Canva is quickly becoming one of my favorite online resources to use for school and personal use! You can create virtually anything on Canva, even just using the free version! I’ve made everything from Google Classroom headers to bridal shower invitations to Pinterest pins to Infographics! Here are some ideas and tips to get you started in the world language classroom!
Both teachers and students can use www.canva.com in the world language classroom! It is super user-friendly, comes preloaded with tons of templates, images, and tons of templates, images, and clipart! I’m beginning to use Canva more often than Google Slides (and I am a Google fanatic!)
Here are some ideas and tips to get you started in the world language classroom!
HOW TEACHERS CAN USE CANVA TO CREATE:
1. Infographics – Design infographics for your current content, such as Hispanic celebrations, environmental facts, biographies of Hispanic heroes that fit your students’ proficiency levels! See an example of one I made for La Tomatina here and one for Email Etiquette during virtual learning.
2. Invitations – So many of us teach a holidays, celebrations, or party unit. A great way to get your novice students to interact with authentic resources is through invitations. They can be quick interpretive tasks. Use the free templates to make invitations in the target language for quinceañeras, Christmas, Día de los muertos, Mardi Gras, or any other holiday! Pass them around the room or share them virtually and have students answer questions such as “When is the birthday party?” or “Where is the Day of the Dead celebration?”
3. Google Classroom Headers – I recently updated my Google Classroom headers for virtual learning. I wanted my students to see all of the important class information at the top of the page, such as class time, block number, and zoom information.
4. Student certificates – With the pre-made templates, all you have to do is type in the students’ names and share virtually or print to give out during a fun ceremony at the end of the semester or the year!
5. Classroom newsletter – Keep families informed with what is going on in your classroom this year.
6. Report Cards – This is better for elementary world language teachers that want to send a unique report card home! Fun formats and templates are available.
7. Schedules & Lesson Plans – I love staying organized, and there are tons of lesson plan ideas for weekly or daily plans!
8. Worksheets – Creating worksheets with clip art, fill in the blank sentences, text boxes, and more can sometimes be challenging on Docs. Canva makes it easy, plus as always – comes pre-loaded with tons of templates! Just change the language and instructions! Here are some worksheet templates!
HOW STUDENTS CAN USE CANVA:
1. Create a poster, brochure, or infographic – After teaching a unit or content to your students, have them present it to the class by designing a brochure, poster, or infographic. A choice board is a great option to allow for students of different levels to complete a similar task!
2. Create a presentation – Similar to Slides or PPT, you can create presentations in Canva. I like the additional fonts, clipart, and in-house image search that Canva offers! Then, you can download it to PPT. I designed my own template for a virtual Day of the Dead lesson using Canva’s clipart!
3. Create a resume – For your advanced students, teach them about applying for jobs in the target language and demonstrating their language skills to their future employers!
4. Open a restaurant – During a food unit, have your students create their own restaurant by designing a menu, promotional flyers, and business cards – all in the target language!
Let me know how you’re using Canva in your classrooms!
Let me know how you’re using Canva in your classrooms!
