Today you will

• find out what jobs a spreadsheet is good at
• decide when a spreadsheet is better than a word processor
• write three spreadsheet ideas for your Something Real project and pick the best one

Warm-up

Think of one number that matters for your project, like a cost, a score or a stock count. Would you keep it in a paragraph, or in a grid where you can add it up?

A spreadsheet is a grid of cells in rows and columns, built for numbers and short labels.

Suitable uses are jobs like budgets, trackers, tallies and stock lists.

Tool fit means you use a spreadsheet for data and a word processor for writing.

Your project pick is the most useful idea for your project.

Aoife's example

Aoife bakes cakes to order. Her ideas are a budget, an order tracker and a stock list. She picks the budget because it helps her set her price.

You will sort each job into the tool that fits it best, as a class. When every card is in a bucket, click Check.

Common issues

• Both tools seem to fit. If you need a total, a sort or a chart, use a spreadsheet. If you need sentences, use a word processor.
• My project has no numbers. Look for costs, dates, hours, scores or a list of people.
• A card bounced back. Ask yourself if the job is data or writing, then try the other bucket.