Thinkabara

🎨 Canva for Teachers & Beginners · Lesson 2 of 7

The editor: text, elements and photos

Google Classroom

The side panel, the top toolbar, layers and alignment.

The side panel

DesignTemplates and styles
ElementsShapes, graphics, stickers, frames, charts
TextHeadings, body text and font combinations
UploadsYour own photos and files
Photos / VideosStock media

The top toolbar

Click anything on the page and the toolbar shows its options: font, size and color for text; color, transparency and crop for shapes and photos. Double-click text to edit it.

Layers and order

Things on top of each other are layers. Right-click > “Bring forward” or “Send backward”, or use Position > Layers. Lock (🔒) a background so you don’t move it by mistake.

Alignment

As you drag, pink guide lines appear when something is centered or lined up — let them snap. Select several items and use Position > Align to line them up exactly.

Tip

💡 Ctrl+D duplicates an element. Ctrl+Z undoes. Hold Shift while resizing to keep proportions.

✏️ Practice: your turn

  1. Add a heading, a shape and a sticker to a blank design
  2. Put text on top of a shape (layers)
  3. Center everything using the pink guides
  4. Lock the background

✏️ Worksheet maker: a ready-to-print worksheet without designing from scratch

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. Where are shapes and stickers?
2. What does Ctrl+D do?
3. How do you stop the background from moving?
4. What do the pink lines mean?

0 of 4 correct

All lessons in Canva for Teachers & Beginners

  1. 🚀 1. Getting started: account, size and templateA free account, choosing a size and starting from a template
  2. 🧰 2. The editor: text, elements and photosThe side panel, the top toolbar, layers and alignment
  3. 🔤 3. Fonts and readable textFont pairs, sizes, contrast and accessible design
  4. 📝 4. A classroom worksheetUS Letter, a readable font and good contrast
  5. 🎉 5. An invitation or a certificateBirthday, class event and an award certificate
  6. 🎬 6. A presentation and a short videoAnimation in moderation, short videos and exporting
  7. 📤 7. Sharing, printing and downloadingPDF for print vs. PNG, working with students and copyright