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THIRD FORM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CURRICULUM

SECTION I: RATIONALE
This Information Technology Curriculum for Third Form Students at a secondary level has been
developed to address the needs that have been observed and experienced over the past few years.
The needs come in form of issues like; students being unaware of the history, development process
and technologies that have gone into computer/ information technology as we know it, and
perceptions like; information technology as primarily a practical course.

This curriculum will develop a holistic student in the field of Information Technology through a
more structured program of activities that will develop practical computer skills and encourage
critical thinking skills that are applicable throughout the curriculum. It doesn’t only have an
academic focus, but will also develop skills for life in an increasingly technological world.

The aim is to combine practical skills and theoretical facts in a course that uses multiple
progressive pedagogical strategies to prepare student for the remainder of their Informational
Technology courses as the progress through high school, as well as prepare them to function in the
world.

SECTION II: COURSE OBJECTIVE:

At the completion of this 3rd form year Information technology course, and having actively
participated in the various activities designed in this curriculum, including: active participation,
illustration, discussion, group work/projects and practical sessions; at the end of the school year all
students will be able to:

1. Recall and appreciate the fundamental hardware and software terminologies and concepts
2. Develop expertise in the operation and use of the personal computer
3. Expertly use the Word Processing program to produce various formatted documents
4. Expertly use the Microsoft Excel program to execute various functions and formulae.
5. Expertly use the Microsoft Access program to prepare forms, execute queries and generate
reports.

CONTENT/DELIVERY TIME LINE
This curriculum details the course content that should be covered in approximately 34 weeks or 4
periods per week at each of the four levels of secondary school.
Fundamentals of Hardware/ Word Processing/Spread Sheet
Time/Content
Week 1
Topic: Review
Key concepts of topics covered
in 1st and 2nd form
 The Computer System
 Processing
 Peripherals
 Storage
 Software
 Data Communication
Week 2-3
Topic: The System Unit
 Definition of term
 ID of main parts
 Labeling of diagram with
main parts
 Explanation of Main parts
Practical: Microsoft Word
2007
 Draw the Window
 ID and Label parts of the
Window
 The Home Tab
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FIRST SEMESTER
Objectives Strategies Assessments
 Lecture  Question &
At the end of this week, and having  Handout Answers
actively participated in class notes  Worksheet
discussions and taken efficient notes
 Test
90% of the students will be able to:
1. Recall key terms and concepts
covered in previous classes.
At the end of this topic and having  Lectures  Question &
actively participated in class  Group work Answers
discussions and group activities 97%
 Power point  Quiz
of the students will be able to:
 Test
1. Define the System Unit
 Presentation
2. Explain the function of the system
unit  Practical Skill
3. Identify the main parts of the
system unit
4. Label a diagram with the main parts
of the system unit
5. Explain the details regarding the
function and connectivity of each
unit.
1. Identify the steps to opening the
Microsoft Word window
2. Draw the Microsoft Word window
3. Label the parts of the Window

- 1. Identify the different tool groups on
Week 3
Topic; The motherboard
5. 1. Identify the different tools in the font
Practical: The font tool group
6. 2. Use the Font tools
Week5-6
Topic: Peripherals (Hardware
and Software)
 Processing (input,
processing , output,
storage)
- How processing works
 Computer hardware
- Input devices
(OMR/OCR etc.)
- Output devices
(Printers/Plotters)
Practical: Home Tab
 Font tool group
 Paragraph Tool group
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the home tab
2. Identify the different tools in the
Clipboard tool group
3. Use the Clipboard tools
 Quiz
At the end of this topic and with the  Lectures  Presentation
use of physical parts for class  Group work  Practical Skill
illustration, and discussion, all students  Models
will be able to:  Text usage
1. list the parts of the mother board
2. Explain the functions of the
motherboard.
3. Explain the function of the parts of
the motherboard
4. Draw and label the parts on the
motherboard
tool group
At the end of this topic and having  Question &
actively participated in class  Lectures Answers
discussions and group activities 97% 
Group work  Quiz
of the students will be able to:  Poster  Test
1. Identify with and state explicitly  Text usage  Presentation
the stages of “Processing”
 Practical Skill
2. List the types and functions of
Input and Output devices.
3. Explain how each device listed
does the job of input of data or
output of information.
1. Identify the different tools in the
font tool group
2. Use the Font tools
3. Identify the different tools in the
paragraph tool group

Week 7-8
Topic: Data Storage
 Measurements of storage
- Units of storage
 Storage devices
- Magnetic tapes, disks
etc.
Practical: Home Tab
 Styles tool group
 Editing Tool group
Week 9-10
Topic: Binary Code
 Conversion
 Addition
 Integers
Practical: Insert Tab
 Pages tool group
 Tables
 Illustrations
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4. Use the paragraph tools
At the end of this topic and having  Question &
actively participated in class  Lecture Answers
discussions, presentations and group  In class Pair  Quiz
activities 95% of the students will be work  Gallery
able to:  Research  Presentations
 Presentation  Practical Skill
1. Make a list of the different types of
storage & devices.
2. Explain why flash, disks, tapes etc.
are storage devices.
1. 1. Identify the different tools in the
style tool group
2.
3. 2. Use the style tools
4. Identify the different tools in the
editing tool group
5. Use the editing tools
At the end of this topic and having  Drills: work  worksheet
actively participated drills and sheets  Quiz
exercises 98% of the students will be  Power point  Test
able to:
 Practical Skill
1. Perform basic calculations using
binary conversion
1. Identify the different tool groups on
the Insert tab
2. Identify the different tools on the
Pages tool group
3. Use the pages tools
4. Identify the different tools in the
tables tool group

Weeks 11-12
Practical; Microsoft Word
 Page Layout tool group
 Editing tool group
- group
Week 13-14
Topic: Microsoft Excel
 Characteristics, uses of
spreadsheet.
 Diagram of the Excel
application window,
including: cell, cell
address, label, row,
column, range.
 Navigating around
worksheets
Week 15-16
Topic: Microsoft Excel
 Inserting and deleting,
resizing rows and columns
 Enter basic data into cells
 Formatting worksheet,
alignment, orientation,
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5. Use the tables tools
6. Identify the different tools in the
Illustrations tool group
7. Use the illustration tools.
 Power point
At the end of this topic and having  Lecture  Practical skills
actively participated practical
 practices test
exercises 100% of the students will be
able to:
1. Identify the tools in the page layout
tool group
2. Use the tools in the page layout tool
3. Identify the tool in the editing tool
group
4. Use the tools in the editing tool
group
5. Create their own poster using the
appropriate features of word
processing previously learnt.
 Power point  Test
Having taken notes, paid attention the  Practice  Practical Skill
presentations, and partaken in the
practical lab sessions, all students will
be able to:
1. Correctly identify the parts that
makes up MS Excel interface and
the purpose of each.
2. Learn how to create a simple
spreadsheet, using appropriately the
notions commonly associated with
spreadsheet.
 Practical Skill
Having actively participated in  Power point  Test
practical session, taken notes and paid  Practice
keen attention to instructions, all
students will be able to:
1. Create worksheet by using different
format techniques.
2. Write a simple formula in the
worksheet to perform basic
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wrapping text, decimal mathematical functions.

places, currency,
percentages, background
colour, border
 Writing simple formulas:
=A1+A2
=A1-A2
=A1*A2
=A1/A2

Week 17
REVIEW WEEK

Week 18
EXAM WEEK (theory exam only)

Time/Content
Week 1
Practical: Excel
1. Create spreadsheets
2. Inserting formulae,
addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division,
and exponentiation.
Week 2 - 3
Topic: Excel
1. Insert functions of SUM,
AVERAGE, MAX, MIN,
COUNT, SQUARE ROOT,
brackets
SECOND SEMESTER
Spread Sheet/ Database
Objectives Strategies Assessments
Having students continued
engagement in as many practical  Lectures  Quiz
activities as possible using  Power point  Practical Skill
different scenarios, all students
will be able to use formulae to
create worksheets.
 Practical Skill
Have kept engaged in the practical  Power point
exercises and doing multiple practice  Practical
exercises, all students will be able to exercises
use functions to create and manipulate
worksheets.

2. Use of Autosum, fill handle

to duplicate formulae.
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Week 4-5 Having paid keen attention to lecture  Lectures  Question &
and demonstrations, all students will be  Text usage Answers
Topic: Excel able to use advanced functions (sorting  Practice  Practical Skill
1. Apply the use of relative, and filtering) to create and manipulate
mixed and absolute cell worksheets.
referencing in spreadsheet
calculations

2. Sort data of spreadsheet by

single criterion and
multiple criterion

3. Select records using the

autofilter and advance filter

Week 6 Haven paid attention to power point  Question &

presentation and demonstrations, and  Lecture Answers
Topic: Excel practiced based on simulations, all  Practice  Test
1. Labelling/naming the students will be able to create graphs  Practical Skill
various parts of the and charts to represent their data and
charts/graphs appropriately analyze them.
2. Creating appropriate charts
and graphs to represent
various types of data to be
analyzed

3. Modifying a chart, moving,

resizing, deleting, editing
chart

4. Removing and inserting

elements of a chart

Having participated in class practices

Week 7 and adhered to the guidance of the  Test
teacher, students will be able to use  Power point  Practical Skill
Topic: Excel
more advance function which is the
1. Create/use advance
“IF” function in various scenarios.
functions like the “IF”,
“COUNT” function for
data selections in various
situations

Weeks 8
Topic: Excel
1. Mail Merge
-
Week 9
Topic: Database
1. Purpose of a database and
general terms associated
with the topic database.
2. Database application
window
3. Types of databases
(Manual & Electronic)
Week 10
Topic: Microsoft Access
1. Save database file
appropriately
2. Set appropriate data type
for data entry
3. Edit properties of table
4. Set field name
5. Choose appropriate data
type
6. Give appropriate data
description
Week 11
Topic; Microsoft Access
1. Purpose of sorting and
indexing
2. Sort data on a single field
or multiple fields
3. Create and delete index
Week 12
Topic: Microsoft Access
1. List the different types of
queries
2. Differentiate among the
different types of queries
3. Create queries in design
view
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Under the guidance of the teacher and  Power point  Practical skills
referencing skills now learnt in word  practices
and excel all students will be able to
create spreadsheet, prepare a letter and
perform a mail merge
 Power point  Q&A
Having paid attention to the lecture and
taken notes provided via a power point
presentation, all students will be able
to:
1. Describe what a Database is
2. Explain the different types of
databases
3. Identify the uses of databases.
4. Identify data fields and types
 Power point  Practical Skill
Having actively participated in  Practice  Vocab test
practical session, taken notes and paid
keen attention to instructions, all
students will be able to:
Create a basic database.
Having paid keen attention to the  Practice *Practical Skills
lecture and participated in the practice
exercises, all students will be able to
index and sort data in chronological
order.
Having participated in class practical  Power point  Practical Skill
exercise, all students will be able to create  Practice
queries – select queries and action queries.

Week 13
Topic: Microsoft Access
1. Purpose of setting up a
relationship
2. Setting up Primary Key
3. Establishing a relationship
(One-To-One, One-To-
Many, Many-To-Many)
4. Create queries using the
relationships
Week 14
Topic: Microsoft Access
1. Purpose of using Forms
2. Terms associated with
Forms
3. Create a Form using Form
Wizard
4. Modify the design of Form
Week 15
Topic: Microsoft Access
1. Purpose of generating
Reports
2. Create a Report using the
form wizard
3. Modifying design of the
report
Week 16
Topic: Microsoft Access
Review
Week 17
Week 18
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 Power point
Having paid keen attention to the  Practice  Practical Skill
teacher illustrating the steps in creating
two or more tables, all students will be
able to:
1. Establish various relationships
between two tables.
2. Create advance queries using the
relationships.
Having paid keen attention to lecture,  Power point  Practical Skill
taken notes and followed the teacher’s  Practice
guidance showing the steps to creating
forms, all students will be able to create
and adjust Forms for data entry purpose.
Having participated in class and paid  Power point  Practical Skill
keen attention to the step by step  Practice
demonstrations, all students will be able to
generate and adjust reports.
Having completed the exercises in  Power point  Practical Skill
database, all students will be able to  Practice  Test
complete one practice incorporating all
skills taught during the course.
Review
Exam Week
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SECTION IV: ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIES

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the
improvement of student learning, teachers will use assessment and evaluation strategies that:

 Are fair to all students, and address both what students learn and how well they learn;

 Are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level
descriptions given in the achievement chart;

 Are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities
for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;

 Are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and
experiences of the students;

 Accommodate the needs of students who are learning the language of instruction (English);

 Ensure that each student is given clear directions for improvement;

 Promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals;

 Include the use of samples of students’ work that provide evidence of their achievement;

 Are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course or the school
term and at other appropriate points throughout the school year.

WHAT WILL BE ASSESSED

 Practical knowledge of the capabilities of Microsoft Word

 Tool bars
 Editing tools
 Formatting tools
 Practical knowledge of the capabilities of Microsoft Excel
 Tool bars
 Creating Formulas
 Writhing Functions
 Creating Charts
 Practical knowledge of the capabilities of Microsoft Access
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 Tool bars
 Creating a File
 Creating a Field
 Entering Data
 Creating Records
 Mastery of basic theoretical fundamentals of:
o The Computer and its development
o Hardware ( System Unit, Mother Board, Input and Output Devices)
o Storage (Primary and Secondary storage devices)

GRADING SCHEME

During each semester tests/assignments/quizzes will be given. The average of these will be worth
2/3 of the final semester grade; the other 1/3 will come from the final exam.

Tests Theory 30%

Tests Practical 37%

Quizzes (points system)

Final Exam 33%

Course Text: Information Technology for CSEC Examinations. Howard Campbell & Alan Wood

STRATEGIES

As a result of the volume and complexity of the information required for the students to absorb, a
mixture of the Active Learning and Cooperative Learning strategies will be used, as these
activities will see students in small groups working together to achieve their goals in a learning
environment that allows them to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course
content through discussions, problem-solving exercises, research, craft, presentations and other
interactive activities.

 Brainstorming: This specific type of investigative method allows students to discuss, as a

whole class, all possible methods and meanings even if they are wrong to eventually arrive at a
right conclusion.
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 Lectures: The teacher gives an oral presentation on the topic, and the students participate by
taking notes. Usually the strategy has little student involvement.

 Text/Dictionary usage: Students will learn how to utilize their text and dictionaries as a useful
resource.

 Discussions: students under the direction of the teacher or other students’ direction exchange
points of view concerning a topic, question or problem to arrive at a decision or conclusion.

 Research: Students will work cooperatively rather than individually to reach a specific goal
under the guidance of the teacher.

 Presentations: In groups as well as individuals students use their knowledge gained from
research and or discussion and orally deliver it in a formal as well as informal session.

 Peer tutoring: Structured and supervised sessions in class prior to chapter test will be
instituted, where advanced students are paired with slower learners.

 Drills: Used for the mathematical functions in computer science, it is intended to help develop
a specific skill or aspects of knowledge.

 Collages: Using clippings from different sources to create posters that are then used to describe
the specific subject area.

 Timelines: For content that has a chronological component, this method allows the student to
make a graphical outline that is easier to understand and remember.

 Computer-assisted instruction: Students will use the computer to become familiar with
different software programs.

 Journals: Journals will be collected every 2 week. They will focus not only on writing but
also answer four major questions related to what they know, are comfortable with, and what
the need assistance with. This serves monitor student improvement. Journals can be graded
under a point system.

SECTION V: REFERENCES
CXC. (2008). Information Technology Syllabus.

Jon W. Wiles, Joseph C. Bondi. (2010). Curriculum Development.

Stann Creek Ecumenical College. (2011-2013). Regular High School and Evening Division Prospectus.

Itch, V. (2014-2015). Third Form Information Technology Course Outline. Stann Creek Ecumenical High School

Teck, A. (2010-2011). First Form Information Technology Course Outline. Stann Creek Ecumenical High School.