Description

Virtual School Locker Templates for Middle School Students

Are your middle school students disappointed in not having lockers for back to school due to distance learning? Having a school locker teaches kids about respect for personal space and the responsibility. It’s also a safe space for them to express their individuality and creativity. Additionally, secondary students learn important like skills such as how to organize their books, notebooks, and binders. Why not begin the school year by designing a virtual school locker so students can start the year off right?

These digital locker templates include 263 moveable graphics for your students to design their own unique digital space. Step-by-step directions are included at the beginning of the Google Slides document for students. Teacher directions are also given in the PDF download.

Organize your students lesson materials into one digital space and have them ready to go. Schools will likely start requiring teachers to not only have in-person lessons ready, but plans in place for at home learning. Help your students feel prepared and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

• NOTE: For personal, classroom use only. Not for commercial use.
• REMINDER: Each license is for one user only. Please inquire about purchasing team and district licenses.

How to Use These Virtual School Locker Templates

There are few ways you can use this resource. I would consider your unique situation to determine which works best for you. Additionally, you can try it one way this year and another way next year as you gain confidence in your technology abilities.

All About Me Project Idea

First, it can simply be a wonderful “All About Me” activity for the first day of school. You can use it as an opportunity to get to know your students likes and dislikes. And the space can be used primarily by students to express their individuality by adding new stickers, images, etc. from their own Drive.

Moreover, students can even share their lockers with one another in the same way they would if they were inside their own school building. One idea might be to do a virtual locker gallery walk with your class via a Zoom meeting. In this format, you may choose to skip using the binders altogether with.

Assignment Hub

Secondly, another more practical way would be to use the templates as a hub for all their assignments. In this scenario, students will decorate and label the books and binders in their locker. Then, they can link the binders in their locker to the same colored binder page further down in the document. Essentially, making a hyperlink to it so they can access it quickly. This will be a big timesaver as they add to their binders!

Students can use the college-lined writing paper pages in the binders to make a running list of their assignments and other “to do’s.” Then, they can link to assignments in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc. right from page in their binder.

Additionally, you can assign a writing piece that could be typed out on those same writing pages. This would help students who have difficulty keeping track of things. With everything in one place, they’ll have a better chance at being successful in this virtual learning format.

I created pre-formatted text boxes with the correct spacing for students ease of use. Just keep in mind these binder pages are designed to be 100% virtual. The pages were formatted on an 11” square slide and therefore won’t print out on standard printing paper and fill the page as you’re normally accustomed to.

Video Preview of Virtual School Locker Templates

Overview of Creating Digital Lockers

First, your students will select a locker color. There are 8 different colors to choose from. Next, they will decorate the inside of the door. They can include stickers, mirrors, borders, wallpaper, pennants, school jerseys, text message speech bubbles, and even picture frames. There are many different color and design options to choose from. Also, students can personalize items by overlapping text boxes on top!

Write a message on the markerboard. Make notes and reminders on the text message bubbles. Or, design a jersey with team numbers and your school’s mascot. The possibilities are endless.

Then, your students will use the books, binders, and any other decorative pieces to create the inside of their virtual school locker. Have them label the spines of their binders with the name of each of their subjects. There are pom poms, borders, and even fuzzy shag rugs to lay down on the bottom of the locker.

Lastly, they will label and decorate the front covers of their binders. They can use the stickers and borders to spice them up. This is also where they can link to assignments they’ve completed. This will help them keep track of their virtual assignments.

If I was doing this with my students, I would also allow them to import their own pictures. I think it’s important that students have a space that’s uniquely their own, even if only virtually. However, it’s equally vital you stress with them the importance of appropriate images and text as you would in school.

Why Use Google Slides for Virtual Student Lockers?

• FAMILIARITY: A lot of the features of Google Slides are similar to PowerPoint and will get your student’s digital lockers up super quick. No need to edit a PowerPoint and figure out how to upload it to Slides.
• USER-FRIENDLY: Students are likely already familiar with storing files in Google Drive.
• INSANT SAVE AS: All changes in Google Slides are instantly saved in Google Drive. Ever accidentally close down an app or other online software and changes weren’t saved? Eliminate the frustration and disappointment of lost presentations!
• ACCESSIBILITY: Parents, students, and admins can use an iPad, desktop or laptop computer, and even a Chrome book to access your virtual lockers to view assignments.
• SHAREABILITY: Simply share student virtual lockers the same way you’ve been sharing assignments with students via Google Drive or Google Classroom.

Teacher Directions

The download contains a five-page PDF with directions on how to access the virtual school locker templates. I’ve included step-by-step picture directions for some basics like copy/pasting graphics, adding text boxes, rotating and ordering images, and linking. The linking section talks about linking from one slide to another as well as linking to outside content. I think it’s important that you understand how to use some of the basic of Google Slides so you can be successful. However, your students are likely very familiar with it already.

And this document comes ready to go in Google Drive, so don’t worry about trying to figure out how to import it into your Drive!

You Will Receive