Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 12 • Phase 2, Unit S1: Studio Orientation

Welcome to the Studio: What Is a Design Agency?

Today's focus: Welcome to the Studio: What Is a Design Agency?

✅ Before Students Arrive

Materials needed today:
- Notebook/journal
- A real studio's "about" page or portfolio site (teacher-provided example)
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, add your best finished or in-progress yearbook (or, later, studio) work to your portfolio with a 1-2 sentence caption -- and once you're in the Design Studio phase, a photo of the piece in its real, installed location if possible. This is the same evidence trail you'll use for Archive & Portfolio and any PBAT/portfolio review.

🗣️ Opening: Do Now

Write or project this, and have students start immediately:

“If you were hiring a 3-person design team, what 3 roles would you want on it, and why?”

📋 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: how a real design studio is organized and how ours will run this semester (15 min).
Step 2 — 15 min

🗣️ Say: "Here's what we're doing next." Then read the instructions below to the class.

📋 Resource tour: walk through the studio's actual equipment -- large-format printer, photo printer, 3D printer, cameras -- and what each is good for (15 min).
Step 3 — 15 min

🗣️ Say: "Let's hear from a few people before we move on."

📋 Discussion + sign-up: students identify which role(s) they're most drawn to for the semester ahead (15 min).

🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today

Design Studio / Agency: A team of designers who take on client work as their business.
Creative/Project Manager: The role that keeps a job on schedule and communicates with the client.
Production Lead: The role responsible for actually printing, 3D printing, or exporting the final deliverable.

✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket

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

“Which studio role are you most excited to take on first, and why?”

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: ______________________________