Activity 01
Pairs Challenge: My Pet Slide
Pupils work in pairs to open presentation software and create one slide about a pet or animal. They add a bold title, three bullet points of facts, and insert a relevant image from the computer's library. Pairs then swap devices to suggest one formatting improvement for readability.
Design a slide that effectively combines a title, text, and an image.
Facilitation TipDuring Pairs Challenge, circulate and prompt pairs to read their slides aloud from the back of the room to check readability at a distance.
What to look forIn pairs, students present their designed slide to their partner. The partner identifies one element that is easy to read and one element that could be improved, explaining why. The student then makes one adjustment based on the feedback.
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Activity 02
Small Groups: Readability Relay
Divide class into small groups with shared devices. Each group formats the same slide text in three ways: small font light colour, large font dark colour, and mismatched styles. Groups test readability by reading aloud from 2 metres away, then vote on the clearest version and explain why.
Evaluate the impact of different font sizes and colors on readability.
Facilitation TipFor Small Groups, provide a checklist of formatting rules so students refer to it while they work.
What to look forStudents are given a blank slide template. They must add a title, two sentences of body text, and one image. On the back, they write one sentence explaining why they chose a specific font size for their title and one sentence explaining why they chose their image.
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Activity 03
Whole Class: Image Match-Up
Project a class topic slide with text but no image. Pupils suggest and justify image ideas verbally, then vote using mini whiteboards. Teacher inserts the winning image; class discusses how it supports the text before pupils recreate it individually on their devices.
Justify the choice of an image to support the text on a slide.
Facilitation TipIn Image Match-Up, freeze the slides on the board occasionally so pupils can vote on which image best matches the text shown.
What to look forTeacher displays several slides with varying font sizes and colors. Students hold up fingers to indicate if the text is 'easy to read' (1 finger) or 'hard to read' (2 fingers), and briefly explain their choice for one example.
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Activity 04
Individual: Design Your Own
Pupils independently build a slide on a summer holiday theme, adding title, two sentences, and one image. They format for readability and self-evaluate using a checklist: 'Is my title big and bold? Does the image match my words?' Share one highlight with a partner.
Design a slide that effectively combines a title, text, and an image.
What to look forIn pairs, students present their designed slide to their partner. The partner identifies one element that is easy to read and one element that could be improved, explaining why. The student then makes one adjustment based on the feedback.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start with direct demonstration of one key rule at a time, then let pupils practise immediately. Model thinking aloud: 'I chose size 36 for the title because it’s the first thing people see.' Avoid overwhelming them with too many options at once. Research shows young learners benefit from scaffolded, iterative practice with clear success criteria they can see and touch.
By the end of these activities, pupils will confidently balance visual hierarchy and readability. They will judge font sizes and colours based on function rather than preference and justify image choices by linking them to their words. Their slides will be clean, readable, and purposeful.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Pairs Challenge, watch for pupils who make all text very large on the slide.
Ask partners to step back and read the slide aloud together. Prompt them to notice which parts are hard to read when far away, then adjust only the title to be larger while shrinking the body text.
During Small Groups, watch for pupils who choose bright, colourful images without connecting them to the text.
Require each group to explain their image choice aloud. If their reasoning is weak, ask, 'How does this picture help someone understand your words?' and prompt them to pick a new image if needed.
During Image Match-Up, watch for pupils who select images based only on colour or 'fun' factors.
Have pupils hold up their chosen image and read the text aloud. Classmates vote with thumbs up or down. Discuss why some images fit better than others, focusing on relevance over brightness.
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