9th Grade — Unit 1: The Client & The Designer: Managing a Design Project

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: Large paper or poster board (1 per pair/group), Markers, Sample project brief (teacher-provided, 1-paragraph scenario).
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 are the steps of managing a client design project from start to finish?

📈 Learning Objectives

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

List the 5 steps of the design project process in order: Planning & Analysis, Design, Building & Testing, Proofing & Revising, Implementation/Publishing.
Define scope, pitch meeting, timeline, and scope creep.
Map a sample project onto the 5-step process using a paper flowchart.

📐 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 1.2 — Communicate with colleagues and clients about design plans.

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

📚 Key Vocabulary

Pitch Meeting: The initial meeting with a client to discuss the project's basic goals and plan.
Scope: The work required to deliver a project's final product; changes to scope must be managed carefully.
Scope Creep: When a project keeps growing beyond its original plan, threatening the timeline and budget.
Timeline: A schedule that lays out when each part of a project should be finished.

🧰 Materials & Tools

Large paper or poster board (1 per pair/group)
Markers
Sample project brief (teacher-provided, 1-paragraph scenario)

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

Answer Yes or No: Is it OK to work on a client project without ever communicating with the client? Why or why not?

📤 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.

📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence

This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	The 5-Step Process	Do Now + discussion (5 min). Mini-lesson (15 min): introduce the 5 steps of managing a design project in order, with a real example for each. Vocabulary (10 min): scope, pitch meeting, timeline, scope creep -- and why scope creep is dangerous for a project's deadline and budget. Guided start (10 min): as a class, begin mapping the sample brief onto Step 1 (Planning & Analysis) together, so everyone starts Day 2 knowing what's expected. Preview (5 min): tomorrow, groups finish mapping all 5 steps on their own.
Day 2	Mapping a Project	Do Now (5 min): put the 5 project steps in order from memory. Group project (25 min): build a paper flowchart mapping the sample brief onto all 5 steps, with at least one specific detail per step. Gallery walk (10 min): groups post their flowcharts and compare approaches. Exit ticket (5 min).

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Flowchart rubric: all 5 steps present, in order, with at least one specific detail per step.

Exit Ticket: Put the 5 project steps in order from memory, then circle the one you think is easiest to skip by accident (and explain why that's risky).

📊 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

Project Management Institute -- What is Project Management?