LESSON PLANS USING CANVA

20 hours

Mother Language, Art, Civic Education, Foreign Languages, History

10 years old

●  Master the expressive and argumentative tools essential for managing verbal communicative interaction in various contexts.

●      Produce simple texts in relation to different communicative purposes.

●      Master instrumental reading aloud, attending to its expression.

●  Read narrative texts by grasping the topic being discussed and identifying the main information and its relationships.

●      Produce simple functional and narrative texts related to concrete purposes by working in groups.

●      Identify simple links between information with knowledge found from the text or already possessed.

●     Apply simple strategies for organising information; identify the main information in a narrative text; divide a text into sequences; construct short captions.

●   Develop digital literacy skills by using Canva and AI tools (Bing App) to select appropriate images and create multimedia presentations.

●      Enact correct behaviour in work, social interaction.

●      Listen to and respect others' points of view.

●      Respect one's own equipment and common or others' equipment.

●      Take on assignments and complete them responsibly.

●      Participate and cooperate in collective work with responsibility.

1. Introduction: First, the teacher reads a historical text about daily life in ancient Rome and leads a brainstorming session about keywords with the students.

2. Dividing Students into groups: The teacher divides the students into groups (approx. 5-7 students per group). The teacher assigns specific tasks to each group: drafting the beginning, unfolding, and conclusion of the story.

3. Group activity: The teacher assists the students in identifying and writing down the main sequences of the text based on the assigned tasks. Each group then divides their assigned portion of the story into narrative sequences and writes captions for each sequence independently.

4. Presentation: The sequences and captions are then presented to the class.

5. Canva exploration: The teacher begins by demonstrating the proper procedure for working on Canva on the interactive whiteboard. This includes providing examples of keywords to use for generating images and allowing students to explore additional keywords for use in Canva. Next, the teacher logs into the school account to access the program and explains how the image generator functions. Throughout this process, the teacher assists each group in using the Canva app and Bing app to locate suitable images for their multimedia representation. These images are arranged in chronological order according to the story and are accompanied by brief caption texts in English.

6. Canva multimedia presentation: Using the images and captions, students create a short multimedia presentation using Canva's "Create a Presentation" feature. Each group uses one computer for every two students and chooses templates using the Tool Editor. They also insert intermission animations between slides under the teacher's supervision.

7. Open discussion: After completing the multimedia presentations, guided discussions and reflections on the use of AI are conducted. The teacher facilitates the discussion, focusing on the problems encountered by the students in managing Canva, positive aspects, and potential new uses of the tool for addressing curriculum topics.

8. School presentation: Selected students have the opportunity to present multimedia products in other parallel classes to encourage the use of this tool among peers.

Formative assessment through teacher observation and/or written text produced by students.

Written text:

Each student produces a short paper detailing the entire process, guided by the teacher. The teacher provides guiding questions to help students write the paper and uses the feedback to assess their performance. 

Brief examples of some guiding questions:

• Did you enjoy using Canva?

• Did the images you created by entering keywords within the Tool reflect your expectations?

• Did you enjoy working in groups?

• Did you like the story you created?

• Would you like to reuse Canva for other activities?

• What problems did you encounter during the work?

Additionally, the teacher diagrams the proper sequence of the procedure for working on Canva on the interactive whiteboard before students use the programme.

The activity respects the teaching plan and its use is correct.

45 minutes

English as a foreign language (describing appearance, describing pictures, clothes, accessories).

12-14 years old

●        Revise English vocabulary related to clothing, accessories, and appearance

●        Use both present continuous tense and present simple appropriately

●    Gain familiarity with AI-powered tools, specifically Canva applications (Anime Style and Dream Face), for creating visual content. 

●     Collaborate effectively with peers in group activities to brainstorm ideas, create visual content, and animate images using Canva.

●       Enhance presentation skills by effectively describing and explaining their visual creations to the class.

1. Introduction (Warm-up) (5 minutes): The teacher starts the class with a warm-up activity, asking students questions such as: "Do you enjoy designing? Do you think it helps to develop your creativity? How do you feel when you create something?". Then the teacher initiates a brainstorming session, asking students questions such as: “Do you know any tools that can help you create something new, that listens to you and does what you said/wrote?” Finally, the students get the idea of using AI-powered tools available online e.g. Canva applications

2. Canva Tutorial (5 minutes): The teacher provides a demonstration to students on how to use Canva applications, such as Anime Style and Dream Face, to create an image as described by the teacher.

3. Production - Group Activity  (15 minutes): The teacher divides students into 2 groups: In the first group, students work in pairs on one computer to create a picture of a person using Canva. They brainstorm and provide as many prompts as possible. Students write the prompts in English. Then, they attempt to animate the picture and download it. In the second group, also working in pairs on their computers, students design T-shirts or jumpers featuring an image of a person using Canva. They brainstorm and provide as many prompts as possible. Students write prompts in English before attempting to animate the picture and download it.

4. Presentation (15 minutes): Each pair presents their visual creations to the class, describing the content of the picture, providing details, and explaining the process they used to create it. Students use English all the time.

5. Summary (5 minutes): The teacher summarises the key points of the lesson, including revising the names of clothes, accessories, and vocabulary related to appearance. Students are encouraged to continue exploring and using Canva for language learning and creative projects. Homework assignments may include creating additional vocabulary visuals or practising using the vocabulary in sentences

Assess students' understanding of the vocabulary through their participation in group activities and presentations.
Evaluate the creativity and clarity of students' visual representations created using Canva.

The teacher needs to conduct a brief discussion on the use of visuals in language learning and the effectiveness of Canvas AI-powered applications, just like a helpful tool that we control/handle. It is not to replace our thinking.

2 hours

History (Ancient civilizations)

11 to 13 years old

●   Understanding of the characteristics and significance of ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, or Rome, including key facts, dates, and descriptions related to each civilization.

● Understanding the geographical, political, social, and cultural aspects of these ancient civilizations.

● Developing critical thinking skills by comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences among the chosen civilizations.

●  Developing collaboration and teamwork skills by working together in small groups to research, generate visuals, and create collages using Canva's AI design feature.

●     Developing creative expression by selecting and arranging visuals, adding text, and possibly creating timelines to convey information about their chosen ancient civilization in a visually appealing and informative manner

●    Developing digital literacy by using Canva's AI design feature to generate visuals and apply them in a hands-on collage creation activity.

1. Introduction: The teacher begins the lesson by discussing the concept of ancient civilizations with the students. Engaging them in a brief brainstorming session, students identify their prior knowledge of ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome. Subsequently, the teacher introduces the lesson's primary focus: exploring the characteristics and significance of these ancient civilizations.

2. Group formation: The teacher divides the class into small groups, with each group focusing on one of the chosen ancient civilizations (Egypt, Greece, or Rome). The teacher assigns each group a specific area within the classroom where they will work together throughout the lesson.

3. Canva tutorial: The teacher provides students with a brief tutorial on how to use Canva's AI design feature, focusing on how to give prompts and generate visual designs. The teacher demonstrates how Canva's AI feature can be used to create visual presentations or posters related to historical topics.

4. Generating visuals: The teacher instructs students to use Canva's AI design feature to generate a variety of visuals (images, icons, illustrations) based on prompts related to their chosen civilization. Encourage students to explore different prompts and experiment with generating visuals that represent the key characteristics and aspects of their chosen civilization.

5. Printing Canva visuals: Once students have selected their desired visuals, the teacher guides them through the process of printing out the visuals from Canva. The teacher assists as needed to ensure all students can successfully print their visuals.

6. Group activity: Collage creation: The teacher instructs each group to collaborate and organise the printed Canva visuals to create a collage on large sheets of paper or poster board. The teacher encourages students to arrange the visuals in a visually appealing layout.

7. Adding text and timelines: After creating the collage, students will add text boxes and possibly timelines to provide additional information about the ancient civilization. The students can research in their textbooks, notes, or online encyclopaedias to find desired information and dates. The teacher encourages students to include key facts, dates, and descriptions to enhance their presentation. Then, the teacher facilitates discussions within groups to ensure that the text and timeline complement the visuals effectively.

8. Presentation of collage: Each group presents their completed collage to the class, explaining the prompts they used, showcasing the Canva visuals, and discussing the added text and timeline. The teacher encourages students to engage with their classmates during the presentations by asking questions.

9. Reflection and discussion: The teacher leads a class discussion on the experience of creating collages using Canva's AI design feature and the hands-on process of collage creation. Ask students to reflect on the effectiveness of AI technology in generating visuals and how it enhanced their understanding of ancient civilizations. Then, the teacher encourages students to share insights and lessons learned from the project.

The assessment procedures to follow include:

1. Evaluating the creativity and organisation of students' collages, which entails assessing the arrangement of visuals, addition of text, and creation of timelines. This aspect focuses on the aesthetic appeal and structural coherence of the collages.

2. Assessing the accuracy and relevance of the information presented in the collages. This involves verifying the factual correctness of the content and determining its alignment with the topic of ancient civilizations.

3. Observing students' collaboration and teamwork skills during the group activity. This assessment criterion examines how effectively students communicate, cooperate, and contribute to the collaborative task.

4. Encouraging self-reflection by prompting students to formulate a brief reflection on their experience using Canva's AI feature and what they learned about ancient civilizations through the collage creation process. This allows students to introspect on their learning journey and articulate insights gained from the activity.

Remind students to use respectful and accurate language when providing information about ancient civilizations.

Foster an inclusive learning environment where all students feel supported and valued in their contributions to the project.

Encourage students to critically evaluate AI-generated visuals and consider the ethical implications of AI technology in historical representation.