10th Grade — Unit 9: Photoshop Production Projects: Creating Business Cards with Photoshop

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: Computer with Photoshop, Business card size reference (3.5" x 2"), Printer (optional, for proofs).
If today includes physical/hands-on work: make sure the classroom cameras are charged, working, and have a cleared SD card ready for photo uploads.
Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.

🖥️ Slide Deck (project or share with students)

Short, on-the-board pacing slides for today's Do Now, agenda, vocabulary, and exit ticket -- the full detail lives in the handout above, not here.

🧑‍🏫 Substitute Teacher Guide

A scripted, step-by-step runsheet for today's class -- hand this to anyone covering the room who doesn't know the daily routine.

🎯 Essential Question

How do we design a professional business card that represents a personal or invented brand?

📈 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson (3 Days), students will be able to:

Identify the Rulers and Guides options in Photoshop and list the steps to create them.
Design a simple, easy-to-read business card with the right amount of information.
Use Photoshop's built-in shape and type tools to build a finished, print-ready card.

📐 Standards Alignment

CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)

CDOS 2 — Integrated Learning -- students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
CDOS 3a — Universal Foundation Skills -- basic literacy, communication, and problem-solving skills required for a career.
CDOS 3b — Career Majors -- knowledge and skills required for success within a specific career pathway (here, Digital Design).

ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives

ACP 2.3 — Use non-printing design tools in the interface to aid in design or workflow.
ACP 4.1 — Use core tools and features to create visual elements.
ACP 4.2 — Add and manipulate text using appropriate typographic settings.

🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 2: Project Setup and Interface · Domain 4: Creating and Modifying Visual Elements

📚 Key Vocabulary

Rulers & Guides: Non-printing lines in Photoshop used to align elements precisely.
Business Card: A small printed card sharing a person or business's name, contact info, and brand.
Brand Identity: The visual system (logo, colors, fonts) a person or business uses to present itself consistently.

🧰 Materials & Tools

Computer with Photoshop
Business card size reference (3.5" x 2")
Printer (optional, for proofs)

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

What is the ONE piece of information a business card can never be missing?

📤 How You Submit This — For Credit

How you submit today's work depends on what kind of work it was. Physical/paper work (most of this semester so far): photograph it with a classroom camera, upload the photo from its SD card onto a computer, and save it into your portfolio -- that upload is your submission, and the physical piece itself is yours to keep, the same as in Grade 9 (your notebook is the one thing with a home base in the room, and even that's your call to bring home when you want it). Digital work (once you're producing files in Photoshop, second semester on): no camera needed -- instead, EXPORT the file. Export your finished project as a JPG, as a PNG, AND save a copy as a PSD (all three), then upload all three into your portfolio. Either way: the portfolio upload, with a description, is what actually counts as turning the assignment in for credit.

📁 Portfolio Update — Once a Week

Once a week, add your best finished or in-progress piece to your portfolio (the Google Drive folder you started in Grade 9, becoming your Google Sites portfolio in Lesson 10) with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, what tool/skill it used, and one thing you learned. Keep it current -- don't save it all for the portfolio-website lesson.

✍️ Example description for your Google Sites portfolio (fill in YOUR blanks -- don't just copy this):

For this piece, I made ______________ (name what you made) for “Creating Business Cards with Photoshop.” This project asked: “How do we design a professional business card that represents a personal or invented brand?” I used Rulers & Guides by ______________ (explain how you used it in THIS piece). The hardest part was ______________, and I solved it by ______________. I'm proud of ______________ because ______________.

📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence

This lesson spans 3 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	Plan	Do Now (5 min): what's the ONE piece of information a business card can never be missing? Mini-lesson (10 min): what makes a business card design "good" -- simple, readable, the right amount of information. Independent planning (25 min): decide on a personal or invented business identity (name, role, contact info, simple logo) and sketch a layout on paper. Share (5 min).
Day 2	Build	Do Now (5 min): review your paper sketch. Mini-lesson/demo (10 min): demo setting up rulers and guides in Photoshop. Independent build (25 min): build your card using shape and type tools, using rulers/guides for alignment. Save progress (5 min).
Day 3	Finalize & Critique	Do Now (5 min): is your card simple and readable? Check with a partner. Peer critique (10 min): feedback on readability and design. Final revisions (20 min): revise based on feedback. Export (10 min).

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Business card scored with a rubric: simple and readable, correct information included, rulers/guides used for alignment.

Exit Ticket: What makes a business card design "good" versus "cluttered"?

📊 Pull up the anonymous Class Check-In for students to fill out before they go.

🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations

English Language Learners: provide translated or bilingual glossaries, visuals, and sentence frames; pair with a peer for meaningful participation. Students with IEPs: provide extended time, step-by-step checklists, and one-on-one or small-group support as specified in each student's plan. Attention-related needs: break the task into smaller steps, use visual timers, and minimize distractions. Students who finish early: extend the task by adding a second design variation, mentoring a classmate, or writing a short reflection connecting today's skill to a career pathway.