Lesson Plan in Empowerment Technologies

Grade 11
I. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the learner should:
1. Identify the meaning of Mail Merge and Label Generation.
2. Differentiate Mail Merge and Label Generation.
3. Appreciate the importance of knowing Mail Merge and Label Generation.

II. Content:
a. Topic: Mail Merge and Label Generation
b. Material:
c. References: Empowerment Technologies (Innovative Training Works, Inc)
d. LC Code Number:
III. Procedures:
A. Preparation
1. Checking of Attendance
2. Motivation
B. Presentation:
Discussion:
The teacher will discuss the Mail Merge and Label Generation.

Mail Merge and Label Generation

Mail Merge
One of the important reasons in using computers per se is its ability to do recurring
tasks automatically. But this ability has to be honed by learning the characteristics and
features of the software you use with your computer. After all, no matter how good or
advance your computer and software may be, it can only be as good as the person
using it.
In this particular part of our lesson, we will learn one of the most powerful and
commonly used features of Microsoft® Word called "Mail Merge." As the name
suggests, this feature allows you to create documents and combine or merge them with
another document or data file. It is commonly used when sending out advertising
materials to various recipients.
The simplest solution for the scenario above is to create a document and just
copy and paste it several times then just replace the details depending on
whom you send it to. But: what if you have hundreds or thousands of
recipients? Would not that take too many hours?
Mail merging basically requires components: the document that contains the message
and the document or file that generally contains the list of names and addresses, as in
our scenario. When these two documents are combined (merged) during mail merging,
feed your printer with enough paper until all mailers are printed out. Each document
includes the individual names and addresses you need to send it to.
Let us assume this is the mailer that you would want to send:
Figure 1. Sample Form Document
Two Components of Mail Merge

1. Form Document
Our sample letter above is what we call a form document—the first component of our
mail merged document. It is generally the document that contains the main body of the
message we want to convey or send. The main body of the message is the part of the
form document that remains the same no matter whom you send it to from among your
list.
Also included in the form document is what we call place holders, also referred
to as data fields or merge fields. This marks the position on your form document where
individual data or information will be inserted. From our sample document, the place
holders are denoted or marked by the text with double-headed arrows (« ») on each
side and with a gray background. On a printed standard form, this will be the underlined
spaces that you will see and use as guide to where you need to write the information
 that you need to fill out. In its simplest form, a form document is literally a "form" that
you fill out with individual information. A common example of a form document is your
regular tax form or application form. Then there is also a form letter which is exactly like
the one in our example above.

2. List or Data File

The second component of our mail merged document is the list or data file. This
is where the individual information or data that needs to be plugged in (merged) to the
form document is placed and maintained. One of the best things about the mail merge
feature is that it allows data file to be created from within the Microsoft® Word
application itself, or it gets data from a file created in Microsoft® Excel or other data
formats. In this way, fields that needed to be filled up on the form document can easily
be maintained without accidentally altering the form or main document. You can easily
add, remove, modify, or extract your data more efficiently by using other data
management applications like Excel or Access and import them in Word during the mail
merge process.

Label Generation
Included in the mail merge feature on Microsoft® Word is the Label Generator.
It just make's sense that after you print out your form letters, you will need to send it to
individual recipients in an envelope with the matching address printed directly on the
envelope or on a mailing label to stick on. By using virtually the same process as a
standard mail merge, Microsoft* Word will print individual addresses to a standard form
that it has already preformatted. Simply put, it creates a blank form document that
simulates either a blank label or envelope of pre-defined size and will use the data file
that you selected to print the information, typically individual addresses. So even in
generating labels, the two essential components of creating a merged document are
present: the form document and the data file. Only in this case, you did not have to
type or create the form document yourself because it was already created and pre-
formatted in Microsoft® Word. All you need to do is select the correct or appropriate
size for the label or envelope and select the data file that contains the addresses (data)
to be printed. You can also preview your merged labels before printing if you want to.
C. Practice
The teacher will ask questions and let the students answer the following
question(s).(students answer may vary)
IV. Assessment:

V. Assignment:

Prepared by:
Jayram B. Javier
Maindang National High School