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Microsoft Excel 2016
Module 1: Getting Started with Excel
A Guide to this Instructor’s Manual:
We have designed this Instructor’s Manual to supplement and enhance your teaching experience
through classroom activities and a cohesive module summary.
This document is organized chronologically, using the same headings in blue that you see in the
textbook. Under each heading you will find (in order): Lecture Notes that summarize the section,
Teacher Tips, Classroom Activities, and Lab Activities. Pay special attention to teaching tips and
activities geared towards quizzing your students, enhancing their critical thinking skills, and
encouraging experimentation within the software.
Table of Contents
Module Objectives
1
Introducing Excel and Spreadsheets
Exploring a Workbook
2
2
Closing a Workbook
2
Planning a Workbook
Starting a New Workbook
3
3
Entering Text, Dates, and Numbers
3
Resizing Columns and Rows
5
Performing Calculations with Formulas
5
Simplifying Formulas with Functions
6
Modifying a Worksheet
7
Using Flash Fill
7
Formatting a Worksheet
7
Viewing Worksheet Formulas
Saving a Workbook with a New Filename
8
9
End of Module Material
9
Module Objectives
Students will have mastered the material in this module when they can:
• Open and close a workbook
• Navigate through a workbook and
worksheet
• Undo and redo actions
• Resize columns and rows
• Enter formulas and the SUM and COUNT
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• Insert and delete rows, columns, and
ranges
• Change worksheet views
• Prepare a workbook for printing
Introducing Excel and Spreadsheets
LECTURE NOTES
• Introduce the terminology associated with spreadsheets and Excel
• Show the parts of the Excel window
• Discuss the commands available in Backstage view
TEACHER TIP
This first section will familiarize students with the basic parts of Excel and show them a very simple
worksheet. Suggest that they think of each worksheet as a large sheet of paper. Just as a book is comprised
of sheets of paper, so too, is an Excel workbook comprised of worksheets. Because all sorts of calculations
can be made in the Excel spreadsheet, it is much more flexible than a paper spreadsheet.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Group Activity: Print a copy of the spreadsheet shown in the Visual Overview with the key terms
blanked out. Have students work in groups to fill in the key terms in the appropriate places.
Quick Quiz:
1. A(n) ____________ is a collection of text and numbers laid out in a rectangular grid.
(Answer: spreadsheet)
Exploring a Workbook
LECTURE NOTES
• Review the difference between a worksheet and a chart sheet
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. A(n) _____ contains a chart that provides a visual representation of worksheet data.
(Answer: chart sheet)
Closing a Workbook
LECTURE NOTES
• Review how to close a workbook
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
Planning a Workbook
LECTURE NOTES
• Discuss the purpose of a planning analysis sheet
• Review the questions that help you think about the workbook’s purpose
TEACHER TIP
Be sure to cover the planning process. Students often want to skip the whole planning process. Be sure to
emphasize its importance and the fact that it will actually save them time in the long run.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Class Discussion: Brainstorm with the students to think of examples where a workbook would be
Starting a New Workbook
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to create a new workbook
• Discuss what makes a worksheet name descriptive
TEACHER TIP
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Another way for your students to move a worksheet is to right-click the sheet tab and click Move or
Copy. Excel opens the Move or Copy dialog box. From this dialog box students can move the selected
sheet to a new location in the current workbook or to a new location in a different workbook.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Class Discussion: What is good practice with regard to placement of sheets in a workbook? (Answer:
Place the most important sheets at the beginning and less important sheets at the end.) As good
Entering Text, Dates, and Numbers
LECTURE NOTES
• Discuss the types of content that can be entered into cells
• Show how to enter text into cells
• Demonstrate how to undo and redo an action
TEACHER TIPS
Cover the three basic general categories for data: text, numbers, and dates and times. Text data is a
combination of letters, numbers, and some symbols. Numeric data is any number that can be used in a
mathematical calculation. Date and time data are commonly recognized formats for date and time values.
By default, text is left-aligned in cells, whereas numbers, dates, and times are right-aligned.
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1. Click the Microsoft Office Button and then click Excel Options.
2. Click Customize.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Critical Thinking Activity: How should Excel categorize telephone numbers: as text, numbers, or
dates and times? Why? (Answer: Text. Because they have characters in them (dashes) and cannot be
used in calculations.) How should Excel identify social security numbers? Why? (Answer: Text.
Because they have other characters in them (like a dash or parentheses) and cannot be used in
LAB ACTIVITIES
Walk students through entering some sample values into cells and then have them try their hand at
entering telephone numbers, social security numbers, and dates. Have them experiment with
different characters (like parentheses) to see how Excel treats this type of data.
Resizing Columns and Rows
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to change column widths
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. A(n) ______ is a single point on a computer monitor or printout. (Answer: pixel)
2. What is the default column width? (Answer: 8.43 characters)
Performing Calculations with Formulas
LECTURE NOTES
• Discuss the parts of a formula
• Demonstrate how to enter a formula
TEACHER TIP
Stress to students that a formula always needs to begin with an = sign.
Cover the operations and their operators listed in the module. It is very important that students
understand the kinds of operations used in worksheets. In addition, the order of operations is very
important. Students should understand that if they do not follow the rules of the order of operations,
they could receive unexpected results..
Excel contains a wealth of keyboard shortcuts designed to work with formulas. Here are a few:
• In a highlighted row, select all the cells that do not match the formula in the active cell (CTRL+\)
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. In the order of operation rules, Excel first calculates the value of any operation within parentheses,
and then it applies _____. (Answer: A)
A. exponentiation
B. addition
C. multiplication and division
D. subtraction
2. A(n) _____ is a mathematical expression that calculates a value. (Answer: formula)
3. True/False: A worksheet can contain the following type of data: text, numeric values, dates, and
calculated values. (Answer: True)
Critical Thinking Activity:
• If you forget to put an = sign at the beginning of a formula, what will appear in the cell?
(Answer: The actual data you entered, not the calculation)
Simplifying Formulas with Functions
LECTURE NOTES
• Introduce function syntax
TEACHER TIP
Discuss that a function is a predefined, or built-in, formula for a commonly used calculation. Each Excel
function has a name and syntax. The syntax specifies the order in which you must enter the different
parts of the function and the location in which you must insert commas, parentheses, and other
punctuation.
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. Every function follows a set of rules, or _____. (Answer: D)
A. operations
B. arguments
C. reference
D. syntax
2. True/False: Functions are used to simplify formulas. (Answer: True)
Group Activity: Divide students into groups of two or three. Assign each group one of the functions.
Modifying a Worksheet
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to move and copy a cell or range
• Explain how to use the COUNT function
TEACHER TIP
Explain that worksheets in a workbook are much like sheets or pages within a book. Think of them as
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. The _____ function calculates how many unique items are include in a range? (Answer: C)
A. NUMBER
B. SUM
C. COUNT
D. ITEMS
2. True/False: Deleting a column or row is not the same as clearing a column or row. (Answer:
True)
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Using Flash Fill
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to use Flash Fill
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
Formatting a Worksheet
LECTURE NOTES
• Discuss how formatting changes a workbook’s appearance
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. _____ changes a workbook’s appearance so that the content of a worksheet is easier to read.
(Answer: Formatting)
Printing a Workbook
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to change worksheet views
TEACHER TIP
Remind students that switching views does not change the information in the workbooks, just the way
you view it on the screen.
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. What are the three ways to view a spreadsheet?(Answer: Normal view, Page Layout view, and
Page Break Preview.)
Viewing Worksheet Formulas
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to display formulas instead of results in a worksheet
TEACHER TIP
Explain also that printing the formulas is usually done to check your formulas. As an instructor, you
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. To toggle in and out of formula view, press the ________ keys. (Answer: Ctrl+` keys. The `
grave accent symbol is usually located above the Tab key on your keyboard.)
Saving a Workbook with a New Filename
LECTURE NOTES
• Demonstrate how to save a workbook with a new filename
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Quick Quiz:
1. To save a copy of a workbook with a new filename or to a different location, you need to use
the ________ command. (Answer: Save As)
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• Case Problems: A typical NP module has four Case Problems following the Review Assignments. Short
modules can have fewer Case Problems (or none at all); other modules may have five Case Problems.
The Case Problems provide further hands-on assessment of the skills and topics presented in the
module, but with new case scenarios. There are five types of Case Problems:
• Apply. In this type of Case Problem, students apply the skills that they have learned in the module
to solve a new problem.