12 tips for teaching slides that help pupils learn
How to make slides that support your teaching instead of competing with it: fewer words, better pictures, clear layouts and good notes.
Slides are one of the most-used tools in teaching, and one of the easiest to overload. A slide packed with text asks pupils to read and listen at the same time, and they usually end up doing neither well.
These twelve tips will help your slides support your teaching rather than compete with it.
1. Remember who the teacher is
Slides are there to help you explain, not to explain instead of you. If the slides could be printed and read without you, they're probably a handout, and a handout is better on paper.
2. One idea per slide
Each slide should do one job: introduce a word, show an example, ask a question. Splitting a busy slide into three simple ones costs nothing and makes the lesson easier to follow.
3. Cut the words
Research on multimedia learning by Richard Mayer and others suggests people learn better from pictures and spoken words than from pictures, spoken words and the same words printed on screen. In practice:
- use a heading, a few key words or one short sentence
- say the explanation out loud
- put the full script in the speaker notes
If you need pupils to read a longer text, give it to them on paper and stop talking while they read.
4. Use pictures that explain, not decorate
A labelled diagram of the heart helps pupils learn. A clip-art heart in the corner of every slide doesn't. Choose pictures that show the idea you're teaching, and check that they really show what you say, especially if a tool chose them for you.
5. Make it readable from the back
Stand at the back of your classroom and look at your slides. If you can't read them easily, neither can your pupils.
- Use large text; around 28 point or more for body text is a common starting point.
- Use strong contrast: dark text on a light background or light text on a dark one.
- Avoid putting text over busy photos.
- Use plain fonts rather than decorative ones.
6. Keep a consistent layout
When headings, key words and questions always appear in the same place, pupils spend their attention on the content, not on finding it. A consistent design, whether one you choose or your school's template, helps.
7. Build up step by step
For processes and worked examples, reveal one step at a time rather than showing the finished thing. You can use animations, or simply duplicate the slide and add the next step to each copy.
8. Put questions on the slides
Slides are a good place for questions everyone answers: a multiple-choice question, a true or false statement, a "which is the odd one out?" Plan these into the deck so that checking understanding happens naturally. Our guide to formative assessment strategies has ideas.
9. Use the speaker notes
Speaker notes are where your explanation, key questions and reminders live. Good notes mean a colleague could teach from your slides, and you won't forget the example you planned. Notes are also a good place to keep sources, so you can check facts later.
10. Make slides accessible
- Add alternative text to images that carry meaning.
- Don't rely on colour alone, such as "the red answers are wrong".
- Keep slide titles unique, so pupils using screen readers can navigate.
- Use captions on any video you play.
11. Use your school's template when you need to
Many schools ask staff to use a house template for consistency. That is easier when your tools support it rather than forcing you to copy slides across by hand.
12. Check every slide before the lesson
Read every slide in presenter view, check facts against a source, and make sure every picture is right. It takes five minutes and saves awkward moments. Our checklist for AI-made teaching materials works for any slides, wherever they came from.
How Lesson Dino makes slides
Lesson Dino makes a slide deck from your topic and year group, using a mix of layouts such as questions, timelines, compare slides, quizzes and exit slides, so the deck doesn't feel like twenty bullet lists. It looks the topic up first and puts the sources in each slide's speaker notes.
- 80 designs to choose from, or upload your school's PowerPoint template and Lesson Dino puts your slides into it.
- Edit in the browser: change words, move and resize parts, swap pictures and drag slides into a new order.
- Change this slide with AI: describe what you want, such as "make this simpler for Year 2" or "turn this into a quiz question", and it changes just that slide.
- Present straight from Lesson Dino or download PowerPoint.
- History keeps earlier versions when you make the slides again, so nothing is lost by mistake.
Questions teachers ask
How much text should be on a teaching slide?
As little as pupils need. A heading, a few key words or a short sentence, and a picture or diagram is usually enough. Put the full explanation in your speaker notes and say it aloud.
What font size should I use on classroom slides?
Large enough to read from the back of the room. Around 28 point or more for body text is a common rule of thumb, but the best test is to stand at the back of your classroom and look.
Can I use my school's PowerPoint template?
Yes. Many schools ask staff to use a set template. Lesson Dino lets you upload your school's PowerPoint template and puts your slides into it, so the download keeps your school's look.
Should pupils copy notes from slides?
Copying long text from a slide uses a lot of time for little learning. If pupils need notes, give a printed summary or a partly completed note sheet, and use slides to explain and question.
