Grade 12 • Lesson 5 of 43 — Day 1 of 3
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Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 12 • Phase 1, Unit Y2: Content Collection

Planning & Running In-School Photoshoots — Day 1 of 3

Today's focus: Plan

⚠️ Heads-Up: Plan With Teachers, Not Around Them -- and Know the Content Rules

Every in-school photoshoot needs a teacher's advance permission and a plan that fits into their class rather than disrupting it -- coordinate the exact time, location, and how long you'll need well before shoot day, not after the fact. A teacher who wasn't given a heads-up (and whose class got interrupted because of it) is far less likely to say yes next time. Every photo also has to follow the school's content policy before it can be printed: only a peace sign or a thumbs-up are acceptable hand gestures in a yearbook photo. Any other hand sign means that specific photo doesn't get printed -- and enough violations put the entire yearbook's printing at risk. Make sure every student knows this rule before a camera comes out, at every single shoot.

✅ Before Students Arrive

📓 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:

“What could go wrong on shoot day if we don't plan ahead?”

📋 Class Plan (step by step)

  1. Step 1 — 25 min

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

    📋 Planning (25 min): as a class, reach out to the teachers whose rooms or class time we'd need, schedule shoot dates/locations only once they've said yes, and assign roles (photographer, line coordinator, spreadsheet check-in) for each session.

  2. Step 2 — 5 min

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

    📋 Confirm (5 min): double-check the full plan with our own teacher, and review the photo content policy (peace sign or thumbs-up only) so everyone knows it before shoot day.

🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today

Photoshoot
A planned, organized session for capturing photos, as opposed to unplanned candid photos.
Backdrop
A simple, consistent background used behind subjects so portraits look uniform.

✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket

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

“How many students were missing a photo after our first shoot day, and what was our plan to catch them?”

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)