Intro to Word Processing
Lesson 4: Changing the Font and Font Size
Grades 3 & 4
The font is the way the letters look. Each font has a name. Common fonts are
Times New Roman and Arial. Some fonts are fancy. Some fonts are plain. Some
fonts are easy to read. Others are not as easy. Sometimes you can use a font to
express an emotion. You can use a curly, funny font to write a funny story. You
can use a straight, serious font to write a serious poem.
The font size tells you the size of letters, numbers, and symbols that you are typing
in a document. You can set the font size before you begin typing, or you can
change the font size of text that you already typed. In this lesson, you will learn
how to change the font, and the size of the font.
1) Find the folder with your student ID # on the Dock, and click on it.
We are going to open a file that you saved on your computer. Remember that we
double-click on the file’s icon to open a saved file.
The file we are going to work on today is called “Fox.”
2) Look for the file called “Fox” and double-click on its icon.
The Fox document will display on the screen.
3) Double-click the first word, “The,” to select it.
You will use the Font Drop-down list on the Formatting toolbar to change the font.
The Formatting Toolbar looks like this:
Font Drop-down list arrow
4) Click the Font Drop-down list arrow on the Formatting toolbar, and then
click Arial in the list.
File name: Word Lesson 4.doc
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The selected word changes to Arial font. Arial is a very easy font to read.
The letters are straight and clear.
5) Double-click on the first word in the last line, “very.”
6) Click the Font Drop-down list arrow on the Formatting toolbar and then
click Lucida Handwriting.
The word changes to Lucida Handwriting font. This is a fancy font.
7) Double-click the last word in the last line, “jump,” to select it.
8) Click the Font Drop-down list arrow on the Formatting toolbar and then
click Comic Sans MS in the list.
The word changes to Comic Sans MS font. This is a font that almost looks
like the letters used in comic books.
Next we will learn how to change the font size.
9) If the last word, “jump,” in the last line isn’t selected, double-click the word
“jump.”
Your computer is set to use a certain size font. You probably typed the sentence
with a font size of 12. You can usually tell the size by looking at the Font Size box
on the toolbar. The Font Size box looks like this:
Font Size Box
10)Click the Font Size Drop-down list arrow to the right of the Font Size Box
and click on 26 in the list.
The text gets bigger.
11)Click anywhere in the document so you can see the change.
12)Select the first word in the last sentence, “That,” and change the font size to
36.
File name: Word Lesson 4.doc
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The text gets even bigger.
13)Select your last name and change the font size to 48.
You’ve worked hard today, so we will save your work. Remember, we use the
Menu bar at the top of the screen to save our work.
14)Click on File on the Menu bar, and then click on Save (or use Apple + S).
The changes you made to the “Fox” file will be saved to your folder with your
Student ID # (lunch #) on it. You won’t see anything happen, but your file will be
saved.
15)Use the “Magic Keys” (Apple + Q) to quit the program and go back to the
computer’s desktop.
File name: Word Lesson 4.doc
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