Are your students stuck staring at a blank page, unsure where to start writing? Our course transforms reluctant writers into confident storytellers by using the power of Canva. Through creative prompts, choose-your-own-path adventures, and visual planning tools, even your most hesitant students will go from “I don’t know what to write” to “Hey, I created a book!” Plus, they did this all while meeting academic standards and sparking real joy in the writing process. So let’s Soar into Wrting with Visual Magic.
Inside Soar Into Writing with Visual Magic, you’ll find 12 carefully designed modules that guide you through the entire writing process, from sparking ideas with visuals to polishing final drafts with confidence. Whether you’re working with reluctant writers or looking to deepen the skills of your high-flyers, this course offers practical strategies and ready-to-use tools to support all learners.
Enroll today and let’s make writing magical again through visual storytelling.
Here’s a peek all about our course, how the idea was born, and what you’ll learn along the way!
Where Did It All Begin?
I always saw myself as a strong writing teacher. My students made great progress. I used the writing process well, had engaging prompts and organizers, taught mini-lessons, and held one-on-one conferences after peer editing. Nothing about that was bad, but then COVID hit, and everything changed.
Suddenly, we were online. I was competing for my middle schoolers’ attention in a world of endless screens. My colorful peer editing sheets, cute Instagram-style organizers, and detailed conferences just weren’t cutting it. Writing became a struggle. More students sat frozen at a blank page, unsure how to begin. Narrative writing, once my favorite, felt impossible to make enjoyable again.
That’s when I discovered Canva. After a student told me a history project would be “way more fun on Canva,” I gave it a shot. Within a week, my students were creating grammar menus, brochures, presentations, and even video summaries.
Let pictures guide the story, and watch writing confidence soar.
When we moved narrative writing onto Canva, everything changed. Students wrote stories and illustrated them with Canva graphics, creating their own E-books. Writing felt fun again for the students and me, the teacher!
My mother, an elementary librarian, took this same idea and ran with it, and discovered a secret I hadn’t even considered.
Read on to find out what it was!
Canva Unlocks the Secret to Getting Students Excited to Write!
We had always used the idea, rather sparingly, to have students draw illustrations before writing their stories. We’ve mentioned it in various blog posts, and whenever we did this in the classroom, it was a fun change of pace, but it wasn’t always successful. My students who loved art and loved drawing took to this concept well, whereas my other students who didn’t see themselves as wonderful artists put up a wall, which made them even less likely to go all in with writing that day.
Then, my mother took that idea and said, “Why don’t students use Canva to complete illustrations before writing?”
Brilliant! Canva offers a creative boost that can be especially helpful for students who struggle to illustrate or feel stuck getting started.
Unlock the magic of writing through visuals, where every image sparks a story.
With Canva’s huge library of graphics, photos, and ready-made templates, students can bring their stories to life visually, without the pressure of having to draw everything themselves. This keeps the creative energy flowing and gives even the most hesitant students a way to feel successful right away.
Canva doesn’t replace creativity. It unlocks it. It gives students the freedom to design, imagine, and personalize their stories in ways that build confidence and excitement.
Canva Shifts Everything
Students had a blast designing their illustrations before writing a single word. They were begging to work on their stories every day. The visuals gave them numerous ideas for their writing. They were able to build entire plot lines from a visual first, and then describe them and write amazing stories from their illustrations. Writing became like a fun graphic design game to students.
Canva’s drag-and-drop interface, bright visuals, and interactive elements feel more like a creative tool or game than a traditional writing assignment. Instead of writing just being students doing schoolwork, elementary and middle schoolers, especially reluctant writers, felt like they were creating something authentic: a picture book, a graphic novel, or a digital world. That identity shift boosted motivation and pride in their work. It motivated them to write. Students who loathed writing time were begging us to write.
This concept of illustrating before writing is known as “visuals-first storytelling.”
Your students are just one visual away from their best story yet, let’s begin.
“Visuals-first storytelling” is more than just a strategy. It’s a gateway. For so many students, it’s the entry point that finally makes writing feel doable and exciting. When students can see their story unfold, they begin to believe they can tell it. It’s often the spark that turns hesitant writers into eager creators.
Spreading the Word & The Course
My mother, Tami, started teaching workshops in her district and online about this new way of writing, its impact on student motivation, and how students’ writing soared. We discovered so many teachers loved this idea and wanted to implement it in their classroom. However, they were unsure how to teach students to use Canva, or they needed some sort of structure and guidance that hit academic standards within this new framework.
We, at Obsessed with Learning, created the writing course, Soar Into Writing with Visual Magic. As your guides, we will walk teachers, step by step, through 12 modules. We provide simple, clear, and direct instructions on how to implement this program into your classroom. If you’re a newbie to Canva, we also provide direct instruction on how to use that as well.
My mother took all the questions the teachers threw at her during her workshops and presentations, Then, we created all the answers for you in this course, from how to conduct digital peer editing and conferencing to how to create online writing portfolios, from how to record students’ progress to how to differentiate the writing levels in your classroom and how to expand and elevate student writing.
We provide you with everything we wish we had when starting this journey ourselves.
12 Writing Instructions Modules
- Module 1: Meet Your Guides: The Story Behind Obsessed With Learning
- Module 2: Getting Started with Visual Storytelling Magic through Canva
- Module 3: Look What Your Students Will Be Able to Do
- Module 4: Unlock Writing Success with Mentor Texts and Rubrics
- Module 5: Unleash the Magic with Creative Journals & Story Starters
- Module 6: The Visual Arc: Storytelling’s Secret Framework
- Module 7: Where the Journey Truly Begins: Helping Writers Find Their Voice
- Module 8: Stretch and Soar: Deepen Structure, Expand Ideas, and Elevate Writing
- Module 9: Mastering the Magic: Elevating Student Stories to the Next Level
- Module 10: No One Writes Alone: Author Circles & Collaboration That Counts (Peer & Teacher Conferencing)
- Module 11: Writing Portfolios Reimagined: Student Voice Meets Canva Design
- Module 12: Conclusion: From First Draft to Final Flight, Your Writers Are Now Ready to Soar
And Resources Galore
- 3 Visual Arc Writing Organization Templates (Beginning, Progressing, & Advanced)
- 180 Creative Writing Cards Journal with Magic of Three & 8 Genres
- 180 Sentence Starters Journal with 8 Genres
- 4 Digital Writing Portfolio Covers for Canva Folders
- Differentiated Rubrics/Guidelines (Beginning, Progressing, & Advanced)
- Differentiated Peer & Teacher Conference Forms & Teacher Data Snapshots
- How to Host a Story Showcase (QR Code Museum, Parent Night, Writing Certificates)
- Professional Development Certificate
From visuals to vivid words, help your students become confident authors.
Conclusion
By the end of the course, you’ll not only have a clear roadmap for teaching writing, but you’ll also have the confidence, resources, and inspiration to help your students soar. If you’re ready to turn writing time into the most engaging part of your day, join us inside Soar Into Writing with Visual Magic and discover just how powerful writing can be when visuals and voice come together.
