Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 9 • Unit 2: Understanding Digital Images
Typography & Color Basics — Day 1 of 2
Today's focus: Typography Basics
✅ Before Students Arrive
- Materials needed today:
- Printed type samples (good and bad contrast/legibility examples)
- Blank color wheel template (paper)
- Crayons or colored pencils (primary + secondary colors)
- Hand-lettering practice sheet
- 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.
🗣️ Opening: Do Now
Write or project this, and have students start immediately:
“What do you already know about fonts or lettering? Have you ever picked a font for a project before?”
📋 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): typeface vs. font, kerning, leading, serif vs. sans-serif -- with printed good/bad readability examples. Rule to remember: type exists to be read, not just to look fancy (never sacrifice legibility for style).
-
Step 2 — 15 min
🗣️ Say: "Here's what we're doing next." Then read the instructions below to the class.
📋 Hand-lettering practice (15 min): write your name or a short word in 2 very different letter styles. Share + quick vocab check (10 min).
🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today
- Typeface / Font
- A typeface is a family of letter designs (like Helvetica); a font is a specific style/weight/size within that family.
- Kerning
- The spacing adjustment between individual letters.
- Leading
- The vertical spacing between lines of text.
- Serif / Sans-Serif
- Serif fonts have small decorative strokes at the ends of letters; sans-serif fonts do not.
✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket
A few minutes before the bell, say: "Time to finish your exit ticket."
“Name one "rule" about type or color from today, and explain what could go wrong if a designer ignores it.”
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: ______________________________