🗑 Wow, that new Google Slides feature?!?

🏛 Ditch the Bus, Not the Experience: FREE Norman Rockwell Virtual Field Trip!

Tired of field trip hurdles? The Norman Rockwell Museum offers a fantastic solution: the FREE "Imagining Freedom" Virtual Field Trip!

Bring powerful art exploring democracy, human rights, and civic engagement directly to your K-12 classroom. This isn't just a slideshow – it's an interactive experience with:

• 24/7 access to the "Imagining Freedom" virtual exhibition.

• Standards-aligned lesson plans with discussion questions and activities.

• Flexibility to fit your schedule and curriculum.

• Multi-device compatibility.

• Coverage of History/Social Studies, Civics, Visual Arts, and ELA/Humanities.

Awarded for its innovation, this virtual field trip offers an engaging and accessible way to connect with art and important social themes.

Ready to ditch the bus and dive in? Apply for FREE access and get your unique link within two business days!

💻 TECH TIP 💻

👾 Practice learning like a game with WeWillWrite

If most of our student writing is “research papers” or “talk about this concept from class” it makes wonder …

Are we surprised that many students don’t like writing?

Let’s break it into smaller, manageable pieces with fun writing prompts.

That’s what WeWillWrite (wewillwrite.com) does.

• I shared about it in this quick TikTok video.

• We wrote about how to use it in this how-to tutorial post.

Here’s why I like it:

• It gives students low-stakes writing prompts. They’re quick do-now writing challenges. And if it doesn’t go well, there aren’t harsh consequences (like “this will harm your grade”).

• Students are teamed up. They’re trying to earn points for their team so they can climb up the leaderboard. A little game-like competition can be motivating.

• Students experience it together as a class. They write together. They compete together. The teacher shares student writing wins — and they see it together.

WeWillWrite has a solid free plan — and everything gets unlocked and customizable on the premium plan.

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🧱 10 ways to use Google Slides building blocks in the classroom

Google Slides has quietly rolled out a fantastic set of building blocks that can dramatically enhance the visual appeal, organization, and interactivity of your presentations.

These pre-designed elements for agendas, statistics, lists, and more offer a quick and easy way to structure information and engage your students.

They’re kind of like “mini templates” — quick draggable items that you can customize once they’re in place.

Where to find Google Slides building blocks

1. Look for the new right side panel in Google Slides. It has other handy options like “generate an image,” templates, stock and web photos, and items from your Drive / Google Photos.

2. Click on the type of block to see all of your options and styles.

3. Click a block to add it to your slide.

4. Edit the block by changing colors, fonts, and sizes.

Types of building blocks:

• Agendas: Helps structure the beginning of a presentation by outlining the topics and activities.

• Lists: Presents information in a structured format, either with bullet points or numbered steps.

• Key statistics: Highlights important numerical data or facts.

• Quotes: Displays a text excerpt, often attributed to a specific person.

• Headlines: Creates a prominent title or heading for a section of the slide.

• People: Introduces individuals, usually with a name, image, and short description.

• Cards: Displays concise pieces of information, often with titles and brief descriptions, similar to flashcards.

• Text callouts: Draws attention to a specific point or piece of text on a slide.

• Badges: A visual element, often used to signify an achievement or highlight a status.

• Collaboration: Indicates sections of a presentation that involve group work or shared contributions.

• Phrases: Provides useful sentence starters or prompts, often to facilitate discussion.

Activities to try in class with Google Slides building blocks

Each of these below is just a quick summary of the activities. In the full post, you can see details and step-by-step instructions of each activity.

1. Historical figure profiles: research a historical figure and present their findings using Google Slides, emphasizing key information with building blocks

2. Book review: review a book they've read, highlighting key elements and their opinion

3. Travel brochure: create a travel brochure for a real or fictional place

4. Analyze a piece of literature: analyze a poem, short story, or excerpt from a novel

5. Compare and contrast: use a building block to show similarities or differencees

6. Design a product advertisement: make a catchy sales message to entice customers to buy a product

7. Create a timeline: of your own personal history or family history

8. Class badge/logo: make a brand out of your class based on your personality and interests

9. Create a character profile: summarize a fictitious character

10. Explain a process: break down a procedure in detail step-by-step

There’s even more!

We’ve included 20 more ways to use Google Slides building blocks, including ideas for …

• structuring lessons and information

• enhancing engagement and visual appeal

• fostering collaboration and interaction

• streamlining teacher workflow

(So really … we said “10 ways” but it’s much, much more than that!)

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!