20+ interactive digital lessons for class tomorrow

Ed Tech

Ed Tech | Tuesday, September 14, 2021

20+ interactive digital lessons for class tomorrow

Need some lesson ideas for class tomorrow? The Applied Digital Skills curriculum from Google for Education teaches practical digital skills with free video lessons.

Post sponsored by Google for Education


You've got lessons to plan for tomorrow. Or next week. Or your next unit.

Let's be honest. Time is not something we teachers have an overabundance of.

What if someone did the work for you -- lesson planning and creating resources?

The Applied Digital Skills curriculum from Google for Education is a FREE set of 150+ pre-created lessons that teach students valuable skills -- and can be integrated in your class's content.

Here's what you get with Applied Digital Skills:

  • Free, flexible, ready-to-use lessons you can use for remote or in-classroom teaching
  • Project-based curriculum where students design and make something they're proud of
  • Skills for school, work, and life based on the 4 C's (communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking)
  • Easy integration with Google Classroom, sharing these lessons quickly and easily

Did I mention they're all free? 

Link your students to a lesson, where they'll find examples to model after and step-by-step video instructions to follow along. They'll learn valuable skills for using Google tools along the way.

Or you can directly connect your Google Classroom, putting everything -- including grading and attachments -- in one place.

Are you looking for ready-to-use interactive lessons that you can assign directly to your class? These interactive lessons come complete with tutorial videos and all of the links and resources your students need to complete the tasks. These lessons are perfect for asynchronous work time during remote learning, or in-person teaching if you're returning to the classroom, and can be assigned directly to Google Classroom.

Applied Digital Skills lessons

Google's Applied Digital Skills curriculum has over 150 lessons for upper elementary through adult learners. Below are some of our favorites. Click here to see the entire collection of lessons.

Create an All About a Topic presentation

In this Applied Digital Skills lesson students pick a topic and share information about it by creating an interactive presentation. The example presentation walks them through sharing about themselves and things they care about. This is the perfect way to introduce themselves creating their own Google Slides presentation. Later they can use the same lesson but present on a topic they have learned about in class.

About a Topic Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Write an If-Then Adventure Story

Using Google Slides students will partner up or work in a group to create their own interactive story.

If-Then Adventure Story Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Show Appreciation with Google Slides

In this lesson students will create a slideshow presentation that shows their appreciation for someone.

Show Appreciation with Google Slides Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Create an Animation in Google Slides

Bring still images to life by creating an animation in Google Slides. Use it to demonstrate understanding of a skill or to show what students have learned.

Create an Animation in Google Slides Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Create a Photo Journal in Google Docs

Adding their own photos students will document their experiences in a Google Docs journal.

Create a Photo Journal in Google Docs Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Research and Develop a Topic

Students will identify credible sources online and use basic coding skills to make their research document interactive in Google Docs.

Research and Develop a Topic Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Collaborate to Tell a Story

Collaborating with others while working on a project is an important skill. In this lesson students will build upon each others' ideas while responding to a prompt in Google Docs.

Collaborate to Tell a Story Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Write a Story Using Emojis

Visual storytelling is powerful -- and it can be easy and fun, too. Create a rebus by adding emojis to your story in Google Docs.

Write a Story Using Emojis Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Design a Poster About You

This lesson walks students step-by-step through introducing themselves to their classmates by creating a poster you can print (or "hang up" digitally) with Google Drawings.

Design a Poster About You from Google Applied Digital Skills

Make a Promotional Flyer

Students will use Google Drawings to promote an event or raise awareness about something they care about.

Make a Promotional Flyer Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Create an Infographic

Summarizing information in an engaging way is a skill that students will always be able to put to use. Using Google Drawings students will create an infographic to communicate information.

Design an Infographic Google Applied Digital Skills lesson 

Also check out Creating eye-popping infographics with Google Drawings for more ideas.

Create an Comic Strip

Comic strips are all about visual storytelling. Using these skills to show what students have learned or connect with others can be powerful. Your students will learn how to plan for and create a comic strip about a story or series of events.

Create a Comic Strip in Google Drawings Google Applied Digital Skills lesson 

Also check out Crash! Bang! Boom! How to add Google Drawings comic strips to your class for more ideas.

Google Sheets logo

Create a Guide to an Area

Using Google Sheets students will research information about an area and organize it into an interactive guide. 

Create a Guide to an Area Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

This lesson pairs great with a virtual field trip! Check out 20 virtual field trips for your classroom

Google Sheets logo

Create a Budget in Google Sheets

Who doesn't need practice with budgeting skills? This lesson will help students learn how to research and compare costs in a spreadsheet.

Create a Budget in Google Sheets Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Google Sheets logo

Make Pixel Art

In this lesson students will learn how to use conditional formatting to create a pixel art project in Google Sheets.

Make Pixel Art Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

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Wage a Sea Battle

Google Sheets is a great home for this popular game where you try to sink ships by guessing their coordinates. Students can create and play the game, practicing plotting skills and strategy.

Wage a Sea Battle with Google Sheets Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Create a Blog with Google Sites

Google Sites is easy, I mean really easy, to use and website creation and blogging are fun and great skills to have. In this lesson students will learn about safety and security while also creating their own blog. 

Create a Blog with Google Sites Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Build a Digital Portfolio

A digital portfolio is a great way to showcase the work done over the course of a semester, year or even over several years. Students will learn to use Google Sites to create a webpage to share their work. 

Build a Digital Portfolio Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

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Identify Cyberbullying

Students will collaborate with classmates and create a plan to recognize and stop cyberbullying. 

Identify Cyberbullying Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

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Use Google Drive to Organize Files and Folders

It's easy for Google Drive to get messy. Use these tips and strategies to be organized so you can find all your stuff.

Use Google Drive to Organize Files and Folders Google Applied Digital Skills lesson

Applied Digital Skills collections

These Applied Digital Skills lessons are great by themselves, but they become a comprehensive classroom experience if done in a collection. Collections are lessons that are grouped by topic to help students dive deep into a particular category. Check out all of the collections here, or browse some of our favorites below.

Back to School 2021: These lessons help students express themselves, get organized, and more. View this collection (17 lessons)

Capstone Project: These lessons help students organize, plan, and execute a community service project. View this collection (7 lessons)

Digital Learning Day: Use these lessons to learn new digital skills to celebrate Digital Learning Day. View this collection (11 lessons)

Explore the World with Google Arts and Culture: Learn digital skills while exploring art, historic events, and iconic figures. View this collection (5 lessons)

Online Safety and Digital Well-Being: These lessons help students learn how to carefully and responsibly engage with technology. View this collection (7 lessons)

Study Skills and Learning Strategies: Build digital skills to help you prepare for projects, tests, and exams. View this collection (4 lessons)

Celebrate Black History, Culture, and Identity: Build new digital skills in honor of Black History Month. View this collection (7 lessons)

Celebrate Earth Day: Develop digital skills while learning about the environment. View this collection (2 lessons)

QUESTION: How could these lessons fit in your classroom? Do you have favorite Applied Digital Skills lessons? How have you used these lessons? Tell us in a comment below!

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  • Jill says:

    I flippin’ LOVE the idea of an emoji story in place of our traditional 4th grade narrative writing unit! I’ve also been toying with student blogging for years but never sat down to scaffold the process for my 4th graders – the Google Sites lesson will be a HUGE help. This year, specifically, I have quite a cluster of amateur coders who might catch on to the Pixel Art lesson (via conditional formatting), too. Thanks for the inspo!

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