---
title: "Selecting elements"
course: "BE101 · What runs behind a website"
unit: "Making pages interactive with JS"
lesson: 22 of 39
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/what-runs-behind-a-website/selecting-elements
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Selecting elements

Lesson 22 of 39 in **What runs behind a website** (BE101), unit "Making pages interactive with JS". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Select DOM elements using getElementById and querySelector.
- Select multiple elements using querySelectorAll and access individual items from the result.

## Teaching notes
Start with getElementById for a single element, then querySelector for CSS-selector-based selection, then querySelectorAll for multiple elements. Have them log selected elements to the Console to verify they're getting the right ones.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 22 complete: Selecting elements."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Changing the page with JavaScript" (lesson 23 of 39), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/what-runs-behind-a-website/changing-the-page-with-javascript.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: The DOM: your page as a live tree
Next lesson: Changing the page with JavaScript