9th Grade — Unit 1: The Client & The Designer: Copyright, Licensing & Fair Use

🗓️ Before Class: Teacher Prep

Gather/set out: Printed scenario cards (at least 14, mixing clearly-OK / needs-license / fair-use situations), Sorting mat (3 columns, paper), Chart paper, One additional real-world case-study handout for Day 2.
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

How does copyright affect what images and content a designer is allowed to use?

📈 Learning Objectives

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

Define copyright, licensing, fair use, and Creative Commons.
Sort real-world scenario cards into 'OK to use,' 'Needs a license,' and 'Fair use exception.'
Explain why crediting an image is NOT the same as having permission to use it.

📐 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 1.3 — Determine the type of copyright, permissions, and licensing required to use specific content.

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

📚 Key Vocabulary

Copyright: The exclusive legal right of a creator to publish, reproduce, and control their own original work.
Licensing: Gaining official permission to use someone else's copyrighted work, often for a fee or under specific conditions.
Fair Use: A legal exception that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, commentary, teaching, or research.
Creative Commons: A licensing system that lets creators pre-approve certain public uses of their work.
Royalty-Free: Content that can be used after a one-time payment or for free, without ongoing fees, under the license's terms.

🧰 Materials & Tools

Printed scenario cards (at least 14, mixing clearly-OK / needs-license / fair-use situations)
Sorting mat (3 columns, paper)
Chart paper
One additional real-world case-study handout for Day 2

🧠 Do Now (Warm-Up)

How does copyright affect what YOU are allowed to post online? Write 2-3 sentences about a time you saw this come up (a video, an image, a song).

📤 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	Copyright & Licensing Basics	Do Now + share-out (5 min). Mini-lesson (12 min): what is copyright, and what happens if you break it? Introduce licensing and Fair Use as the two ways around it. REMEMBER, write on the board and have students copy (5 min): giving credit in the caption or metadata is NOT the same as getting permission -- it can still lead to legal trouble. Small groups (15 min): sort the first half of the scenario cards into the 3-column mat, discussing as they go. Whole-class check (8 min): review the 2 trickiest cards together.
Day 2	Applying Copyright Rules	Do Now (5 min): define Fair Use in your own words, no notes. Small groups (15 min): sort the remaining scenario cards into the mat. Whole-class review (10 min): correct any remaining misconceptions. Case study (10 min): given a real classroom scenario (using an image found online for a class project), decide what's needed -- a license, a Fair Use argument, or nothing -- and write a 2-sentence justification. Exit ticket (5 min): 3-question written check on copyright vs. licensing vs. fair use.

✅ Assessment & Exit Ticket

Sorting mat photographed/collected; a 3-question written check for understanding on copyright vs. licensing vs. fair use.

Exit Ticket: In your own words, what's the difference between licensing an image and claiming fair use?

📊 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.