Grade 9 • Lesson 7 of 32
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Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 9 • Unit 1: The Client & The Designer

Communicating Like a Professional

Today's focus: Communicating Like a Professional

⚠️ Heads-Up: Learning to Explain Your Work

Making something is only half the job -- a designer also has to be able to explain it: what you made, why you made the choices you did, and what problem it solves. This is its own skill, separate from the design itself, and it's just as important: it's how you'll write portfolio descriptions all year, defend your work in Grade 11's PBAT presentation, and talk about your skills in a real job interview. Start practicing it now, in small ways, every time you finish something -- don't wait until it's being formally graded to try putting it into words.

✅ 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:

“What do you already know about communicating with a client professionally? Jot down 2 ideas.”

📋 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: compare an unprofessional vs. professional client email side by side -- what makes the difference? (10 min).

  2. Step 2 — 10 min

    🗣️ Say: "Let's do the first one together, then you'll try the rest on your own."

    📋 Guided writing: as a class, draft the opening lines of a professional pitch-meeting introduction (10 min).

  3. Step 3 — 15 min

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

    📋 Independent practice: students draft their own short professional email responding to a sample client request, using the template (15 min).

  4. Step 4 — 5 min

    🗣️ Say: "Turn to a partner and do this together."

    📋 Partner share: read your email to a partner and get one piece of feedback (5 min).

🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today

Professionalism
Conducting yourself and your communication in a way that builds trust and a good reputation.
Co-Worker Communication
Clearly defining who is doing what on a shared project, ideally before work begins.

✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket

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

“What is one thing you would NEVER say to a client, and what would you say instead?”

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)