How-To: Compare and Contrast with a Venn Diagram

Curriculum Area:  English/ Mathematics/ Studies of Society and Environment/ Science

Grade Level: Yrs 3 and up

Application: Microsoft® Word 2002 or PowerPoint® 2002

Tip: Create a Venn diagram using the new diagramming feature in Word or PowerPoint.

Description: A Venn diagram can help your students understand relationships. Try using Venn diagrams to compare and contrast information from any area of your curriculum. For example, what did the early explorers have in common? What were their differences? A Venn diagram can help students see the similarities and differences among people like Captain Cook, Abel Tasman, and Christopher Columbus.

How To:
  1. Start Word or PowerPoint 2002 and make sure a new blank document is visible or open a file in which you would like to add a Venn diagram.
  2. In Word, position the insertion point where you would like the diagram to appear, or, in PowerPoint, view the slide where you would like to put a diagram.
  3. Click the Insert Diagram or Organisation Chart button on the Drawing toolbar.

  4. Select Venn Diagram (second row, second column), and then click OK. A Venn diagram with three overlapping circles will appear.
  5. If necessary, add more circles to your diagram by clicking the Insert Shape button on the Diagram toolbar.
  6. To delete an extra circle, first select the one you want to remove, and then press the DELETE key on your keyboard.
  7. Click each Click to add text area, and then type a label or title for each circle.
  8. To type text inside of a circle or an area where circles overlap, first create a text box, and then type inside the text box. (The Text Box tool can be found on the Drawing toolbar.) Resize and format the text box as needed so the text is easy to read. You might need to remove the fill colour and line colour so that the text inside the circle can be read.
  9. You can resize a circle or a text box within the Venn diagram by dragging from a resizing handle (the hollow circle along the outside of an object). If the resizing handles don't appear, on the Diagram toolbar, click the Layout button, and then click AutoLayout.
  10. Change the colour of a circle in the diagram by double-clicking it, and then selecting a new Fill colour from the Format AutoShape dialog box. Explore different Transparency percentages, too, if you want the circles behind this circle to be more or less visible.
  11. When you are all finished, click above or below your Venn diagram. You can now continue working on your document.
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