9th Grade — Unit 2: Understanding Digital Images: Behind the Image: File Types, Resolution & Visual Hierarchy

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: File-format sorting cards (JPG/PNG/TIFF use-case scenarios), Printed posters/pages for hierarchy annotation, Highlighters or colored pencils.
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.
Print today's student handouts (see 🖨️ Student Handouts below) in the language versions your class needs.
Pull up today's slide deck (see 🖥️ Slide Deck below) so it's ready to project.

🖨️ Student Handouts (print, one per class day)

Word + picture + definition + a short writing task for that day's vocabulary, in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese.

Day 1: EN · ES · FR · AR · ZH
Day 2: EN · ES · FR · AR · ZH

🖥️ 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

Why do designers choose different file types and resolutions for print vs. web vs. video, and how do they guide the eye through a page?

📈 Learning Objectives

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

Distinguish between JPG, PNG, and TIFF file formats and identify a real-world use for each.
Explain why print resolution (DPI) and screen resolution serve different purposes.
Define visual hierarchy and identify the focal point in a printed design.

📐 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.

ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) Photoshop Exam Objectives

ACP 1.4 — Demonstrate knowledge of key terminology related to digital images.
ACP 1.5 — Demonstrate knowledge of basic design principles and best practices employed in the design industry.

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

📚 Key Vocabulary

JPG: A common, smaller image file that compresses (slightly loses quality) to save space -- most everyday photos.
PNG: An image file that supports transparent backgrounds and loses no quality; common for web graphics.
TIFF: A high-quality, uncompressed file format favored for print and professional photography.
DPI (Dots Per Inch): A measure of print resolution -- higher DPI means a sharper printed image.
PPI (Pixels Per Inch): The standard designers actually set: images for the web are saved at 72 PPI, images for print at 300 PPI.
Visual Hierarchy: The intentional arrangement of a design so the eye sees the most important information first.
Focal Point: The place in a design where the eye is drawn first.

🧰 Materials & Tools

File-format sorting cards (JPG/PNG/TIFF use-case scenarios)
Printed posters/pages for hierarchy annotation
Highlighters or colored pencils

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

What image file types have you heard of before? List as many as you can in 60 seconds.

📤 How You Submit This — For Credit

Your physical projects don't stay in the classroom past the day you finish them -- you're responsible for your own completed work, the same way you'd be responsible for it in any job. The one exception is your class notebook: it has its own designated spot in the room (ask your teacher exactly where), and most students leave it there day to day -- but it's yours, so if you'd rather keep it with you or bring it home to study from, that's your call. Either way, always know where your own notebook actually is. Before a finished physical piece leaves your hands for good: ask your teacher for one of the classroom cameras, photograph your finished (or in-progress) work, then plug that camera's SD card into a classroom computer and upload the photo into your portfolio folder. That uploaded photo, with a short caption, IS your submission for credit -- the photo is what gets kept and graded, not the physical piece.

📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence

This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:

Day	Focus	Plan
Day 1	File Types & Resolution	Do Now + share-out (5 min). Mini-lesson (10 min): JPG vs. PNG vs. TIFF, and when a designer would pick each. Mini-lesson (10 min): why a poster needs more DPI than a phone screen -- the real numbers designers use are 72 PPI for web and 300 PPI for print. Sorting activity (15 min): match file-format cards to the correct use-case scenario. Quick share (5 min).
Day 2	Visual Hierarchy & Focal Point	Do Now (5 min): which file format is best for print? For the web? Mini-lesson (12 min): visual hierarchy and focal point, with a printed poster example. Annotation activity (20 min): number the order your eye travels across a printed poster/page, from 1 (first) onward, and highlight the focal point. Exit ticket (8 min).

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Sorting cards + annotated poster collected and checked against an answer key.

Exit Ticket: Pick one file format from today and explain, in one sentence, why a designer would choose it over the other two.

📊 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.