🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Computer with Photoshop, Canva, or Figma, A real upcoming school event to promote.
- Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.
🧑🏫 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
🎯 Essential Question
- How do we adapt our design skills to create effective social media graphics for the school?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:
- Identify size/format requirements for common social media platforms.
- Design a social media graphic promoting a real school event.
- Apply consistent branding across a 2-3 post series.
📐 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.
Industry Standards (CCTC)
- IT-WD 03-2 — Prepare visual design specifications, applying principles of design (color theory, alignment, repetition, typography) and identifying technical constraints.
📚 Key Vocabulary
- Social Media Graphic
- A design sized and formatted specifically for a social platform (e.g. an Instagram post or story).
- Post Series
- A set of related posts sharing consistent branding, used to promote one event or message over time.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Computer with Photoshop, Canva, or Figma
- A real upcoming school event to promote
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
Scroll through a school or club's social media. What makes one post stop your scroll and another get skipped?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Planning & First Graphic | Do Now (5 min, above). Mini-lesson (12 min): social media graphic sizes/formats, and what makes a post stop the scroll. Independent build, part 1 (23 min): design the first graphic in a series promoting a real school event. Save progress (5 min). |
| Day 2 | Completing the Series | Do Now (5 min). Independent build, part 2 (30 min): complete a 2-3 post series with consistent branding. Share (10 min). |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Post series scored with a rubric: correct platform sizing, consistent branding, clear event information.
Exit Ticket: What did you keep consistent across your post series, and why does that matter?
📊 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.
🔗 Resources & References
- None beyond this lesson's materials.