My Top 10 Adobe Express Templates To Use in Your Classroom (Plus a Thrice Album Review!)

Two quick announcements at the top:

1. The podcast is bumped to next week; my editing software ate it, so now I'm trying out Adobe Podcast! As an appateaser, here's the new logo/theme!

2. On October 15th at 11E/10C I'll be presenting at the Wakelet Appsmash Festival, showcasing the power of appsmashing wakelet with Edpuzzle!

Horizon/West by Thrice

If you missed last Friday's post about the Starting Line and Edpuzzle, know that my love of both early 00's music and ed tech runs deep. Another one of the bands that really amped me up, and I loved seeing live, was Thrice. At one point in life, I had all of the energy in the world to go hard to joints like this at live shows:

Speaking of joints, its expressly because my joints feel old, that I can only thrash like that in my brain! As much as I love "Deadbolt," their song "The Artist in the Ambulance" plays rent-free in my head:

If you remember the "you can't summon a generation with one note/riff" meme from the summer? This song was mine. The moment I hear the words "late night," I'm immediately off to the races to complete the song, just like Cartman cursed with having to complete "Come Sail Away." That's my level of neurodivergence, as evidenced by several songs and other quotes... thanks, God.

Back to Thrice. I've also loved that they are constantly evolving to the musical style they are feeling in the moment. Their first two albums are post-hardcore masterpieces. Next, they move into some experimental/prog vibes on Vheissu and the four-part The Alchemy Index releases are mindblowing! Next, Thrice highlights their musical versatility by moving into a mixture of alternative and indie sounds. However, their newest album, Horizons/West, hits all of the genre notes above + a little bit more!

Right now, I'm addicted to track 2, "Gnash," which has a great driving groove, into a powerful half-time breakdown, into the chorus. Which is lyrically epic:

I'm the heavy hammer That you seize to make something new But all you can do is break I'm the subtle dagger Up your sleeve when someone's to blame For making the same mistakes

I love the notion of being a tool to help something and they can't handle it. I also love the nod to a track from The Illusion of Safety. I also very much love how it flows into the next track, "Albatross" and how much it gives off some Chris Cornell vibes! The last track that sticks out to me lyrically is "Crooked Shadows." The end of the first verse keeps looping in my head:

And as the day is winding down You're clinging tighter to your crown You thought that you were glory bound But you see the sun swing low

Again, I love the allusion to running out of time to earn your glory through the day/night cycle. This thought may be living rent-free in my head for the rest of the day and beyond.

The other album I'm excited to listen to this weekend is Sad from Mayday Parade. I opted to listen to/write about Thrice first, because Mayday Parade became a later-in-life love for me musically. Sorry Swifties, I can't listen to Life of a Showgirl until my daughter gets to hear it first, or she'll yell at me. I did not wake up this morning and choose violence (yes, I'm afraid of my 8 year old being mean to me about music).

It's Adobe Time!

In the same way that Thrice's "Artist in the Ambulance" gets me to pop up with excitement, like the Undertaker rising from a fake knockout, Adobe Express does the exact same thing for me! In Monday's post, I offered a quick breakdown of why you should turn to Adobe Express to help spark creativity in your classroom. Today, I'll highlight my 10 favorite templates and/or activities I've found in Adobe Express that you could use in any lesson!

As mentioned in Monday's post, I love how easy Adobe is at teaching the tool, so there is little time lost to "how does this work?"

The thing I absolutely LOVE about a majority of the templates in the Adobe Express library is that the instructions on how to do something are always embedded in the right sidebar.

Below, you'll find my top 10 recommendations, with examples of how I've altered the templates for students.

1. Make a Meme

Memes can showcase humor and innovation while also offering a quick check for understanding!

As a millennial, I'll always appreciate a good meme. I like how you can create a meme that is a commentary on anything. However, the trick to a good meme is an understanding of the source material, or of the concept being memed. This template offers the quick opportunity to create a change-over-time style meme. I've used this in teaching a variety of historical eras. Or, comparing a character over time in a novel!

If you want to change the style of the meme, it is super easy. Explain how the students can alter the template. What kind of images do they need to use? How can they interact with it? Do they need to change the type of text, or is the pre-formatted block text good enough?

2. Voice Animate Anything!

In Adobe Express, you can literally voice-animate anything!

Using voice animation in Adobe Express is a fantastic way to boost your students' engagement and creativity. This tool allows them to bring characters to life simply by using their own voices, turning what could be a mundane assignment into an exciting, interactive project. Instead of just writing a report, your students can create an animated dialogue or a short story, which helps them connect more deeply with the material. This process is particularly great for shy students, as it allows them to practice their presentation and storytelling skills in a low-pressure, fun environment without having to be on camera, building their confidence in a creative way.

By incorporating voice animation, you can easily foster crucial 21st-century skills like digital literacy, communication, and creative problem-solving, all while making learning more memorable and enjoyable.

3. Digital Timecapsules!

Time capsule-style activities hold significant value by creating a tangible bridge between our past, present, and future selves. They serve as powerful tools for self-reflection, personal growth, and the preservation of memory, offering a unique snapshot of a specific moment in time.

Additionally, time capsule activities bring history to life by allowing students to see themselves as historical actors, documenting their own lives for a future audience. This process helps them understand that history is not just a collection of dates and famous names, but the story of everyday life. These projects also encourage writing, goal-setting, and critical thinking as students decide what best represents their world.

4. Letters and Images from the Past

Ready to bring your history and ELA lessons to life? Challenge your students to write letters from a new perspective—as a historical figure or a beloved character from a story! Imagine them penning a diary entry as Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the Gettysburg Address or a desperate plea from Romeo to Juliet. This isn't just a writing prompt; it's a time machine that forces students to look beyond dates and plot points and truly understand the world and emotions of another person.

This simple activity ignites historical empathy and sharpens literary analysis like nothing else. To write authentically, students must become detectives, hunting for clues about their character's personality, motivations, and the context of their time. It’s a powerful and creative way to deepen comprehension, foster critical thinking, and make your lessons absolutely unforgettable. Watch your students connect with the material on a whole new level as they make history and literature leap right off the page!

5. Learning Journals

Ready to unlock your students' thinking and supercharge their growth? Unleash the power of learning journals in your classroom! Forget simple note-taking; these journals are dynamic thinking playgrounds where students can capture their "aha!" moments, wrestle with tough questions, and ask the big "what ifs" without fear of getting it wrong. Adobe Express has you set up for a simple, personalized website to track your students' learning. By regularly reflecting on what they've learned, students don't just memorize facts—they build connections, track their own progress, and take true ownership of their education. For you, it's a priceless window into their understanding, revealing what's clicking and where the gaps are. It’s a simple tool that ignites incredible metacognition, builds lasting confidence, and transforms your classroom into a buzzing hub of reflective, engaged learners!

6. Video Reflections

I love having students speak in class—it's my inner speech and debate coach taking over! I'm a big believer that it's often much easier to verbalize a thought than to commit it to paper. This approach is an especially great tool for my students with reading exceptionalities and for my English language learners, as it's far easier for them to articulate their ideas aloud. Having everyone record a video response also helps destigmatize assistive technologies, like speech-to-text, that some students use to access learning. Plus, it gives everyone a short reprieve from all the writing they're hopefully being asked to do!

7. Customizable Name Tents

Whether you love flexible grouping, frequently change your seating chart, or just need help with names at the beginning of the semester, these quick and easy name tents will set you up for success from day one. I've also used them for creative role-playing activities. When students are re-living a historic debate, these tents make it easy to remember who is playing which role. Or, if they're engaging in a discussion between book characters, they can make a tent that includes key character traits!

8. Character Mood Boards

Okay, can we talk about one of my favorite creative tools ever? The mood board! Think of it as bottling a vibe. Mood boards are so important because they go beyond words to capture a feeling or an aesthetic at a single glance. So, why is this a total game-changer for a learning exercise? When you have students create a mood board for a character, you're asking them to do so much more than just list traits. Suddenly, they're thinking visually: What colors represent this person? What textures are in their world? What font would their inner monologue be in? It’s a fun, incredibly creative way to push past surface-level analysis and build a character that feels three-dimensional and truly alive. It makes them jump right off the page!

9. Visualizing a Word Problem

You know those word problems that can make your brain feel like a pretzel? 🥨 What if I told you the secret weapon against them is just a little bit of doodling? I've had to do more math so far this semester than my entire teaching career combined. I've learned that asking students to draw out a word problem is more than just a fun break from numbers; it's a powerhouse learning strategy. When they have to put pencil to paper, they can't just skim the words—they have to slow down, visualize the situation, and identify the key pieces of the puzzle. It forces them to translate that tricky "math language" into a concrete scene, figuring out who the characters are, what they have, and what’s actually happening. Suddenly, that intimidating block of text transforms into a clear, manageable story, and students can literally see the path to the solution. It's an amazing way to turn an abstract challenge into a solvable visual map!

10. Direct a Silent Film

Ready for a project that's a total game-changer for storytelling skills? Have your students create a silent film! When you take away the ability to use words, students have to become absolute masters of non-verbal communication. They can't just tell the audience what a character is feeling; they have to show it through deliberate body language, facial expressions, and clever visual cues. This forces them to think critically about plot, pacing, and how every single action pushes the story forward. It’s an incredible exercise in creative problem-solving and collaboration, pushing students to be intentional and resourceful storytellers in a way that a standard essay or presentation never could.

Bonus Round: The Creative Challenges

Okay, are you looking for a way to supercharge creativity in your classroom without having to build a giant new project from scratch? Then you have to check out the monthly Adobe Creative Challenges! Each month, Adobe drops a new theme that gives students a chance to create something amazing using tools like Adobe Express. It's the perfect low-stakes environment for them to play, experiment, and build real-world digital literacy skills. It’s not about a grade; it’s about giving them a prompt and the freedom to run with it, letting them flex their creative muscles and make something genuinely cool they can be proud of.

Here’s the magic for you: these challenges are completely ready-made! Forget hours of prep; the prompt is already there, waiting for you. Use it as an engaging warm-up, a fun Friday activity, an extra credit opportunity, or even a full-blown project—it’s incredibly flexible. Since we're just kicking off October, it’s the perfect time to jump in and explore this month's theme with your students. Seriously, give it a look! It’s a fantastic way to break up the routine, hand your students the creative reins, and see what incredible things they come up with.

Final Thoughts

Whether working on personal projects or professional tasks, these top 10 Adobe Express templates will help you create visuals that leave a lasting impression.

Now, let’s get started! Dive into Adobe Express and experiment with these fantastic templates!