Creating a classroom magazine is a great way to engage students in learning and enhance a sense of community in class. A Class magazine can be a place to spotlight students work, publish scholarly research, share school news and learning tips, publish key class/school announcements, connect with parents and the school community, and many more.
Most importantly, a class magazine is a tool of students empowerment. By providing students with a venue to showcase their scholarly productions and connect with the world outside their classroom, students feel that their voice matters and that it is valued thus driving them to actively engage in meaningful learning experiences.
The easiest way to start creating your class magazine is to use pre-made templates. The concept is simple and I have already explained it in previous posts covering lesson plan templates and book cover templates. You simply choose the template of your liking and customize it the way you want. When your magazine is ready you can then publish it online, on social media or via email. No graphic design skills are required. Below are two of my favourite resources where you can access ready-made magazine templates.
1- Canva
Canva provides a wide variety of beautifully designed magazine templates to use for your class. Browse through the collection till you find the one you want. Click on it to open Canva's editor where you can customize the template and add content to it. You can add as many pages to the template as you like. When you are done you can print or download it in various file formats.
Adobe Spark offers a collection of diverse magazine cover templates that you can choose from to create your own magazine cover. This is especially helpful if you have already created a class magazine using Google Docs or Word and only left with a cover. to make. Using Adobe Spark templates you can easily "add, remove or modify design elements with a single click. The magazine template gives you the basics of the design — you make it your own with the myriad of customization options available. You get to make as many changes as you wish, and you see the results of those changes immediately in the preview panel. This gives you the freedom to make mistakes and experiment".
