Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 11 • Unit B: A Brief History of Design

The Swiss Style & the Grid System — Day 1 of 2

Today's focus: History & Analysis

⚠️ Heads-Up: Why history, in a design class

Every principle we use today -- grids, minimalism, bold color, expressive type -- was invented by someone responding to their own moment in history. Knowing where a technique came from helps you use it on purpose instead of by accident.

✅ Before Students Arrive

Materials needed today:
- Printed/projected examples for the movement
- Drawing/collage paper
- Pencils, scissors, glue, markers
Most students keep their class notebook at its usual spot in the room and use it every day (see routine below) -- but it's each student's own notebook, so a few may bring theirs from home instead. Either way, everyone should have one out.
Write today's Do Now on the board before the bell rings (see below).

📓 Daily Notebook Routine (students already know this)

Keep this going every day, in your class notebook: date today's entry, jot your Do Now response, add any new vocabulary word(s) from today's Key Vocabulary section (word + a quick picture + a simple definition in your own words), and take 60 seconds to sketch something connected to today's topic. This notebook is yours to study from, reference on projects, and pull evidence from later for your portfolio.

📁 Portfolio Update Reminder

Once a week (e.g. every Friday, or your class's last meeting of the week), add your best finished or in-progress work to a running portfolio folder with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, what skill or standard it shows. This becomes your formal Google Sites portfolio in Unit F -- keep it current all year so you're not scrambling right before your PBAT and portfolio review.

🗣️ Opening: Do Now

Write or project this, and have students start immediately:

“.”

📋 Class Plan (step by step)

Step 1 — 15 min

🗣️ Say: "Today we're looking at ___." Then walk through the point(s) below at the front of the room.

📋 Mini-lesson (15 min): the movement's historical context and visual traits.
Step 2 — 10 min

🗣️ Say: "Let's do the first one together, then you'll try the rest on your own."

📋 Guided analysis (10 min): as a class, annotate one real example together, identifying specific techniques.
Step 3 — 15 min

🗣️ Say: "Now it's your turn -- work on your own (or with your table) on the following."

📋 Independent analysis (15 min): annotate 2 more real examples on your own, identifying specific techniques.

🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today

International Typographic Style (Swiss Style): A design movement from 1950s Switzerland emphasizing grids, sans-serif type, and objective clarity.
Grid System: An underlying structure of columns and rows that keeps layout elements aligned and consistent.

✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket

A few minutes before the bell, say: "Time to finish your exit ticket."

“Name one specific technique from today's movement you could actually use in a future project.”

Collect exit tickets (or have students leave them in the usual spot) for the regular teacher to review.

⏳ If You're Short on Time

Protect the Do Now and the Exit Ticket above all else -- those are how the regular teacher tracks daily progress. If a step above is optional/homework, or is a "share out"/discussion step, shorten or skip it first.

⏳ If Students Finish Early

Have them keep working in their notebook: add extra detail to today's vocabulary sketch, review previous vocabulary, or -- if this is a portfolio update week for this class -- work on their portfolio. Early finishers should never be idle or distracting to classmates still working.

📝 For the Regular Teacher (fill in ahead of time)

Regular teacher's name / how to reach them: ______________________________
Where finished work / exit tickets go: ______________________________
Front office extension / emergency contact: ______________________________
Anything else this class needs to know today: ______________________________