Excel Activities Across the Curriculum

Ideas generated and compiled from numerous sources from the Internet.
http://www.suelebeau.com

Reasons to use Excel in the classroom:

• Integrates real life situations with technology.
• Increases communication.
• Supports many levels of student learning.
• Engages students in higher level thinking skills.
• Uses graphic representations to help the students learn. Students learn in different ways.
• Supports the principles and standards for school mathematics.
• Applies to cross curricular activities.
• Teaches students how to read to charts and graphs
• Enhances many math concepts.
• Is a great management tool.
• It is easy to manipulate and change original data.
• Compliments and enhances instruction across ALL curriculum areas.
• Is motivational.
• Is just plain fun.

Learn Excel from the many online tutorials available on the web:

How to make graphs: http://mathforum.org/alejandre/spreadsheet.html

Excel Tutorial: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/6470/excel1.htm

Spreadsheet Basics: http://mathforum.org/sum95/math_and/spreadsheets/basics.html

Microsoft Excel: http://www.wcu.edu/ccenter_inf/CatOnline/MSEX/index.html

Spreadsheet Activities: http://www.suelebeau.com/spreadsheets.htm

Excel Activities in the classroom

Estimate and graph items

--Amount of candy in a jar or bag.
--The length of different objects in the classroom.
--The number of windows in the building.
--The high and low temperature for the day.
--The number of boys and girls in a grade level.
--The weight of certain items in the classroom.
--The total number of letters in everyone's name.
--The number of brothers and sisters of fellow classmates.
--The number of math manipulatives in a container.
--The number of one inch cubes that can be stacked before falling.

Analyze data using real world data.

--Statistical surveys from any subject
--Measurement of objects
--Time needed to accomplish various tasks
--Sizes of the planets, density, distance from Earth, atmospheric composition
--Temperature, humidity, rainfall over time, overcast-amount of sun-visibility
--Growth of plant or animal under different experimental conditions
--Animal population, growth and decline rates
--Heart rate over time, varying according to activity
--Size comparison for cities, states, or countries or their growth rates
--Population composition (cities, rural areas, small towns, etc.) or (percent literate versus decade) or ethnic backgrounds
--Number of books read by different classes/students

Click on the hyperlinked number for a sample. These examples come from a variety of sources found on the Internet.

1.  Create timelines

2. Graph temperature over 24 hours. Use the NOAA website for information: http://weather.noaa.gov/index.html Import the temperature for any date for a full 24 hours and create a graph. Analyze the information across different cities, states, or by times/High low temperatures

3. or 3a. Create addition practices (or multiplication, etc) for students with formulas and conditional formatting in Excel.

4.  Graphically organize information and concepts. Create graphic organizers and concept maps without sophisticated software.

5.  Create interact charts and pictographs.

6.  Create a bicycle safety (or anything else!) checklist, with an interactive chart

7.  Convert temperatures and measurements

8.  Create activities that utilize dropdown lists

9.  Create crossword puzzles with “Insert Comment” and “Conditional Formatting”

10.  Jeopardy Game in Excel

11.  Using Excel with Literacy Activities (hyperlinking to other worksheets, drag and drop; you must turn the drag and drop feature on in Excel. Go to Tools, Options, Edit tab, be sure Allow cell drag and drop is checked.)
---Word Wall: drag and drop to form simple sentences
---Foreign Language: match words to English
---Sequencing by arranging items in a story
---Fill-in the blanks

12.  M & M Activity, graphing and calculating

13.  Finding your weight on another planet

14.  Use AutoFilter to quickly find Presidential parties. To filter, go to Data, Filter, Auto filter.

15.  Rolling dice! Go to: http://www.irony.com/igroll.html and predict how many times a certain number will come up when 1 (or any number of dice) are rolled.

16. Keep track of books read by the class (or anything else!)

17.  Create a spell test that automatically gives a student score

18. Yes or No Interactive chart

19.  Use Excel to do drawing by filling in the cells and using the border tool. Use draw border to draw lines across cells. Change column width size to 2

20.  Use Excel to ‘countdown’ days to an important date: Type date you are counting down to in cell A1. Type in the following formula in cell A2: =TODAY()   Type in the following formula in cell A3: =A1-A2.  You will need to go to Format - Cells, click on the "Number" tab. Change the category to "Number" & choose 0 for decimal places.

21.  Have students create a gradebook to keep track of their own grades.

22.  A Shopping Spree activity: Design a spreadsheet to calculate the cost of items purchased through an online store. Can be used to calculate school supplies, etc. Holiday gifts, etc.