⏰ Do Now — Start Here
Flip back through your Semester 1 portfolio (if you have one). What is one concept you want to get better at? If you are new to the class this term, write down one question you have about what's coming.
This room is a mixed cohort
Because 9th and 10th grade share one classroom, some of the 10th-graders here are continuing from last semester's analog unit -- but others chose this pathway for the first time as 10th-graders and are just as new to it as a 9th-grader would be. Don't assume everyone already has the Unit 1-3 vocabulary and CPP account from last semester: use the two-track review built into this lesson, and keep pairing new students with continuing ones as informal peer mentors through the projects ahead.
🎯 Today's Big Question
- What is ahead in the hands-on half of Digital Media Design, and where does each of us stand coming in?
📈 By the End of Today, You Will Be Able To
- Self-identify as either continuing (completed the analog Semester A) or new to the Digital Design pathway this term.
- Recall or preview the analog fundamentals (elements/principles, client & designer vocabulary) at the right depth for their group.
- Preview the projects ahead: 3D modeling, Photoshop production work, and a portfolio website.
- Confirm their Career Pathways (CPP) account information is still accurate and up to date.
🧰 What You'll Need
- Chromebook/computer with internet access
- Semester 1 portfolio (for continuing students)
📋 Your Plan for Today
- Do Now + quick show of hands: who is continuing from Semester A, and who is new to Digital Design this term? Note the split so later activities can be grouped accordingly (5 min).
- Two-track review (10 min): continuing students pair up and quiz each other on 3-4 vocabulary terms from last semester; new students get a condensed one-page preview of the core Unit 1-3 vocabulary (audience, copyright, project management, design principles) with a continuing student as a peer mentor if possible.
- Preview the semester together: show finished examples of the keychain, business card, pin, recipe poster, ink portrait, and portfolio website projects ahead (15 min).
- CPP account check-in: continuing students confirm their existing account info is current; new students complete first-time signup (school code, personal email, parent/guardian contact) with support (15 min).
📚 Key Words
- Portfolio Website
- An online collection of a designer's work, used to showcase skills to colleges or employers.
- Production
- Creating finished, ready-to-use design work (as opposed to sketches or drafts).
✅ What Your Finished Work Should Include
Informal check: every student can name at least 2 projects coming up this semester.
Exit Ticket: Write one goal for this semester -- something specific you want to improve or create.
📊 Before You Leave
Quick, anonymous class check-in -- takes less than a minute.
🎓 ACP Exam Prep
This lesson connects to the Photoshop Adobe Certified Professional exam: Domain 1: Working in the Design Industry
🔗 Want to Learn More?
🚀 The Extra Mile
Cross-Class Connection: The same goal-setting exercise an Advisory class runs at the start of a new year.
Career Connection: A quick gut-check against the Careers hub now, before a year of hands-on work, makes every project after this one more intentional.
Go further -- turn this into a portfolio piece:
- Write a one-page "year two goals" plan naming one specific career from the hub and three skills you want to build toward it. Start here: open the Careers hub and pick the one career page first, then work backward to your three skills — don't pick skills and try to find a career that fits them after.
- Design a personal "skills tracker" poster or spreadsheet cover you'll actually update all year. Start here: list the actual units and skills on this year's syllabus before designing anything, so the tracker has real categories instead of placeholder ones.