• Many different activities can help develop Word proficiency. sot/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  When you are teaching someone how to use Microsoft Word, it helps to have some activities planned, so you are not just demonstrating features and having students parrot your actions. Learning becomes more meaningful when students can use their own materials or experiences to learn features of programs. Time pressure does not add to learning software, so give students time to make mistakes and correct them.
  
  

Basic Document Creation

• You can use Word for a variety of language arts projects to build basic document creation skills. For example, ask your students to research the histories and culture behind favorite family recipes, which is a suggestion offered by Microsoft about the manner in which Word can be used. (see Resources) Students may use Word to write out the recipes and family member interviews about the history of the recipe. Other skill building tasks include developing cover letters and resumes. Students can use Word features such as inserting "Date and Time" and using "Building Blocks" to help develop their letters.
  
  

Learning Word Features

• Once students have created a basic document, the next step is to teach students to use search and replace. Have them substitute one word in documents like replacing "and" with their names. Have them "Undo" their last commands to show Word's Undo feature. With a basic document creation like cover letters or book reports, students can develop cutting and pasting skills and how to apply formatting.
  
  

Spell and Grammar Check and Thesaurus

• Teach your students learn about Word's spell and grammar check functions by asking them to write paragraphs about their favorite ice cream. Ask them to misspell words. When a word is underlined in red, ask them to right-click to see what possible spelling corrections Word suggests. This exercise is a also good place to demonstrate Word's autocorrect feature and grammar functions. Ask them click on verbs they used in their paragraphs to show how to find synonyms or open Word's thesaurus.
  
  

Using Templates

• Help students understand Word templates by having them create weekly homework schedules. Use one of Word's preformatted templates. Students learn how to work in tables, download templates and keep a schedule at the same time. Other organizational templates such as calendars and planners can also teach students how to modify pre-formatted content for individual needs.
  
  

Create a Complex Document

• Have student learn Word's more advanced features such as headers and footers, page numbers and references by writing more complex documents like formal research papers. By requesting the papers be in either the Modern Language Association or American Psychological Association style, students learn how uses cover pages, styles, citations and bibliographies.
  
  

Using Graphics and Columns

• Teach students about how to develop a newsletter using Word. Students learn how to work in two or three columns. Students learn about text alignment working in columns and the differences between left, center and full justification. They can interview class or family members about holiday vacations. They can also add pictures to their newsletters. Learning how to align text around pictures is part of the skill set for this activity.