🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep
- Gather/set out: Printed samples of real flyers/posters/apps (some accessible, some not), Colored pencils or markers, A simple color-contrast checker (printed reference chart).
- 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.
🧑🏫 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 design so people with different vision, hearing, or reading needs can still understand our work?
📈 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson (2 Days), students will be able to:
- Explain why color contrast matters for readers with low vision or color blindness.
- Identify at least 3 real accessibility problems in a sample design (text too small, low contrast, color-only meaning).
- Redesign a sample piece applying at least 2 accessibility fixes.
📐 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 1.5 — 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
- Accessibility
- Designing so people with different abilities (vision, hearing, reading level) can still use and understand the work.
- Color Contrast
- The difference in lightness between text and its background -- too little makes text hard to read for everyone, especially low-vision readers.
- Color Blindness
- A condition where certain colors (often red/green) are hard to tell apart -- designs that use color ALONE to show meaning can lose these readers.
🧰 Materials & Tools
- Printed samples of real flyers/posters/apps (some accessible, some not)
- Colored pencils or markers
- A simple color-contrast checker (printed reference chart)
🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)
Look at the nearest sign or poster in the room. Would someone with low vision be able to read it from across the room? Why or why not?
📋 Main Workshop / Lesson Sequence
This lesson spans 2 Days. Suggested pacing:
| Day | Focus | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Spotting the Problems | Do Now (5 min, above). Mini-lesson (12 min): color contrast, color blindness, and text size, with real examples of designs that fail each one. Guided practice (10 min): as a class, find and label accessibility problems on one sample. Independent practice (15 min): find and label at least 3 accessibility problems on a different sample, in writing. Share (3 min). |
| Day 2 | Redesign for Accessibility | Do Now (5 min): name one accessibility problem from yesterday's samples. Redesign workshop (30 min): hand-redesign a sample piece, applying at least 2 accessibility fixes (bigger/bolder text, higher contrast, a label or pattern added alongside color). Written explanation (5 min): what you changed and why. Gallery share (5 min). |
✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket
Redesign + written explanation scored with a rubric checking for at least 2 real, correctly-applied accessibility fixes.
Exit Ticket: Name one accessibility fix you applied and explain, in one sentence, who it helps and why.
📊 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.