11th Grade — Unit E.5: Extension & Enrichment (Optional): Writing a Process Narrative for Your Portfolio

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: A finished project from this year (any medium), Portfolio (draft captions, if any exist already).
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.

Day 1

Open / download this slide PDF

Day 2

Open / download this slide PDF

🧑‍🏫 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.

Day 1: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
Day 2: 📋 Open Substitute Guide

🎯 Essential Question

How do we write a short case-study caption that explains a project's process, not just what it looks like?

📈 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:

Explain why a portfolio caption needs to describe process and decisions, not just describe the final image.
Draft a process narrative (problem, decisions, outcome) for one finished project.
Revise the narrative based on peer feedback for clarity and specificity.

📐 Standards Alignment

CDOS (Career Development & Occupational Studies)

CDOS 1 — Career Development -- students will be able to explain the range of career choices, and identify personal interests, skills, and aptitudes that relate to those choices.
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 1.2 — Communicate with colleagues and clients about design plans.
ACP 1.4 — Demonstrate knowledge of key terminology related to digital images.

🎓 Study this for the ACP exam: Domain 1: Working in the Design Industry

📚 Key Vocabulary

Process Narrative: A short piece of writing explaining the problem a project solved, the key decisions made, and why -- not just what the finished piece looks like.
Specificity: Naming the exact choice and reason, instead of a vague general statement -- what separates a strong caption from a weak one.

🧰 Materials & Tools

A finished project from this year (any medium)
Portfolio (draft captions, if any exist already)

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

Read this caption: "I made a poster. I think it looks good." What does it NOT tell you about the actual work?

📁 Portfolio Update — Once a Week

Once a week (e.g. every Friday, or your class's last meeting of the week), add your best finished or in-progress work to a running portfolio folder with a 1-2 sentence caption: what it is, what skill or standard it shows. This becomes your formal Google Sites portfolio in Unit F -- keep it current all year so you're not scrambling right before your PBAT and portfolio review.

✍️ 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 “Writing a Process Narrative for Your Portfolio.” This project asked: “How do we write a short case-study caption that explains a project's process, not just what it looks like?” I used Process Narrative 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 2 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	Problem, Decisions, Outcome	Do Now (5 min, above). Mini-lesson (10 min): the 3-part process narrative structure (problem the project solved, 2-3 key decisions and why, the outcome/what you'd do differently). Model (8 min): teacher models turning a vague caption into a specific process narrative for a sample project. Draft (22 min): draft a process narrative for one of your own finished projects.
Day 2	Peer Feedback & Revision	Do Now (5 min): read your draft out loud to yourself -- does it sound specific or vague? Peer feedback (15 min): swap drafts with a partner and give one specific note on where it needs more detail. Revise (20 min): revise your narrative based on the feedback. Post to portfolio (5 min): add the finished narrative as that project's caption.

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Process narrative scored with a rubric: names the problem, at least 2 specific decisions with reasoning, and an honest outcome/reflection -- not just a description of the image.

Exit Ticket: Which of your 3 parts (problem, decisions, outcome) was hardest to write, and why?

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

🧩 Differentiation & Accommodations

English Language Learners: model every step live, then check in one-on-one; provide translated materials and vocabulary support as needed. Students with IEPs: apply the accommodations and modifications listed in each student's plan (examples include extended time, graphic organizers, speech-to-text tools, chunked instructions, and visual schedules). Students with attention-related needs: break tasks into short, checklist-driven steps and provide brief movement or focus breaks. Students ready for a challenge: take on a leadership role critiquing peers' work, extend the project with a second iteration, or research how today's skill is used professionally in the field.

🔗 Resources & References

None beyond this lesson's materials.