Grade 9 • Lesson 3 of 32
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Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 9 • Unit 0: CTE Onboarding & Career Readiness

What Does a Digital Designer Actually Do?

Today's focus: What Does a Digital Designer Actually Do?

⚠️ Heads-Up: Start Your Resume Today

Everything you make this year is resume material -- literally. Starting today, keep (or start) a personal resume: a simple, ongoing document listing your skills, projects, and experience. You don't need a finished resume yet, just the file/page. At specific milestones this year (marked with a 💼 Resume Moment card), class will pause so you add a new line to it, in your own words, with example phrasings to help. By senior year you'll have a real, evidence-backed resume built one true accomplishment at a time -- not something invented the week before you need it.

✅ Before Students Arrive

📓 Daily Notebook Routine (students already know this)

Keep this going every day, in your class notebook: date today's entry, jot your Do Now response, add any new vocabulary word(s) from today's Key Vocabulary section (word + a quick picture + a simple definition in your own words), and take 60 seconds to sketch something connected to today's topic. This notebook is yours to study from, reference on projects, and pull evidence from later for your portfolio.

🗣️ Opening: Do Now

Write or project this, and have students start immediately:

“Look at the printed job posting on your table. Circle any word you do NOT recognize.”

📋 Class Plan (step by step)

  1. Step 1 — 10 min

    🗣️ Say: "Today we're looking at ___." Then walk through the point(s) below at the front of the room.

    📋 Mini-lesson: walk through a sample "day in the life" of a digital designer, from getting a client brief to delivering final files (10 min).

  2. Step 2

    🗣️ Say: "Now it's your turn -- work on your own (or with your table) on the following."

    📋 Build a class T-chart of Hard Skills vs.

  3. Step 3 — 15 min

    🗣️ Say: "Here's what we're doing next." Then read the instructions below to the class.

    📋 Soft Skills based on the job postings (15 min).

  4. Step 4 — 10 min

    🗣️ Say: "Get into your groups."

    📋 Small groups: each group gets one job title and lists 3 things they think that person does every day (10 min); share out.

  5. Step 5 — 5 min

    🗣️ Say: "Here's what we're doing next." Then read the instructions below to the class.

    📋 Connect to our course: preview the semester -- "everything we do this term builds toward these same skills" (5 min).

🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today

Hard Skill
A specific, teachable ability, like using a certain tool or software.
Soft Skill
An interpersonal or work-habit skill, like communication, time management, or receiving feedback well.
Client
The person or business a designer is creating work for.
Production Artist
A designer who prepares and finalizes files for print or digital publishing, following an established brand/style.

✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket

A few minutes before the bell, say: "Time to finish your exit ticket."

“Name one soft skill and one hard skill a digital designer needs, and explain why each matters.”

Collect exit tickets (or have students leave them in the usual spot) for the regular teacher to review.

⏳ If You're Short on Time

Protect the Do Now and the Exit Ticket above all else -- those are how the regular teacher tracks daily progress. If a step above is optional/homework, or is a "share out"/discussion step, shorten or skip it first.

⏳ If Students Finish Early

Have them keep working in their notebook: add extra detail to today's vocabulary sketch, review previous vocabulary, or -- if this is a portfolio update week for this class -- work on their portfolio. Early finishers should never be idle or distracting to classmates still working.

📝 For the Regular Teacher (fill in ahead of time)