How Do Teachers Create A Template For Google Docs

How to create classroom templates in Google Docs and Slides

Corking templates can drive cracking classroom learning. Acquire step-by-step how to make your ain with Google Docs and Slides.

When I find a skilful template online, it makes me want to bound for joy. Templates salve us time. They give us ideas and go the states started. And when we find a good 1, students benefit.

Do you ever wish yous could create your own templates? When you do …

Yous don't spend time angling foronly the right matter.
The content is customized to what your students demand.
You decide the order, the difficulty … everything!

It may not exist as hard — or every bit time-consuming — as you think.

Plus, yous tin can use Google tools that you're already familiar with to create them.

With a skillful template, yous tin create …

something printable that students can work with a pencil
something digital that students tin can dispense on a screen

Here'southward a footstep-by-step tutorial to get yous started creating your own templates to assign to students!

ane. Decide what y'all want on your template.

Sketch information technology out on a sheet of paper. Make a bulleted listing. For many people, identifying their goals and the basics first makes things easier. If you lot tin can imagine your template in your mind, you can skip this step.

ii. Choose an app to create your template.

If you want to utilise Google Slides, open a new Google Slides presentation.
If y'all desire to use Docs, Sheets, Drawings or anything else,choose Google Slides instead!

Here's why Google Slides reigns for most templates:

It lets you lock items in the background so students tin can't move them.
It gives you lot more design flexibility.
It opens up more than options for activities (i.eastward. dragging, labeling, etc.).

If you really, really demand to employ Google Docs, create your document and jump downwards toStride 7 below.

three. Resize your slides. (Optional)

Google Slides defaults to a 16:9 ratio for its slides — the standard for most LCD projectors.

But look — your students likely won't be projecting your template to a projector, right?

In that case, let's brand the page whatsoever size nosotros want! Some things to consider:

Using letter size (8.5″ x 11″ or 11″ ten eight.5″ in the US) is a good size for a printer. They're also very recognizable dimensions.
You can go far a square or a broad strip or a tall, narrow strip.
Exist careful not to make information technology too tall or as well wide. Your template can scale to whatever size, only the bigger it is in whatsoever management, the more students volition need to zoom in and zoom out.

Resize your slides using File > Page setup.

Resize slides

To modify the dimensions of your slides in Google Slides, go to File > Folio setup.

4. Design the parts that students won't change.

The championship. The instructions. Images. An outline/frame around where pupil responses volition get.

Anything that students won't write on and manipulate. That's where we offset.

Whether you're doing a one-page template or a multi-page template, design everything students won't change first.

TIP: If you like the thought above of creating an outline/frame around what students volition type or add …

Go to Insert > Shape to describe a shape.
Utilise the paint saucepan icon to change the background colour — even to transparent.
Use the line width icon (3 different-sized lines) to make the outline thicker or thinner.
Use the pencil icon to change the color of your outline.

Add a shape

Use shapes to show students where to put items or where to write.

five. Lock everything into the background.

In one case you've created everything your students won't change, it'due south time to make information technology all immovable. Locking everything into the background volition forestall students from moving things — accidentally or intentionally!

Click on the championship of your slide presentation. If you haven't changed it, it will say "Untitled presentation". (Going to File > Rename will piece of work, too.) Give your file a name. End information technology with the give-and-takeTEACHER.
Click on a slide thumbnail in the list on the left. (Multi-folio template: start with the first ane. Single-page template: it's your only slide!)
Go to File > Download as … > PNG.

This saves your slide as an epitome file. Think almost it. You can't move anything around on a single image file! This is what locks it into place.

Now, you demand to insert this epitome of your slide every bit the slide background. Here'south how I suggest doing it …

Create a new slide presentation. (The one you're working on now can be your TEACHER template in instance you e'er want to modify your groundwork.)
If you inverse the size of the slide in your original template,go to File > Folio setup and change the size of this one, too.
Click on the title of your slide presentation. (Over again, "Untitled presentation.") End it with the wordPupil.
In the menu,go to Slide > Change background.
Click the "Choose image" button. Find the image of your TEACHER slide. The filename should exist the name of your Instructor slide presentation.

Smash. Done!

Lock the background

If you have multiple pages, you tin can practise this same process for each slide in your template. (Note: When you download slides equally images, it will continue to salvage with the same filename but with a number. Keep an center on how it generates new file names and you'll figure out which one is which.)

Here's an instance of a page where I locked items in identify equally the background image.

half dozen. Add the parts students will change/write on.

On the Educatee template, you lot should have all of your slides with the new backgrounds.

Now it's time to add together the parts that the students volition interact with. This could exist text boxes. It could be shapes and images you lot want them to drag into place.

Add text boxes. If you use regular text boxes (the icon with the A on it), they're a lilliputian harder to accidentally click and move effectually.
Add shapes (Insert > Shape). These could be arrows, squares, math symbols … even speech bubbles! You lot can double-click a shape to add together text to it. (See #4 above to format your shapes.)
Add images. You might want students to move images into sequence or to choose the all-time image for the situation.

Yous have two places to put the parts students will change/write on …

You can put themON THE SLIDE. Put them here if you lot don't want to give students a option on where they go.
Y'all can put themNEXT TO THE SLIDE. That'due south the gray workspace around the slide. Remember of this every bit a place to put your tools on a workbench. Students can drag anything you put here — text boxes, images, shapes, lines — onto the slide. You tin can relieve students fourth dimension if you put things hither that you think they'll want to use. In my Google Slides icon boards, I exit a bunch of icons in the workspace so students tin apply them to make infographics.

With this template, I left lots of icons for students to use in the workspace. I kept the slide blank so students could create in it.

7. Share the template with your students.

At that place are several ways to do this!

With Google Classroom …

Create a new assignment in Google Classroom. Type the championship and clarification.
Add your template every bit an attachment from Google Drive.
On the drop-down carte du jour side by side to the attachment, choose "Make a copy for each student."

Make a copy of a file for each student by clicking "Make a copy for each educatee" in the zipper driblet-down in Google Classroom.

With some other learning management system (LMS) like Sheet, Schoology or Blackboard …

In the STUDENT version of your template, click the "Share" button. Click the "Get shareable link" button.
In the drop-down menu, choose "Anyone with the link can view." Copy the link.
Create a new assignment. Add a link to the assignment (in the description, with a link button, etc.)
When yous paste the link, go to the end of the link URL. Find the word "edit". Delete the word edit and everything AFTER it. Type the word copy.

To force students to make their ain copy of your template to utilise, change the word "edit" and everything after it to "copy".

With no learning management arrangement (LMS) …

In the Pupil version of your template, click the "Share" push. Click the "Get shareable link" button.
In the drib-down menu, choose "Anyone with the link can view." Re-create the link.
Go to tinyurl.com.
- Use the link to your template as the "long URL to make tiny".
- You can create your ain link (case sensitive) if no 1 has taken it earlier y'all. (Otherwise, just click the "Make TinyURL!" button.)
Copy the link that TinyURL created and distribute it to students. Yous can brandish it on a projector or fifty-fifty write information technology on the whiteboard/chalkboard.

8. You're done!

Now, your students should take admission to your template — AND they should get their own copy of information technology!

Here's some more proficient news …

You can reuse your template for other lessons! This is great for making new templates that are similar to the one you only fabricated.

Only get to File > Brand a re-create to copy your template. And so yous tin can remix it to utilise it for other lessons instead of creating a brand new template from scratch!

More than resources:

Ditch That Textbook Templates Pinterest lath
12 must take templates for teachers and students
20 free Google Slides and PowerPoint themes for teachers

Nosotros even have a "Templates" page on our website with TONS of fix to employ resources for you lot! Our Google Slides and Google Drawings templates get your students to work quickly. Make a copy. Conform as necessary. Assign to your students. Yep, that easy. Check them all out at ditchthattextbook.com/resource/templates.

Are you lot looking for quality, meaningful professional learning that both equips and inspires teachers?

Matt provides in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops and breakout sessions that equip, inspire and encourage teachers to create change in their classrooms. Teachers leave with loads of resources. They participate. They express mirth. They see tech use and educational activity in a new light. Click the link below to contact us and learn how you can bring Matt to your school or district!