1 - Introduction ~5 mins
Welcome
Some project content is too wide for a portrait newsletter page: a multi-column rota, a Work Experience week planner, or a wide evidence table. Today you will use section breaks so one page can sit in landscape while the rest stays portrait.
The updated newsletter is portfolio evidence for your Something Real specialism task. Your teacher will check the landscape section against the success criteria.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Use section breaks to mix portrait and landscape pages
- Place a wide table or image on a landscape page inside an otherwise portrait document
- Explain when mixed orientation is the right layout choice
2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins
Mixed page orientation is not a whole-document setting. You split the document into sections, then set orientation on the section that needs the wider page.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Section break — a marker that splits one document into separately controlled parts | Without a section break, changing orientation usually flips every page, not just the wide one | Place a Next Page section break after your newsletter articles, then set only the new section to landscape for the stall roster |
| Apply to this section — the option that limits layout changes to the current section only | Stops a landscape fix from wrecking the rest of a polished portrait document | In Google Docs Page setup (or Word Page Setup), choose Apply to: This section before OK so only the roster page goes landscape |
Quick glance: Portrait suits most body text; landscape suits wide tables and side-by-side images. Use mixed orientation only when one piece of content is genuinely too wide for portrait (for example a Work Experience week planner), not for a short three-line notice.
Worked example you will build
In the step-by-step task you will create a short practice newsletter for a small side hustle, Harbour Side Snacks. You type a few portrait lines (or open a pre-seeded file), insert a section break, switch the next page to landscape, add a wide stall roster table, then return the following section to portrait. That is the same pattern you will then apply to your own Something Real newsletter.
3 - Step-by-step Task ~17 mins
Microsoft users: stay in desktop Word for every step after you open the file. Browser Word (Word for the web) cannot do this lesson. Chromebook users and anyone without desktop Word: use Google Docs.
Follow the instructions for your word processor to add a landscape section and a wide stall-roster table to a short practice newsletter. Your teacher will demonstrate the section-break workflow on the classroom screen first, then you complete the same steps on your own machine.
Support path (default if typing is slow): If your teacher has placed {{code:sm1_orientation_practice}} in your {{code:sm1}} folder with the portrait lines already typed, open that file and start at the section-break step. The graded focus is break → orientation → table → return to portrait, not typing speed.
This is the fiddly bit — lots of people flip the whole document the first time. If that happens, undo, check the section break, and try again. You have not broken anything.
4 - Common Issues ~3 mins
Common Issues
If your screen looks wrong, it is almost always the break type or Apply to setting — use the row that matches what you see, fix it, and carry on.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Every page became landscape, not just the new one | Undo the orientation change. Make sure you inserted a section break (Next Page / Section break next page) first, place the cursor in the new section, then change orientation again. In Google Docs, Page setup must say Apply to: This section. In desktop Word, open Page Setup with the small dialog-launcher arrow on the Layout tab (Page Setup group), or use Layout → Margins → Custom Margins; set Orientation to Landscape and Apply to: This section, then OK. |
| I only inserted a page break and nothing changed | A normal page break keeps the same section settings. Delete that page break and insert a section break instead, then set orientation on the new section. |
| My wide table still looks crushed on the landscape page | Check you really are on the landscape page (the page should look wider). Then widen columns by dragging the column borders, or reduce font size slightly on the table only. Avoid merging lots of cells in the data area. |
5 - Independent Practice ~20 mins
Independent Practice
- Open the file. Open {{code:Project_Portfolio}} → {{code:09_specialism}} → {{code:sm1}} → {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter.docx}}. If it is missing, create a short portrait starter (title, one heading, one short paragraph) and save it as {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter.docx}} in that folder. Microsoft users: open it in desktop Word before any breaks. Google Docs users work in the browser as usual.
- Section break. Place the cursor after your last portrait content. Insert a next-page section break (not a plain page break).
- Landscape this section only. Set orientation to landscape for this section only. Scroll back and confirm earlier pages are still portrait before you build the table.
- Wide table. On the new landscape page, add a short title that names what the table is for, then a wide table with at least five columns of project information. Use real names and times if you have them; otherwise use a realistic draft you can replace later.
- Return to portrait. After the table, insert another section break and set the following section back to portrait.
- Save. Keep working in {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter.docx}} in the same sm1 folder. Do not create a second copy or invent a new filename unless your teacher asks for one.
- Work Experience week grid (Day, Start, Finish, Task, Supervisor, Notes)
- Stall or enterprise price list
- Volunteer rota
- Practical Achievement materials list
- {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter.docx}} is saved in {{code:sm1}} and includes at least one landscape page after the portrait content
- Earlier newsletter pages remain portrait; only the intended section is landscape; pages after the wide table return to portrait
- The landscape page holds a short title plus a wide table (five or more columns) with real or realistic project data that is easier to read than it would be in portrait
- From the title and table alone, someone can tell at a glance why that page needed landscape
Unlock the full learning experience
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.