Mouse Manipulation Lesson – My Town

 

Goal
To develop mouse manipulation skills.

Objective
Learners will gain familiarity with the mouse interface.

Skills
Word processing: using the mouse, cursor, and insertion point; deleting and tool bar control selection;

Preparation/pre-requisite skills
Turning on a computer and launching a program.

Time
45 minutes to one hour

Related Activities
Terms of the Day 1 and 2

Instructor’s Notes
Explaining how to turn on a computer and what the Paint software program does prior to activity.  Also explain what the mouse is and how to control it.  It may be useful to explain that when navigating a menu, a single click is required to activate an item while desktop icons require a double click.  You may also choose to guide a student hand and click motion with your own (be sure to ask permission first).
 

Activity

Have students navigate to the Paint accessory (Start à Programs à Accessories à Paint.exe). 

Have students paint a picture of the town that they live in. 

Go around to work with them individually and encourage them to use various tools (paint bucket, brush, spray can, etc.)  to compose their drawing.

Teach different mouse action such as single click, drag, double click, etc. 

Finally, if time permits, have student save their work to floppy and print a hard copy as well.