Free Google Slides & PowerPoint themes for teachers (plus lesson ideas and activities to use in class).
This post is by Paula Martínez, the creator of Slides Mania. Paula has a 9 to 5 job that has nothing to do with design or creativity or education! Making presentation templates has become a fun hobby that allows her to express her creativity. This led to SlidesMania being born. You can connect with Paula on Twitter at @SlidesManiaSM and subscribe to her email list at slidesmania.com to get the latest templates sent right to your inbox.
The right colors and graphics can make all the difference when creating an engaging Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation. However, sometimes creating the right theme takes time and creative energy that we don't always have.
That's why Slides Mania was created. With more than 150 free PowerPoint or Google Slides themes, you will surely find one that fits your next presentation or project.
Many of these templates fit perfectly in the lessons you already teach. Teachers from all over the world have used these themes in their classrooms in lots of creative and engaging ways. Click here to see a collection of tweets sharing SlidesMania templates in action!
Below you will find free downloadable themes for both Google Slides or PowerPoint plus ideas for using them in the classroom with your students.
Here are 30 FREE Google Slides templates and PowerPoint themes plus activity ideas and resources to get started ...
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Are you ready to unbox your ideas? This template is perfect to get them out of your head and share them with your colleagues or classmates! And not only you can share ideas, you can also “unbox” different apps and show how they work.
Lesson idea
This template is perfect for unboxing videos! A fun activity that can be used for tons of different topics or content areas.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/a-z0LkkUFhPptrvu68oAw
This template was inspired by the virtual museum created by Ashley Guerrero and provides and online space to showcase your student’s art. All links are set, so it’s best to share it in present mode. That way, students and families can click their way from room to room!
Lesson idea
Display students art, poetry, video, visual art, etc. work in a presentation via text, image or video. You can have them share digital work with you or snap a picture of an analog assignment and send your way. You can also use this template for interactive lessons of art, history, or anything really.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/Qwlsf8nOuZPfy7Iym0np9
Resource: 25 ways to infuse art into any class
A passport template for you and your students to collect stamps when you go to virtual field trips, or to collect badges or digital stickers!
Lesson idea
Take your students on a virtual field trip around the world. Use this passport template as a fun way for students to document their travels and share what they discovered.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/GkbA7rwNUV_Bd7Fwrq7n7
Many teachers were adapting the Scrapbook template, Isabel Morales was one of them, and to make it available for all, using the ringed notebook concept I added pages with tabs that you can “flip”. And because I’m fascinated by Hyperdocs I thought of it as a simple packaging for them.
Lesson idea
It is also ALL about packaging. HyperDocs LOOK engaging because they are. Kids enjoy completing them and while they are learning, collaborating, creating, and reflecting in their doc the teacher is given the gift of time to connect with students and engage in quality conversations with them about their learning. Use this template and the tools in this resource from Jen Giffen to package your own!
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/t6Pel95RB00pFvY2orntx
You can use this interactive template for online learning if you are doing some synchronous sessions with your students. But it can also be fun for when schools reopen, and we all go back to “normal”.
You put the game rules, so it can be used for any subject. Just write the instructions for your game on the second slide and then add 21 activities. If you don’t want to use all the slides, you can add some “Free Passes” to some of the cards.
Lesson idea
After using this template with a familiar game, try having your class make up their own rules and questions and create a unique game with your class! They can use writing skills to write game instructions and try it out with another class or teach it to their family at home.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/dX67G4JoB72cLixu4__rF
6. Classified and What Happened in 2B? for digital escape rooms
These free templates for Google Slides or PowerPoint are perfect for school activities such as digital breakouts, a history lesson, to investigate a past event or to solve a “Cold Case”.
The classified template features an old classified file, 35mm film strips and some old pieces of paper. – On the 19th slide you’ll find some tips on how to get the old photo effect and the rubber stamp texts.
What happened in 2B is a perfect template to let your students solve a number of cases based on different subjects.
What happened in 2B? A free template for investigations. Can you solve the case?
A Classified Free Template for Google Slides or PowerPoint activities.
Lesson idea
Use either (or both) of these templates as part of your own digital escape room! These templates offer a fun way for students to uncover the clues they need to escape.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/xKqT4_6I9r2DsCcHxp8n-
Want to use digital escape rooms to spark your students' imagination?
Check out our Getting Started with Digital Escape Rooms online course!
For just $19 you'll get:
- Video tutorials to guide you in getting started
- PDF guides to help you plan
- LOTS of example escape room ideas you can use as inspiration
- 25 digital escape rooms with lock combinations and companion resources in a downloadable PDF
- A step-by-step companion website with templates to help you and your students create your own digital escape rooms
- A resource locker FILLED with BONUS resources
Well, as I said on Twitter, it all started with me trying to illustrate an elevator… and after that, things got out of hand. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be useful, so I asked for help… and the responses have blown my mind! Make sure you read all the comments here.
Lesson idea
When asked how they would use this template many responded “Elevator pitches” – Thank you Lissa, Jessica, Cherelle, Susan, Mel, Alison, Jessica, Kathleen, Stephanie, and also look at this great idea from Lesleigh!
Others responded to use it for “Choice Boards” – Thank you Donna, Nicole, Jennifer, Liz, and Ryan!
Other ideas were: Virtual stations, escape rooms, lesson plan units, to build virtual campuses, to design interactive rooms (hello bitmoji classrooms!), presenting grammar ordered by difficulty level, great for an assessment review with different focus points: each floor could be a topic with activities and resources, and many, many, more ideas!
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/sLld6zKhkIAmtnooJ8JBY
Since YouTube doesn’t allow playlists to be made from videos that are intended for kids, with this template you can create your playlists in Google Slides and keep the YouTube esthetics.
You can also use this template to insert your video lessons or to create a channel for your class, where your students can ‘upload’ their creations.
Lesson idea
Ask your students to create their own tutorials for a tool you use often (like google slides!) Your class can create how-to videos for each other or another class. Or create a channel full of troubleshooting videos for common tech issues for other students or teachers. Your colleagues will thank you!
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/qzYuYMA1atu9Phfq1Wjlg
Resource: 8 YouTube-inspired classroom video ideas
It’s showtime! Add your activities to this fun template and let your students choose!
Each ticket it’s linked to one activity slide and on each activity slide you can go back to the tickets slide by clicking on the box office on the right corner.
I’ve added my bitmoji on the first slide and on the second, but you can replace it for yours. I have the Bitmoji Chrome Extension so it’s easy to choose one and then drag it to the template.
Lesson idea
In small groups have students create their own “Top Ten” video in Flipgrid. Download the videos and insert into this slides template and host your own “Top 10” movie premiere!
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/Q9wohXEjs2Q9pzVZdXLPA
Resource: How to make a Top 10 video on Flipgrid
Now that educators, students and families are adapting to distance learning, planning your online lessons using Google Slides is a great option whether you are using Google Classroom or not. Almost everybody has a Gmail account and you can easily share the link to the deck with your students.
You can add all the multimedia files they’ll need within the Google Slides file. Just one file for the whole week!
I’ve added links to each lesson on the numbers that I put on each day on the first slide, also to the home button on each lesson for easy navigation (check out the video on slide 2). If you need to add more lessons, copy and paste the circles on the cover and add a link to its corresponding slide.
Lesson idea
Use this planning template to pull together your videos, activities, links, homework assignments and anything else your students will need for the whole week. Share the load by collaborating with a grade level or content area colleague and create the weekly assignments together.
See how other teachers are using this template! https://wakelet.com/wake/lv4a2MnMs96Azp8FWk9oU
This is a different type of template with customizable desktop organizer wallpapers.
If you have a lot of shortcuts, files and apps in your desktop, these wallpapers are a lifesaver! You can place the icons inside each category so they are easy to find.
Lesson idea
The Desktop Organizer Wallpapers are a perfect way to display a bell ringer activity to start class. Students can also see what they are going to learn or do that day, and teachers can add special notes, such as test reminders, fun facts or even students’ birthdays.
A theme based on the bulletin board / cork board.
It features paper sheets and push pins. You can change the color of the yellow post its by editing the master, and you can also replace the red push pins with the ones included on the 19th slide.
Lesson idea
Use this bulletin board template along with “sticky notes” to brainstorm ideas for writing independently or share with others and create a collaborative brainstorming document for a group project.
Don’t ditch that idea!
Potter free presentation template for Google Slides or PowerPoint is perfect if your next lecture is about recycling ideas, or the creative process. It features crumpled paper, paper balls, lightbulbs and a paper bin / basket.
Lesson idea
The Potter template is perfect for sharing a genius hour or passion project with peers or the larger community.
I am beyond thankful to Jennifer Leban and Omar López, there was no way for me to make this template without their help. Please do follow them if you are a Twitter user!
I’ve vectorized the drawings so you can resize them without losing quality. You can choose different paper backgrounds and also change the background color behind the notepad / sketchbook.
Lesson idea
Sketchnoting, or visual note-taking, can transform doodles into a tool that helps our students deepen their understanding of a concept. It’s a fun and brain-friendly way to organize ideas visually and makes them easy to remember. Use this template on a tablet for digital sketchnotes or print it out to give students an inspiring place to take their own sketchnotes.
You can choose between landscape or portrait mode. It comes with 3 pre-design covers, but you can create your custom cover by editing the master.
Lesson idea
Interactive digital notebooks can be used in all subject areas and in almost any grade level. Use this template to give your students a blank space to get creative with their own notes. Or create and share any of the TONS of awesome multimedia activities you can do with interactive notebooks. They’re easy and free!
Ogawa is a fun theme featuring notebooks, paper, clipboards and markers.
When I was working on it, I was thinking about school assignments in a fun way. You can avoid using a blank template and use Ogawa instead. It has light colors (even though you can modify them) and flat graphics.
Lesson idea
The Ogawa theme can also work for digital note taking.
Resource: 10 tips for creating awesome diginotes with Canva (these tips apply to digital note taking with Google Slides and Powerpoint too!)
Get the tools, the practical ideas, and the inspiration to transform the way you use technology in the classroom!
- Lesson ideas and downloadable templates
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Now that we can all finally insert audio in our Google Slides decks, you can use this fun theme in your classroom.
You can duplicate the radio slide as many times you need and change the dial position on each slide. Same goes with the iPod slides, just duplicate them and edit the text showing on them.
Lesson idea
Get students recording their own podcast with anchor or synth and share it with classmates (or beyond) in a collaborative slides project.
Katie Digital Planner was thought more as tutorial than a template, but since it was such a hit among educators, we decided to add a new one, especially for teachers and students. It’s completely customizable, you can change colors, and even the tab names by editing the master.
Lesson idea
The school planner (I’ll be updating it soon for the 2020-2021 school year) Also works for planning Ts weeks or even the year. Adding hyperlinks to the scheduled tasks make it great for getting all your resources organized.
@eduGOOGdroid from Twitter was looking for a slide deck based on Material Design and featuring Google colors. He sent us his idea, and we made this template out of it.
We have also added a hamburger menu with some hyperlinks. You can replace the icons for ones that best represent your topic and then update the links to their corresponding slides.
Lesson idea
The Mr. G can be used as a dummy Google search. Ss can pick a subject and add it to the search box, add the results in a Googly way and hyperlink those results to other slides where they can expand the information. Great for showing research skills.
Or teachers can add the subject based on a lesson that was given in the search box and let students retrieve the information as search results.
As a mom, I would love to know more about my daughter’s teachers. So why not create a newsletter using Google Slides to send out to parents? Or even use it as a way for the students to introduce themselves to you and the rest of the class.
Click on the link below to find a little tutorial on how to make a PDF newsletter. And of course, you can also download this template.
Lesson idea
The Introduce yourself template can be used by teachers for a back to school newsletter or presentation. Students can also create a newsletter for their parents, showing what they learned that week.
Beautiful letter-style template that gives a nice retro vibe. It’s perfect for any informal presentation where you can include data, information and pictures.
Lesson idea
Even in a world where texting takes over as our main source of written communication it's still very important for students to know how to write a letter. Use this template to have students practice their letter writing skills. You can sent their letter digitally or even print them out and send them through the mail!
This one is not a template, or maybe it is, it depends on how you use it. It was thought for elementary teachers for customizing drag and drop activities. Also works for a lesson about farm animals for ESL teachers.
All graphics are made from shapes and it includes a barn, trees, clouds, fences, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and chicks.
Lesson idea
The Farm Animals Shapes were specially made for elementary teachers. Perfect for basic math and for some drag and drop activities. By copying and pasting an animal as many times as needed you can prepare a slide for your students to practice math doing sums and divisions.
Resource: How to Create Drag and Drop Activities with Google Slides by Kasey Bell
Philo is a fun template to show your ideas in a retro way! Remember when you had to get up to change channels?
You can change all the colors –slides’ backgrounds and TVs’ – by going into the master slide.
Lesson idea
Use Philo, to amplify student voice, put the adapted version together with some app like Flipgrid and give each student a channel to put their voices out.
Koch is a fun template to motivate, achieving goals, conquering worlds, setting records and going beyond.
Lesson idea
Students can use the Koch template for presentations or school lessons about space, planets, astronauts, NASA missions, a spaceship launch, Apollos’ missions or the moon landing.
Russo is a fun template inspired by movie-making.
And if your presentation subject is not related to motion pictures, but you are a movie lover like us, you can go ahead and use it as well. We are sure that your audience will love it.
Lesson idea
Students can use the Russo template to showcase a video project or screencast they created individually or as a collaborative group project.
This amazing and colorful scrapbook-style template is perfect for your next project in the classroom. Kids will definitely love it. It comes with a world map and plenty of space to put fun pictures in it!
Lesson idea
This template provides students with a fun way to present information about a person or place they have researched. Or have students each take a page or two to create a class scrapbook of memories at the end of the school year.
We will be uploading different resumés templates for you to edit them with your professional information, save it to PDF and you will be ready to go. Make a great impression with the elegant designs and stand out with recruiters.
Lesson idea
Students can use the resume template to create resumes for themselves in preparation for a career after high school. Students can also create resumes for a fictional or historical character to highlight what they learned.
Introducing our set #3 of infographics for Google Slides or PowerPoint.
This time is all about charts. It includes bars, circles chart, triangles, demographics, squares.
All slides are 100% customizable, simply edit them to represent your data. You can also change all colors to match your topic or brand. Just copy the ones you like and paste them on any of our themes.
Lesson idea
Infographics are everywhere. They’re eye-catching. They summarize information succinctly.
They’re very visual, whether you’re viewing on a page or a printed version hung on a wall.
If you think about it, infographics meet many of the same goals as our students’ writing assignments.
Use this theme to give your students a template to create their own infographic on any topic in any subject.
Resource: Creating eye-popping infographics with Google Drawings (although this post focuses on Google Drawings these tips work with any tool to create infographics)
Paterson has a retro style. It mimics an old operating system, featuring windows, folders, cursors and a loading icon.
The best part of this free theme for Google Slides or PowerPoint is that you can change its accent color very easily. Simply go to Slide > Edit Master > Click on any cyan shape > Click on fill color > Click on the little pencil icon next to the word THEME > Click on Choose a theme color > Click on Accent 1 > And change it any color you like.
Lesson idea
The Patterson template is perfect for presenting information about Computer Science topics. Students can use the template when presenting their programs to peers to introduce themselves and discuss the process they went through while creating their programs.
This one is one of those special requests: Matt Meyer (an amazing 6th Grade Teacher from Illinois) asked me if I had a template inspired in Harry Potter. I didn’t, so here it is.
I know it's not pixel perfect (again, I am not a designer nor an illustrator) and when I was working on it, I thought I couldn’t make it. But I sent the first draft to Matt and he liked it! So, for me it’s mission accomplished!
Lesson idea
This template is for the Harry Potter loving students (and teachers out there!) It's just plain fun!
We would love to hear how YOU are using this template with your students! Leave a comment below or share on Twitter with the hashtags #SlidesManiac and #Ditchbook.
How can I use Slides Mania templates?
You are free to use our templates for both personal and commercial purposes.
Just keep the Credits slide or mention SlidesMania and any other resources used on the footer of a slide.
You are not allowed to:
- Sublicense, sell or rent any of SlidesMania’s templates or modified versions of them.
- Distribute SlidesMania’s presentation templates unless it has been expressly authorized by us.
- Include SlidesMania’s content in an online or offline database or file.
- Offer SlidesMania’s templates (or modified versions of them) for download.
- Acquire the copyright of any of SlidesMania’s presentation templates.
PS: Many people asked me for an account to donate, and I finally gave in and created this BuyMeACoffee account.
Again, there is no need to donate. I’m happy sharing what I do for free, but if you really want to, now you can.
How will or how have you used these templates in the classroom? Please share with us on Twitter using the hashtags #SlidesManiac and #Ditchbook.
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Great for every educator
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Thank you so much for sharing these free themes for PPT. God bless and more power.
Hello i want them cool google slides for my student im NEW!!!!!
I have to turn in a powerpoint presentation for school. The teacher cant read it if it is saved as a pptf (I have the office 07 version) I was wondering how to save it in a way that she can read it?
I love slidesmania. You are doing a wonderful job. I have got a question as I am not a native speaker of English and am not sure about the rules. Am I allowed to share modified versions of your presentations with students via google slides?
Yes you are definitely able to share your modified versions with students. Just please keep the credit slide at the end.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing! These are amazing for my class!
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