🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Computer with Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva, Final (or best-estimate) page count, for spine width, Class theme/mood board, if one exists, Printer/vendor's spine-width chart (reference).
- Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.
- Heads-up -- This is a community project: Unlike a solo studio project, the yearbook only works if the whole class communicates, follows through on assigned sections, and treats classmates as teammates rather than competitors. Build in real check-ins, not just a due date.
🧑🏫 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
- Day 3: 📋 Open Substitute Guide
This is a community project
Unlike a solo studio project, the yearbook only works if the whole class communicates, follows through on assigned sections, and treats classmates as teammates rather than competitors. Build in real check-ins, not just a due date.
🎯 Essential Question
- How do we design a front cover, spine, and back cover that work as one wraparound design representing the whole book?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (3 Days), students will be able to:
- Explain why a book cover is built as a single wraparound canvas (front + spine + back), and why spine width can't be finalized until the page count is locked.
- Sketch and build a print-ready cover concept that represents the whole year and school identity, not just one section.
- Get the cover concept formally approved by the teacher before interior section layouts begin production.
📐 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).
Industry Standards (CCTC)
- AR-VIS 3-1 — Analyze art elements and principles of two-dimensional works of visual art in various media, including a branding-style project such as a poster, label, or logo.
- AR-PRT 2-5 — Apply appropriate software programs in design and production; examine digital proofing technologies.
📚 Key Vocabulary
- Wraparound Cover
- A single continuous design spanning the front cover, spine, and back cover as one canvas, instead of three separate pieces.
- Spine
- The narrow edge of a bound book connecting the front and back covers -- its width depends on the final page count and paper thickness, so it can't be locked in until the page count is.
- Cover Concept
- An early visual direction for the cover, pitched and approved before full production begins -- since the whole rest of the book's visual system usually takes its cue from whatever the cover establishes.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Computer with Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva
- Final (or best-estimate) page count, for spine width
- Class theme/mood board, if one exists
- Printer/vendor's spine-width chart (reference)
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
If you were judging yearbook covers, what's the first thing that makes you pick one book over another before you even open it?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 3 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Concept & Sketch | Do Now (5 min, above). Mini-lesson (10 min): why a cover is one wraparound canvas (front + spine + back), not three separate designs, and why spine width depends on the final page count. Sketch (25 min): sketch 2-3 rough cover concepts by hand, each representing the whole year/school identity rather than any one section. Pitch & vote (8 min): pitch concepts to the class (or a cover committee) and settle on one direction. |
| Day 2 | Build the Wraparound | Do Now (5 min): what page count are we estimating, and what spine width does that give us? Demo (8 min): set up one canvas sized for front cover + spine + back cover using the estimated spine width. Build (27 min): build out the front cover design in full. Save progress (5 min). |
| Day 3 | Finish, Approve & Export | Do Now (5 min). Build (20 min): complete the back cover and spine text/logo. Teacher approval (10 min): submit the finished concept for formal sign-off before it locks in. Export (10 min): export print-ready at the vendor's exact specifications. |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Cover scored with a rubric: works as one cohesive wraparound design, spine sized correctly for the estimated page count, represents the whole book rather than one section, and formally approved before interior layout production begins.
Exit Ticket: What's one way your cover reflects THIS specific year, rather than yearbook design trends in general?
📊 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.