hold the ALT key and type the character code on the numeric keypad. Remember to add any leading zeroes in order to get a four‑digit code.

Inserting Unicode characters

Type the character code where you want to insertinsertinsert the Unicode symbolsymbolsymbol and then press ALT+X to convert the code to the symbol.

Interactive illustration

Task 4

View the codes assigned to the symbols in the interactive illustration. Try to insertinsertinsert them in a text editor and press the key combination ALT+X.

If you use a given symbolsymbolsymbol very often, you can assign to it an unused key combination by using the Sortcut Key option in the Symbol dialogue box.

Task 5

InsertinsertInsert the symbols of a telephone, a letter and address into the following text in a text editor:

My personal details:

- telephone,
- address,
- email,

Lesson summarym2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528450119332_0Lesson summary

In most computer systems fonts are supported by the operating system and available in all programmes. Some applications have additional sets of fonts and their installation on the computer expands the set of available fonts.m2e0fa2c5e5364026_1527752263647_0In most computer systems fonts are supported by the operating system and available in all programmes. Some applications have additional sets of fonts and their installation on the computer expands the set of available fonts.

Selected words and expressions used in the lesson plan

diacritic charactersdiacritic charactersdiacritic characters

coding standardcoding standardcoding standard

symbolsymbolsymbol

keyboard layoutkeyboard layoutkeyboard layout

character mapcharacter mapcharacter map

insertinsertinsert

shortcut keyshortcut keyshortcut key

key combinationkey combinationkey combination

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diacritic characters1

coding standard1

keyboard layout1

key combination1

character map1

insert1

symbol1

shortcut key1

Scenariusz

Topicm2e0fa2c5e5364026_1528449000663_0Topic

Lesson stages

Selected words and expressions used in the lesson plan