Using Excel for calculation activities - KS1/2
Activity 1 - ‘Water Conservation’ – individual/paired activity to model water usage (links to
KS2 geography).
Open the file from Moodle. Change the ‘number of uses per day’ to reduce water consumption. The
spreadsheet automatically calculates daily and weekly totals, and the graph changes to reflect this.
How to create this activity
Entering your data and expanding column width
Enter the row heading
in the relevant cells.
Expand/reduce the cell
widths as necessary: go
between the cell
heading AB and either
drag the column or
double click
Putting a border around cells
Continue to enter the
column headings and
change the size of the
cells to accommodate
them.
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Select/highlight all of
the cells. In the Borders
drop-down menu, select
All Borders.
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Adding colour to cells
Select/highlight all of
the cells. In the Fill
Color drop-down
menu, select your
colour.
Changing the font colour
Select/highlight all of the
cells. In the Font Color
drop-down menu, select
your colour.
Enter the rest of your
data.
Adding formulas
Calculations in Excel
always begin with =
In this case it will be:
The cell with the amount
of water per flush (C2) x
the cell with the number
of flushes(uses) per day
(D2). We write this as:
=C2*D2 Then press
enter
The weekly total will be:
=E2*7 (i.e. the daily
total x 7 days). Enter.
For the 4 operations use:
* multiply;
/ divide
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+ add; - subtract;
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Copying your formula
You can enter formulas
all the way down your
column. Alternatively,
click on cell E2 (with the
daily total of flushes).
Hover the mouse point
over the bottom righthand corner of the cell,
until it becomes a cross
hair +. Drag down the
column. The formula
pattern should be
repeated down the
column.
Using Autosum to add a column of numbers
Repeat the process for
the Weekly total
column.
To add a column of number you
could use
= E2+E3+E4, etc. A quicker way is
to use Autosum
Click in the cell where your total
needs to be (e.g. E9). Go to the
Formulas tab. Choose Autosum.
The column of numbers to add
should become surrounded by a
dotted line. Press enter.
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Repeat the process for the weekly
total.
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Adding a graph of daily water usage
Select (highlight) the
information in the Daily
Activity column. Hold
control down on your
keyboard and select
(highlight) the Daily
Total column
information.
Go to the Insert tab and
choose your graph type –
a ‘column’ (bar chart) in
this case
Move the graph
into position
To format the numbers on the Y axis
Go to the Format
tab.
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Select Vertical
(Value) Axis. (May
currently say Chart
area)
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Activity 2 - ‘Fraction/Decimal converter’ – whole class/group activity led by teacher .
Possibly oral/mental starter
Remove ‘post-it’ to
reveal the answer
How to create this activity
Enter your text.
Select the relevant cells
and make the font bigger
Change the colour of the
background
Put a border at the
bottom of cell C2 (under
the numerator
Put your formula in to calculate the decimal equivalent
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If your answer is
incorrect, make
the cell wider
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To control the number of decimal places
Select the relevant cell
In the Home tab, select
Format – Format Cells
In the Number tab, select Number.
Specify the number of Decimal
places.
To insert your ‘post-it note’ to cover the answer
Select the ‘Insert’ tab.
In Shapes make your choice.
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Click on your Excel sheet and drag
the shape to the size you require
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Activity 3 - ‘Magic Pyramid’ – whole class or group activity for problem solving in maths, led
by teacher. Numbers are entered into bottom three ‘bricks’ of pyramid in order to make a given
total in the top brick (e.g. 100).
How to create this activity
Select/highlight your sheet and change the background colour. Make the font
bigger (e.g.36) for this selected area too.
Put a border around your bricks.
Colour the top 2 rows of bricks.
Use a different colour for the
bottom row (where you will input
numbers to make 100)
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Enter your formulas. Each brick should be the total of the number in the
bricks below. You may need to make the cells wider
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Children will give numbers to enter
in the bottom row of bricks to make
your given target number. Can they
give alternative ways of making the
target number?
Activity 4 - ‘Fizz buzz’ - Spinning buttons to generate numbers. Teacher led activity to solve
number problems.
How to create this activity
Insert a number (any number) into a cell. Increase the font size to at least 72. Colour the background
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Click on the File tab (or the
Microsoft Office button in
version2007) and then Options.
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Choose ‘Customize Ribbon’
Tick the ’Developer’ tab. OK.
The Developer tab will now be
shown in the ribbon. Click on the
Developer tab.
Insert a spin button
from the ‘Form
Control’. Draw the
spin button out.
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Right mouse click on the spin button
and format control
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In Cell link, give the reference for
your cell (in this case D7).
Notice you can also change the
‘increment’ (e.g. go up in 2s or 3s).
Click OK, click on any cell to deselect
your spin button, and then test your
spin button.
Cell D7
Activity 5 – ‘Picture This’. Spreadsheet modelling to help make decisions in Design and
Technology. Individual or paired activity.
How to create this activity
Enter text into your cells. Add background colour.
Enter your formulas. Notice the use of brackets to find perimeter. This could also be written as
=D11+D11+E11+E11 (i.e. perimeter is total distance around the outside)
Distance around the
outside of the frame.
Could also be written as
=D11+D11+E11+E11
Length x width
Cost of wood x perimeter
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Page
Cost of wood + cost of
plastic covering
10
Cost of plastic covering x
area covered
Go to the Insert tab to get your
Word/Smart Art heading and to
insert a picture
You may wish to protect your worksheet if you want children to be able to change only particular
cells
Click and drag to select the cells
YOUDO NOT WISH TO LOCK. In this
case D11 and E11 because children
will input data here.
In format, choose Lock Cell (this has
the effect of unlocking as all cells
are locked by default once we
protect the worksheet).
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Go to Format and Protect Sheet
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Activity 6 – ‘Sorting data and conditional formatting’
Open the file ‘Sorting data and conditional formatting’
To sort the data alphabetically
Go to the Data tab
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Select the column of data you
wish to sort (e.g. Last name,
alphabetically)
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Click on Sort
Expand the selection
(because you want the rest
of the data to be resorted
along with the last name).
Sort
Conditional formatting –(e.g. to highlight those falling below particular scores)
Select the column Marks /10
In the Home tab, select Conditional
formatting – Highlight Cell Rules –
Less than
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Write the value 5 (i.e. you wish the
marks below 5 to be formatted
differently, so they stand out)
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