How-To: Design a Menu in Microsoft Publisher

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

Grade Level: Yrs 3 and up

Application: Microsoft Publisher 2003

Tip: Design a menu using the Menus Wizard.

Description: Each student (or small group of students) will create a menu using the Menus Wizard in Publisher. A menu can be designed to coincide with any curriculum area such as the study of another country or a different state or culture in Australia. When studying nutrition and health, perhaps have students create a "healthy" menu for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The calorie count and fat content of foods can also be added to the menu to encourage students to keep track of daily requirements. Younger students can use pictures to represent food.

How To:
  1. Plan your menu on paper before starting Publisher. Decide what you would like to put on the front and back of your menu (or just one side, if you're only using the side listing food and prices).
  2. Start Microsoft Publisher, and select Menus from the Wizards list. Select the type of menu that best fits your menu project, and then click Start Wizard.
  3. Click the Next button in the Menu Wizard Introduction section.
  4. Select the colour scheme you like best, and then click the Next button.
  5. Under Personal Information, decide which set of information you would like to use (if any) and update it as needed. Click Finish.
  6. Click the Hide Wizard button so your menu takes up more room on the screen.
  7. Replace the sample text in the menu with your own words. Notice that you can always add another column to the food and price list for items such as grams of fat or the number of calories. Click a table to select it, then position the mouse in the grey bar above a column. When the pointer becomes a hand, click the top of the column, and then choose Insert Columns from the Table menu. Notice that some menus have more than one page. For example, the Regular menu has a second page that contains the list of food and their prices. If you plan to use just the price page, you can always delete other pages by selecting Delete Page from the Edit menu.
  8. Add your own pictures to the menu, moving and resizing them so that they fit into the menu's layout. In certain places, you might want to use pictures instead of words.
  9. Save and then print your menu.
More Ideas:
  • Try using WordArt on your menu for special titles (e.g., "Desserts") or even food names (e.g., ice-cream).
  • Try adding pictures from other sources such as the Internet, a digital camera, a scanner (scan pictures of food from a magazine or cookbook), or pictures from a CD.
  • Print your menu on coloured paper, or even thicker paper if your printer accepts it.
  • Laminate the menus to preserve them and make them last longer.
  • Create menus to use at a special holiday dinner.
  • Create a menu to go along with a theme after completing a unit in your curriculum.
For Younger Students:
  • You may want to have younger students use only the price page of the menu. The other pages can be deleted by selecting Delete Page from the Edit menu.
  • Using pictures instead of words to convey some parts of the menu works especially well for younger students.


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