Intermediate

40 mins

Teacher/Student led

+70 XP

What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC
Canva account (school email)

Editing Images with Canva, Part 1: Crop, Resize and Adjust

Students set up a canvas in Canva, place an image, crop and resize it, and adjust it with filters, brightness and contrast.

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1 Start
2 The Words Editors Use
3 Hands-on: Open Canva and Place an Image
4 Hands-on: Crop and Resize
5 Hands-on: Filters, Brightness and Contrast

1 - Start ~4 mins

Illustration for Start Show the class the same photograph cropped two ways: once wide, once tight on one detail. Ask what each version says happened.

The thing to notice

Nothing was added and nothing was faked. The only decision was what to leave out, and it changed the story.

Today you learn the tools. Next lesson you decide when using them is honest.

Canva needs an account

Sign up with your school email. If you have not done that yet, tell your teacher now rather than working through it alone.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - The Words Editors Use ~5 mins

Five words you will meet in any image editor.

Word	What it means
Pixels	The tiny dots a picture is made of. More pixels, more detail.
Resolution	How sharp an image looks. Higher is sharper, and the file is bigger.
Cropping	Cutting away the edges to change what is in frame.
Resizing	Changing how big the whole image is, without cutting anything out.
Aspect ratio	The shape of the frame. Change it carelessly and everything stretches.

Crop and resize are not the same thing

Cropping removes part of the picture. Resizing keeps all of it and makes it bigger or smaller. Students mix these up constantly.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Hands-on: Open Canva and Place an Image ~8 mins

Set up a canvas of a known size and get a picture onto it.

+15 XP

4 - Hands-on: Crop and Resize ~12 mins

Two different jobs. Crop changes what is in the frame; resize changes how big the whole thing is.

+15 XP

5 - Hands-on: Filters, Brightness and Contrast ~9 mins

A filter changes the whole mood in one click. Brightness and contrast fix a photo that is genuinely too dark to read.

+15 XP

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This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

Editing Images with Canva, Part 1: Crop, Resize and Adjust

Teacher Class Feed

1 - Start ~4 mins

2 - The Words Editors Use ~5 mins

3 - Hands-on: Open Canva and Place an Image ~8 mins

4 - Hands-on: Crop and Resize ~12 mins

5 - Hands-on: Filters, Brightness and Contrast ~9 mins

Unlock the full learning experience

XP