Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP
Pupils work on their own device

Templates and Template Manipulation

Learn how to take a ready-made presentation template and customise it for your project. Strip out default placeholders and rebuild it to match your brand and audience needs for a professional finish.

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    1 - Introduction ~5 mins

    Today you will

    • make a presentation template look like your own project
    • remove the leftover sample bits that come with a template
    • save a clean deck in your portfolio

    You will use PowerPoint for the web or Google Slides.

    Warm-up

    Have you ever seen a slide that still said "Company Name" or "Click to add text"? How did it make the work look?

    2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins

    A presentation template is a ready-made deck with the layout, fonts and colours already set.

    Template defaults are the leftover bits, like "Click to add text", sample logos and stock photos.

    Brand match means your colours, fonts and pictures fit your project and your audience.

    Example

    Ciara is pitching her market jewellery stall. She picks a plain template, changes the theme, and deletes every leftover sample slide.

    Two files

    {{code:sm2_template_practice}} is for practice with Ciara's words. {{code:sm2_template_adapted}} is for your own project.

    3 - Step-by-step Task ~17 mins

    Watch your teacher start this first. Then follow the steps in the box below to make a practice deck with Ciara's words. Copy her lines exactly, so you can focus on the clicks. Your own project comes later, in a different file.

    4 - Common Issues ~3 mins

    Common issues

    • If you can't find the templates, use {{menu:File -> New}} in PowerPoint or {{btn:From a template}} in Google Slides.
    • If your colours look mixed, change the theme first and then edit the text.
    • If you still spot placeholder text, click through in slideshow view and read every slide out loud.
    • If the template fights every change, start again with a simpler one.

    5 - Independent Practice ~20 mins

    Your own project

    Your goal: Make a clean deck for your own project from a template, and save it as {{code:sm2_template_adapted}}.
    Time: ~20 minutes
    Task: Fill in these lines first.

    Project name: ________________

    Who it is for: ________________

    One ask or next step: ________________

    1. Close Ciara's practice file and open {{code:sm2}}.
    2. Start a new template and name it {{code:sm2_template_adapted}}.
    3. Put your own project name on the title slide.
    4. Add your own words, colours and slides.
    5. Check every slide for leftover defaults, and delete slides you don't need.

    If your project isn't a slide deck, make these four slides instead:

    • First slide: your project title
    • Second slide: what you made or did
    • Third slide: your evidence or your audience
    • Fourth slide: what you need next, or your reflection

    Use only your own photos, or no picture at all.

    Success criteria:
    • {{code:sm2_template_adapted}} is saved in {{code:sm2}}.
    • My title slide shows my own project name.
    • My colours and fonts look like one project.
    • No slide has leftover sample text or logos.
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