9th Grade — Unit 3: Elements & Principles of Design Studio: Elements & Principles of Design: Balance

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: Elements & Principles of Art reference chart (posted/handout), Drawing paper, Pencils, erasers, Colored pencils, markers, or crayons, Rulers.
If today includes physical/hands-on work: make sure the classroom cameras are charged, working, and have a cleared SD card ready for photo uploads.
Print today's student handouts (see 🖨️ Student Handouts below) in the language versions your class needs.
Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.

🖨️ Student Handouts (print, one per class day)

Word + picture + definition + a short writing task for that day's vocabulary, in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese.

Day 1: EN · ES · FR · AR · ZH
Day 2: EN · ES · FR · AR · ZH

🖥️ Slide Deck (project or share with students)

Short, on-the-board pacing slides for today's Do Now, agenda, vocabulary, and exit ticket -- the full detail lives in the handout above, not here.

Day 1

Open / download this slide PDF

Day 2

Open / download this slide PDF

🧑‍🏫 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

What is balance, and how do designers use it on purpose?

📈 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:

Define balance using the class Elements & Principles of Art reference chart.
Identify balance in at least 2 real design/art examples.
Create three small thumbnail sketches, one for each type of balance, using the same 3 shapes.

📐 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.
CDOS 3b — Career Majors -- knowledge and skills required for success within a specific career pathway (here, Digital Design).

ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives

ACP 1.5 — Demonstrate knowledge of basic design principles and best practices employed in the design industry.

🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 1: Working in the Design Industry

📚 Key Vocabulary

Balance: The impression of equilibrium in a composition -- symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.
Composition: The overall arrangement of elements and principles within a piece of design or art.

🧰 Materials & Tools

Elements & Principles of Art reference chart (posted/handout)
Drawing paper
Pencils, erasers
Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
Rulers

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

Look at the "Balance" section of our reference chart. Find one object in the room that shows this concept.

📤 How You Submit This — For Credit

Your physical projects don't stay in the classroom past the day you finish them -- you're responsible for your own completed work, the same way you'd be responsible for it in any job. The one exception is your class notebook: it has its own designated spot in the room (ask your teacher exactly where), and most students leave it there day to day -- but it's yours, so if you'd rather keep it with you or bring it home to study from, that's your call. Either way, always know where your own notebook actually is. Before a finished physical piece leaves your hands for good: ask your teacher for one of the classroom cameras, photograph your finished (or in-progress) work, then plug that camera's SD card into a classroom computer and upload the photo into your portfolio folder. That uploaded photo, with a short caption, IS your submission for credit -- the photo is what gets kept and graded, not the physical piece.

📁 Portfolio Update — Once a Week

Once a week (e.g. every Friday, or your class's last meeting of the week), photograph or save your best finished or in-progress piece from that week into your portfolio folder (a physical folder for now, or a Google Drive folder once one is set up) with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, and one skill it shows. In Grade 10 this becomes your Google Sites portfolio -- keep adding to it weekly from here on so you're not trying to reconstruct a whole semester of work at the end.

✍️ Example description for your Google Sites portfolio (fill in YOUR blanks -- don't just copy this):

For this piece, I made ______________ (name what you made) for “Elements & Principles of Design: Balance.” This project asked: “What is balance, and how do designers use it on purpose?” I used Balance by ______________ (explain how you used it in THIS piece). The hardest part was ______________, and I solved it by ______________. I'm proud of ______________ because ______________.

📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence

This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	Understanding Balance	Do Now (5 min): find one object in the room that shows today's concept. Mini-lesson (10 min): define balance using the reference chart and 2-3 real examples. Guided sketch (10 min): as a class, sketch a quick shared example showing balance. Independent studio time, part 1 (18 min): begin your own paper piece exploring balance. Quick check-in (2 min): show a neighbor where you're starting.
Day 2	Finishing & Critique	Do Now (5 min): explain balance in your own words, no notes. Studio time, part 2 (25 min): finish your paper piece, applying balance intentionally throughout. Self-critique (3 min): before posting your work, write your own "I notice / I wonder" sentence about it. Gallery walk & peer feedback (10 min): post finished work; using the "I notice / I wonder" protocol, leave one specific sticky note on a classmate's piece naming exactly how they used balance, not just a compliment. Written artist statement (5 min): 1-2 sentences on how you used balance, and whether the feedback you received matched your own self-critique.

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Finished piece scored with a simple rubric: correctly demonstrates balance, shows effort/craftsmanship, and includes the 1-2 sentence artist statement.

Exit Ticket: In 1-2 sentences, explain how your piece uses balance on purpose.

📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.

🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations

English Language Learners: provide translated or bilingual glossaries, visuals, and sentence frames; pair with a peer for meaningful participation. Students with IEPs: provide extended time, step-by-step checklists, and one-on-one or small-group support as specified in each student's plan. Attention-related needs: break the task into smaller steps, use visual timers, and minimize distractions. Students who finish early: extend the task by adding a second design variation, mentoring a classmate, or writing a short reflection connecting today's skill to a career pathway.

🔗 Resources & References

Elements & Principles of Art reference chart (Project ARTiculate)