Find resources to help integrate technology across the curriculum

Find resources to integrate technology across the classroom.

Technology integration is a key mechanism for augmenting classroom instruction while helping students learn lifelong communication skills for the digital age. Use these lesson plans - which incorporate technology education through the use of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements and Adobe Premiere® Elements software - when teaching about math and science, language arts, history/social studies, and visual and performing arts.

Need to learn the software? Check out collections of technical guides to learn Photoshop Elements 11 and Premiere Elements 11.

View older version >

Engaging lessons for all levels

Jump to lesson:

Math and science

History/social studies

Language arts

Visual and performing arts

Note: You must log in to view all lessons and project examples.

Math and science

Geometric ConceptsGeometric concepts

In this lesson, students define geometry terms and then take photos of geometric figures that illustrate examples of their use in the real world. As a final product, they create a vocabulary Photo Book in Photoshop Elements that combines their definitions with their photo examples.

Graph PlottingGraph plotting

In this lesson, students use a preexisting image to create a dot-to-dot image along x and y axes in Photoshop Elements. They then create a list of ordered pairs for which they apply mathematical problem-solving skills by locating coordinates of the ordered pairs and plotting lines to re-create the picture on graph paper.

PatternsPatterns

In this lesson, students, working in groups, construct a visual pattern in Photoshop Elements according to a set of rules. They then test their rules by making predictions. Finally, after swapping their patterns, each group identifies the rules and makes predictions based on the rules.

Plant growthPlant growth

In this lesson, students grow a plant, use digital photography to collect data about its growth, and create a time-lapse video in Adobe Premiere® Elements to present their findings. This activity enables students to investigate plant growth and begin to learn the complex task of collecting data.

Visualization of the AtomVisualization of the atom

Students will demonstrate their understanding of abstract concepts through the creation of a visual representation of the concept. In this lesson, students create visual representations of the atom to illustrate their understanding of the atom and its elements.

Volcano eruptionVolcano eruption

In this lesson, students draw pictures in Photoshop Elements showing how lava moves through the core of a volcano during an eruption. They then create a time-lapse video in Adobe Premiere Elements, using these pictures to replicate a volcanic eruption.

Language arts

Alliteration poemAlliteration poem

In this lesson, students write their own alliteration-style poems, create a visual illustration of the poems, and publish them using Photoshop Elements. This activity enables students to structure text and visualize ideas in innovative ways, helping them think critically about the concepts as they construct their final products.

Creating suspenseCreating suspense

In this lesson, students use Adobe Premiere Elements to write short scripts and make a movie that creates a suspenseful moment. Students learn about techniques used in literature and filmmaking that create tension, and they employ this knowledge to create scenes that surprise, intrigue, and confound the audience.

Dolch word practiceDolch word practice

In this lesson, students enhance their reading skills by using Photoshop Elements to create visual representations of Dolch words used in sentences. Students turn their creations into flash cards so they can continue to practice recognizing Dolch sight words to improve reading fluency.

PodcastsPodcasts

In this lesson, students write short scripts and make a podcast in Adobe Premiere Elements. Topical podcasts can be made for most academic subject areas to enable students to explore a line of inquiry and convey meaning through script writing and commentary. Students learn how to creatively express their ideas through this novel medium.

StoryboardsStoryboards

In this lesson, students select a poem, identify the poetic devices, sketch a storyboard, and make a video for the poem. By doing this activity, students learn about presenting a story in pictures and about chronological order. They also learn about the importance of storyboards in creating digital movies.

Understanding idiomsUnderstanding idioms

In this lesson, students investigate the literal and figurative meanings for idioms by visualizing their ideas in Photoshop Elements. These visualizations offer a different way to structure information, which can lead to students being able to identify new connections and draw new conclusions.

Video narrativesVideo narratives

In this lesson, students will take one scene from a work of literature, videotape it, and then tell the rest of the story by using animated titles in Adobe Premiere Elements. Students will use video production skills to adapt a story and in the process learn about the art of storytelling, scene selection, and distinguishing important from unimportant details.

Visual dictionaryVisual dictionary

In this lesson, students define a word visually using Photoshop Elements and add it to their class visual and audio dictionary. Students analyze a word and construct a visual representation of its meaning, thereby building higher order thinking skills.

Visual pun funVisual pun fun

In this lesson, students create a visual pun - a play on images where students use two or more images to form a new meaning. Using Photoshop Elements, students combine unrelated images and employ interesting effects to create their visual puns. This lesson helps students use technology to enhance their language arts skills and to improve communication of their ideas.

History/social studies

A Person in Time OnlineA Person in Time

Students will conduct research on a historical figure and then design an electronic portfolio based on how this person would want their accomplishments to be represented. During this project, students will learn about primary and secondary resources, cite research, and make a case for their electronic portfolio decisions.

Advertising poster for a political candidateAdvertising poster for a political candidate

In this lesson, students research a historical figure and create a mock advertising poster in Photoshop Elements that includes a campaign logo and slogan. They then present their posters to the class and explain how their poster design and campaign slogan were informed by what they learned about the life and times of their historical figure.

Civic documentariesCivic documentaries

Students will choose an issue that affects them, the school, or their community to document in a short movie. Students will interview individuals on both sides of the issue, integrate video clips, create the documentary, and write a reflection detailing the learning process.

Oral and visual historiesOral and visual histories

In this lesson, students interview someone about their visual and sense memories of an event and use those memories to create an oral and visual history. They then use the interview for creating a digital video in Adobe Premiere Elements.

Visual and performing arts

CollagesCollages

In a variety of academic subjects and concepts, students can use collages combined with audio clips to convey meaning and understanding by visually representing their ideas and communicating a story. In this lesson, students investigate the architecture of a certain time or place and visually represent the style in a collage.

Digital DaliDigital Dali: Surrealism in art today

In this lesson, students turn everyday digital photographs into surrealist-style artwork using Photoshop Elements. This activity helps students enhance their creativity and better understand surrealistic techniques by working with lighting, color, and movement to transform their pictures.

Impressionist artworkImpressionist artwork

Students will explore the impact of photography on impressionism by taking photographs around the school to turn into impressionist works of art. Students will illustrate their understanding of impressionist-era work through the different imaging techniques they choose to use.

Pioneers of musicPioneers of music

Students will choose a piece of music that they find interesting or transcendent; analyze the piece for its theoretical music form; research the historical and social context of the music and artist; collect supporting historical artifacts; evaluate the piece of music; narrate and record their commentary on top of the musical piece; and package and present a portfolio of their project.

Creative Commons

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Assessing student work

For innovative and effective assessment strategies to record and grade projects and semester or yearlong student work, you can use the same digital communication skills you teach the students.

Feedback, comments, and critiques for assessment with Adobe Acrobat®

You can use Adobe Acrobat XI Pro to provide feedback to students, engage students in peer collaboration and critiques, assess student work, and collect data.

For more information, see the guide: Digital Assessment with Adobe Acrobat XI Pro

Digital documentation for assessment with Adobe Premiere Elements or Photoshop Elements

You can use still images in slide shows or time-lapse videos to document the learning process and assess student progress and their final products.

ePortfolios for assessment with Adobe Acrobat

You can use ePortfolios for assessment: as a documentation of student growth, a display of their best work, or an aggregate of all their work. Students can generate these portfolios for distribution on and offline using Acrobat X Pro.

For more information, see the guide: Creating electronic portfolios with Adobe Acrobat XI Pro