Substitute Teacher Guide • Grade 9 • Unit 3: Elements & Principles of Design Studio
How to Talk About Design: Critique Language & the Growth Mindset — Day 1 of 2
Today's focus: Learning the Language
✅ Before Students Arrive
- Materials needed today:
- Printed vague-vs-specific feedback examples
- One shared sample piece (printed) for guided practice
- Sticky notes
- An early sketch/doodle from earlier this year, for self-critique practice
- 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), photograph or save your best finished or in-progress piece from that week into your portfolio folder (a physical folder for now, or a Google Drive folder once one is set up) with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, and one skill it shows. In Grade 10 this becomes your Google Sites portfolio -- keep adding to it weekly from here on so you're not trying to reconstruct a whole semester of work at the end.
🗣️ Opening: Do Now
Write or project this, and have students start immediately:
“Someone once told you "this is good" about something you made. Did that comment actually help you improve it? Why or why not?”
📋 Class Plan (step by step)
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Step 1 — 12 min
🗣️ Say: "Today we're looking at ___." Then walk through the point(s) below at the front of the room.
📋 Mini-lesson (12 min): why critique is a normal part of the professional design process, not an insult -- introduce the "I notice / I wonder" protocol side by side with vague comments ("I like it" vs. "I notice the dark line stands out sharply against the white background, which is the first thing my eye goes to. I wonder what would happen if you used that same dark line somewhere else in the piece too.").
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Step 2 — 15 min
🗣️ Say: "Let's do the first one together, then you'll try the rest on your own."
📋 Guided practice (15 min): as a class, critique one shared sample piece together using the protocol, naming real elements/principles vocabulary already learned (line, shape, contrast, balance).
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Step 3 — 10 min
🗣️ Say: "Now it's your turn -- work on your own (or with your table) on the following."
📋 Independent practice (10 min): write 2 "I notice / I wonder" sentences about a piece of your own earlier work -- this is self-critique.
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Step 4 — 3 min
🗣️ Say: "Let's hear from a few people before we move on."
📋 Share (3 min).
🔑 Vocabulary Introduced Today
- Critique
- Structured, specific feedback on a piece of work, focused on what's working and what could grow -- not personal criticism.
- Self-Critique
- Looking honestly at your own work before anyone else sees it, and naming what you would change yourself.
- Iteration / Draft
- Any version of a piece of work that is expected to change -- the first idea is a starting point, not a final answer.
✅ Wrap-Up: Exit Ticket
A few minutes before the bell, say: "Time to finish your exit ticket."
“Rewrite this vague comment into a specific one using "I notice / I wonder": "I like it, it's cool."”
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: ______________________________