Some of you may already be members of my platform for neighborhood children’s class and use the resources I develop, if not, then: here is the link to Grade 3 and from there you can access kindergarten to grade 4. Today I would like to highlight one of the places for developing your own content, called Canva. It is super EASY to use and I have the feeling that soon I will be visiting your lesson plans to download your amazing resources. I will share with you 3 easy ways to use Canva to create content that you can do today, right after you read this post!
The first easy way to use Canva
Once you create your free account here is where I would start: Go to the “templates” tab on the top of the screen. This tab has many types of templates. the post today will highlight 2 ways to use use a template. I use the postcards template to create the downloadable, printable postcards with lesson quotes and prayers on them. Just like my post here. Postcards template is just one of the many free templates that can be accessed. there are paid versions of all the amazing resources on Canva so you always have the option to go above and beyond with a paid image. All I do is find a postcard with an image I like, and then change the text to what I want: a prayer, a quote, or any other piece of information that you need.
The second easy way to use Canva
The other template I use falls under “education” in the worksheet category. There are tons of worksheets that are suited for any level of Baha’i Children’s class. I use the worksheets for word definitions, fill in the blank, re-telling of a story, drawing, and much more. Here is an example of one of the worksheets I used from the template called “Cathematics”. I liked this template for the boxes which I modified. I also tend to delete the grade, teacher and date sections on the top and of course change the title. Most of the time I keep the graphics but as you will see in the next image, I did get rid of the cats.
Here is my edited version which took no time at all. I changed the title, the information in each box, I got rid of the cats, and added another box by using the copy and paste feature. Then I customized it a bit more by adding a rectangle for each box heading and filled it in red to match the box line colour. Five minutes later I had the cards that I needed to be cut out for the lapbook.
The step that always takes the longest for me is choosing a template that really fits the need. Once I have a template that works for something, I make a copy of it and use it for a similar lesson plan item. One such template is what I use in the Grade 3 lesson for the review quote. This template is set up for a fill in the blank model and I love the look of it. Each lesson has a different background which you can obtain from Canva free stuff or from other sites like Creative Fabrica digital paper.
Make sure that once you create a template of your own to use to create a copy each time you need it for another lesson. If you don’t the new information will be saved and you will loose the previous information. I did this a few times and although no big deal, i did have to go back and recreate it later in some situations.
The third easy way to use Canva
One last way to use use Canva is to create something from scratch. Under “create a design” on the right side of the screen are many size options from Instagram posts and infographics to a plain 8.5 by 11 worksheet. The 8.5 x 11 option is my go-to size and I use it for creating things like story prop images to print and other types of fill-in-the-blank resources. It is just a blank document so go wild filling it with images, writing, shapes, color, and more.
There are many other features to use in Canva and I am sure that once you develop your first few pieces, you will be eager to dig in and learn more. I use Canva for my Baha’i feast reports and the community likes the infographics created with Canva. I also use Canva to create beautiful pages with readings for our 19 day feasts.
I hope that you find Canva as great a resource for your classes as I have, and I look forward to using any resource you develop and are willing to share.
Thank you for reading, and hope to hear from you all.
Carolyn