🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Computer with Photoshop, Sample image files (teacher-provided).
- Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.
- Heads-up -- This is exam-relevant: This lesson maps directly to an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) exam domain. Keep a running personal vocabulary list all year -- it becomes your exam study guide. See the ACP Exam Prep section for a full study guide and practice questions.
🧑🏫 Substitute Teacher Guide
A scripted, step-by-step runsheet for today's class -- hand this to anyone covering the room who doesn't know the daily routine.
- Day 1: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
- Day 2: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
This is exam-relevant
This lesson maps directly to an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) exam domain. Keep a running personal vocabulary list all year -- it becomes your exam study guide. See the ACP Exam Prep section for a full study guide and practice questions.
🎯 Essential Question
- What is the difference between destructive and non-destructive editing, and why does it matter professionally?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:
- Define destructive vs. non-destructive editing.
- Convert a layer to a Smart Object and apply a Smart Filter.
- Use at least 2 Adjustment Layers (rather than direct edits) to change an image.
📐 Standards Alignment
CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)
- CDOS 2 — Integrated Learning -- students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
- CDOS 3a — Universal Foundation Skills -- basic literacy, communication, and problem-solving skills required for a career.
ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives
- ACP 3.3 — Understand the difference between destructive and nondestructive editing.
🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 3: Organizing Documents
📚 Key Vocabulary
- Destructive Editing
- Editing that permanently changes the original pixels (e.g. painting directly, cropping).
- Non-Destructive Editing
- Editing that can be undone or adjusted later without harming the original pixels.
- Smart Object
- A layer that preserves its original data, allowing filters and transforms to remain editable.
- Adjustment Layer
- A layer that changes color/tone without altering the pixels of the layers underneath it.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Computer with Photoshop
- Sample image files (teacher-provided)
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
If you make a mistake editing a printed photograph with scissors and glue, can you undo it? What about in Photoshop?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Non-Destructive Basics | Do Now (5 min). Mini-lesson (12 min): destructive vs. non-destructive editing. Guided practice (23 min): convert a layer to a Smart Object, apply and later edit a Smart Filter. Share (5 min). |
| Day 2 | Applying It | Do Now (5 min): what's the benefit of a Smart Object over a regular layer? Independent practice (35 min): edit a sample image using only non-destructive techniques (at least 2 Adjustment Layers + 1 Smart Filter), then intentionally change one earlier decision to prove it's still editable. Share (5 min). |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Final file checked for non-destructive technique (Adjustment Layers/Smart Objects present and still editable, not flattened).
Exit Ticket: Explain, in your own words, why a professional designer would care about non-destructive editing on a real client project.
📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.
🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations
English Language Learners: model every step live, then check in one-on-one; provide translated materials and vocabulary support as needed. Students with IEPs: apply the accommodations and modifications listed in each student's plan (examples include extended time, graphic organizers, speech-to-text tools, chunked instructions, and visual schedules). Students with attention-related needs: break tasks into short, checklist-driven steps and provide brief movement or focus breaks. Students ready for a challenge: take on a leadership role critiquing peers' work, extend the project with a second iteration, or research how today's skill is used professionally in the field.