Canva Classroom Recipe: Creating your own educational blockbusters

Guest author: Derek Oldfield

Derek Oldfield has been the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Berkeley County Schools in West Virginia for the past eight years, focusing on integrating technology to enhance creativity, critical thinking, and student engagement. Derek has developed professional learning experiences for educators, including summer institutes and interactive workshop, and pioneered the use of generative AI in K–12 classrooms. With a background as a classroom teacher and assistant principal, he is dedicated to providing teachers with with strategies and tools that make learning more rigorous, meaningful, and joyful.

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Activity overview

"Students light up when they see their learning transformed into something that looks like Netflix. Suddenly, research and synthesis become creative storytelling." shares Derek about this engaging classroom activity.

This recipe transforms any subject into a comprehensive educational series that students will actually want to create and share. Whether you're covering photosynthesis in science, historical events in social studies, or literary analysis in English, students research their topic thoroughly and then present their findings as a complete streaming service experience.

Students don't just create a single presentation - they develop an entire educational series complete with multiple episodes, related show recommendations, and even a cast page featuring the key concepts or figures. The beauty of this activity lies in its versatility and the way it taps into students' existing knowledge of digital media while requiring deep content synthesis across multiple interconnected presentations. By framing processes as characters and episodes, students move beyond memorization into conceptual understanding.

Quick snapshot:

• Grade Level: 7-10
• Subject: Any subject area
• Duration: 4-5 class periods

Learning Objectives:

• Synthesize complex information and organize it into logical episode sequences
• Create comprehensive educational content that demonstrates deep topic understanding
• Develop digital literacy skills through familiar media formats
• Practice summarizing and connecting related concepts across multiple presentations
• Design interconnected content that shows relationships between different aspects of a topic

Preparation

Essential Canva features:

• Presentation template⁠(opens in a new tab or window) (provided)
• Image search and upload capabilities
• Text editing tools with various font options
• Background customization features
• Element library for icons and graphics

Requirements:

• Access to Canva Education accounts for all students (see how below)
• Students should have completed research on their assigned topic
• Basic familiarity with Canva interface recommended
• Access to research materials or completed notes
• Understanding of the topic's key concepts and vocabulary

Time allocation:

• Class period 1: Template exploration and content planning (45 minutes)
• Class period 2: Main series overview and episode planning (45 minutes)
• Class period 3: Episode content creation and "More Like This" development (45 minutes)
• Class period 4: Cast/character pages and final refinements (45 minutes)
• Class period 5: Presentations and peer feedback (45 minutes)

Step by step implementation

Step 1: Introduce the concept and explore the comprehensive template

Begin by showing students the interface they know and love, then reveal how they'll be creating their own complete educational series. Open Derek's photosynthesis example⁠(opens in a new tab or window) to demonstrate the full scope - from the main series page through individual episodes to the cast of characters. Students should access their Canva accounts and locate the multi-page presentation template, exploring all the different sections they'll be creating.

Step 2: Content planning and episode development

Students review their research notes and create a comprehensive content outline that includes: main series overview, 3-4 individual episodes that break down different aspects of their topic, related topics for the "More Like This" section, and key concepts or figures for the cast page. This planning phase is crucial since students need to think about how their topic can be logically divided into connected episodes.

Step 3: Design the main series interface

Students customize the main page with their topic as the featured series. They'll write a compelling series description that captures the essence of their topic while maintaining the entertainment industry tone. This main page sets the stage for the entire educational experience and should hook viewers into wanting to explore the individual episodes.

Step 4: Develop individual episodes

Using the episodes template section, students create 3-4 detailed episodes that each focus on a specific aspect of their broader topic. Each episode needs its own title, description, and visual thumbnail. Students must think critically about how to sequence their episodes logically and ensure each one builds on previous knowledge while introducing new concepts.

Step 5: Create "More Like This" recommendations

Using the “More Like This” section, students create 3–4 detailed titles that each focus on a specific aspect of their broader topic. Each title needs its own description, and visual thumbnail, but the real power comes from how titles connect. Students must think critically about sequencing so that new concepts build on prior knowledge, while “similar titles” or “related episodes” give them a chance to spiral back to content they’ve already studied. This retrieval practice helps strengthen memory, deepen understanding, and connect the dots across different parts of the unit in a meaningful way.

Step 6: Design the cast and character pages

Students create a cast page featuring the key concepts, elements, or figures relevant to their topic. Derek's photosynthesis cast included visual representations of the sun, chloroplast, CO2, and water as the main "characters" in the photosynthesis process. This creative element helps students think about the key players in their topic in a new way.

Step 7: Final refinements and navigation

Students ensure all pages connect properly and add final visual elements, maintaining consistency in color scheme and ensuring all text remains readable. They should test the navigation between different sections to create a seamless user experience.

Common challenges and solutions:

Students often struggle with breaking their topic into distinct episodes that don't overlap too much. Encourage them to think of each episode as focusing on one specific process, time period, or aspect of their broader topic. If students feel overwhelmed by creating multiple pages, remind them that they can start with their main page and two episodes, then build from there. The key is ensuring each episode has enough distinct content to warrant its own section.

Assessment and showcase ideas

Presentation approach:

Create a "Premiere Event" where students present their educational series to the class as if they're launching a new show. Set up the classroom like a streaming service launch event with students giving 3-4 minute presentations that highlight their main series concept, showcase one favorite episode, and explain their "More Like This" connections. Encourage audience members to ask questions as if they're entertainment journalists covering the premiere.

Marking criteria:

• Content accuracy and episode organization (35%)
• Creative presentation and visual consistency (25%)
• Information synthesis across multiple connected episodes (20%)
• Technical execution and navigation between pages (20%)

Reflection prompts:

• How did breaking your topic into episodes help you understand the connections between different concepts?
• Which episode was most challenging to create and why?
• How did developing "More Like This" content expand your thinking about your subject area?
• What did you learn about visual storytelling by creating the cast/character pages?

Differentiating this recipe to suit your classroom

To challenge students:

Advanced learners can create additional series seasons, develop spin-off shows that explore related topics, or create interactive elements like viewer polls or discussion questions for each episode. Challenge them to research and include current events or recent developments related to their topic, adding a "New Releases" or "Breaking News" section to their interface. They might also develop detailed character backstories or create actual video trailers to accompany their series descriptions.

To make this activity easier:

For younger students or those needing extra support, reduce the scope to creating just the main series page plus two episodes. Teachers can model one episode together as a class before students branch off on their own series. Provide pre-written episode templates with sentence starters like "In this episode, you will learn..." or "The main concept covered is..." Consider providing a bank of Netflix-appropriate vocabulary and descriptive terms, such as season, premiere, spin-off, spotlight and feature cast. Allow collaborative work where students can divide responsibilities - one focusing on content accuracy, another on visual design, and a third on creating connections between episodes.

To flex this recipe for different subject areas:

• Mathematics classes can create a “Problem of the Day” spin-off series where each episode tackles a single, real-world application of math. This makes math less abstract.
• Language arts students might organize content chronologically through literary periods, with different genres or authors as separate episodes, and create “Meet the Characters” cast pages where symbols, motifs, or literary devices are personified.
• History classes can structure content as historical documentaries with different time periods as seasons, major events as episodes, and historical figures populating the cast page.
• Science classes can explore different branches of science with episodes covering various processes or discoveries, featuring scientists, elements, or natural phenomena as characters in their educational narrative. For example in Chemistry, elements could be cast members in a “Periodic Table Universe”.

Ready to get started?

Start small by having students explore the example template with a familiar topic before diving into complex subject matter. This low-pressure introduction helps them understand the format without getting overwhelmed by content creation.

Share your students' educational presentations by tagging @CanvaEdu on X or posting them in the Facebook Teachers Community⁠(opens in a new tab or window). We'd love to see how different subjects come to life through this engaging format!

Ready to create your own classroom recipe? Submit your innovative Canva classroom activities⁠(opens in a new tab or window) and you could be the next to be featured!