Editing Clip Art in Microsoft Word

Editing clip art in Microsoft Word is a really fun activity for students in any computer applications class. I simply have the students follow the steps below after showing a demonstration.

1. Insert a clip art (not a photograph)
2. Cut the clip art
3. Paste it back in as a graphic object or picture - enhanced metafile [Use the Paste special button]
4. Right click on the picture and click edit picture
5. Be create and change colors, sizes, deleting shapes, adding more shapes, etc
6. Once you are complete with your changes click and drag over the entire clip art to select all the parts.  Right click and group the points.
7. In order to resize your newly created clipart you will have to right click on the clip art once again and click on scale drawing.

Check out the student example below!
Original Clipart:

Edited Clipart:

Family Sculpture Activity

Today in health did an activity called the family sculpture activity. Basically the students act out various roles to illustrate family dynamics to see who has power, what each member is contributing, and what each member is receiving from the family. The family members include a dad, mom, the hero, the rebel, the lonely one, and a joker. See the full activity by clicking the link below:

http://www.teachersdesk.com/lessons/family_science/Family%20Sculpture%20Demonstration.htm

Political Party Posters & Presentations

This week in business law we covered the three branches of government and political parties. In order to educate the students about the political parties I divided the class into Democrats and Republicans and had them do research on the history, presidents, and platform issues of their political party and then create a poster. After the poster creation we compared the parties on the various issues side Following the presentation, the students wrote a paragraph about which political party they feel fits with their personal beliefs the best.

Needs vs. Wants

What happens when you give your 7th graders a needs vs. wants activity? You get political wit. [See photo below]