Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy

UNIT PLAN OVERVIEW

(Revised 2021)

Teacher Candidate Margaret Derrig

School Olentangy Orange High School

UNIT TITLE Photoshop Portals

Length of Class Period 50 minutes
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 20
Grade Level or Course Title Photography 2 & Up
Beginning Date for this Unit November 8th
Ending Date for this Unit November 15th

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

Critical and Creative Thinking: Students combine and apply artistic and reasoning skills to
imagine, create, realize and refine artworks in conventional and innovative ways.

PROGRESS POINTS (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

C. Connect making art with individual choice and understanding personal cultural identity.
D. Produce artworks that express and represent their experiences, imagination and ideas
using a range of media including new technologies.

CRITICAL ISSUE / BIG IDEA

A).Anticipatory Set (what do the students already know)
B). Rationale (why is this lesson relevant?)
A). The Photo 2 & Up classes are made up of students at varying levels (2-7), so students are
coming into it with varying amounts of experience with photography and the different software
we use, like Photoshop and Snapseed. In Photo 1, students learn the basics of photography
and using their cameras. They learn about the different camera settings and how they impact
the photos they take, like aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, etc. They also learn how to
edit their photos with some basic post-processing techniques. The students in the higher
levels have expanded on these concepts more and have more experience with photography
and the post-process editing, although their specific experiences vary depending on the
projects they are working on. In the higher levels, students have more freedom in the projects
they work on and can create their own projects by backing it up with research and
brainstorming.

B). I wanted to do a lesson with a focus on Photoshop and the manipulation and combination
of their photographs to create a new final image. Because the Photo 2 & Up classes consist
of students at varying levels, I think it’s important when doing a full class project that there is
enough structure for the level 2 students, but that it is also open enough for the students in
the higher levels to be able to incorporate different techniques, ideas, themes, etc., that they
might be interested in.
I wanted the emphasis to be on editing and manipulating their images in Photoshop because
of the varying amounts of experience the students have with it. Even the students who are
level 3 or higher might not have a lot of experience with Photoshop and manipulating their

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photos in that way based on the projects they have worked on in the other classes. Students
aren’t always required to do a lot of post-process editing depending on the projects they do. I
think that knowing how to use Photoshop is a very important tool for anyone interested in
photography because it opens new possibilities for the kinds of images you can create. Not
every student/photographer likes to use Photoshop for manipulation outside of basic editing,
however, I think it is important for students to learn how to use it and to see the different types
of things you can do in it because it might inspire them. I think it is also important because
students might have ideas for a project but won’t try it because they are unsure how to go
about it, but if they have some knowledge about Photoshop and the different ways you can
use it, it might give them a place to start or at least let them know there might be a way to go
about it because they know of other things you can do with it.

Central Focus (creating, presenting, interpreting, responding, and/or relating art to context)
The purpose of this unit is for the students to get more experience working with photoshop
and to explore the ways they can combine and manipulate multiple photos to create one final
image. There are endless possibilities for the types of images that students can make in
Photoshop, but they first need to learn how to use the program and the tools. This lesson
introduces them to some of the tools and processes that are available to them in Photoshop
and teaches them how to use them.
The other purpose of this project is to promote creative thinking and get the students to come
up with multiple different ideas that interest them. Creative thinking skills are one of the most
important qualities that companies are looking for in their employees today, so it is important
that students are working on these skills, and the art classroom is one of the best
environments for this.

Essential Questions (provocative, engaging, critical)

1. What effects can you create by manipulating images in photoshop?
2. How can simple editing in photoshop result in surreal images?

Possible Integration
English – Creating a short story based on the image you create

DESCRIPTION OF THE ESSENTIAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT OF THIS UNIT

Lesson One
Title Pre-Lesson: Related Artists
Lesson Before the students are introduced to the project they’ll do in class, I will
Description show a PowerPoint that introduces some art examples and artists that
create work that relates to the pieces they will make.

Approximately One day –

how long will this **I won’t be teaching this lesson, but I will share the PowerPoint with the
lesson take? students and give them the option to look at it before I teach lesson 2 so
they can get introduced to some artists that create work similar to the
pieces they will be creating.
Lesson Two
Title Photoshop “Portals”
Lesson Students will be using Photoshop to create surreal “portal” photographs
Description by combining two or more photographs that they took. On the first day, I
will introduce the project and the students will use class time to take

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 photographs for their projects. On the second day, I will give a demo of
how the students can use photoshop to create the “portal” images and
then they will have the rest of the class to work on their images. On the
last day, if needed, I will give the students more time to finish working on
their images, and then we will take the last 20 minutes of class to share
the images that the students created.

Approximately Three days –

how long will this Day 1: Introduction and shooting photographs
lesson take? Day 2: Photoshop demo and work time
Day 3: Work time
Day 4: Work time
Day 5: Critique
Lesson Three
Title N/A
Lesson
Description
Approximately
how long will this
lesson take?

Explain how technology has been used in this unit

The students will have the option to look over a PowerPoint for lesson 1 to get introduced to
some artists that create images like what they will be making. There will be links
Students will use the camera equipment provided for the classes to shoot their photographs,
and then will use photoshop to edit and combine their photos to create their final piece.

LESSON PLAN

Teacher Candidate Margaret Derrig

School Olentangy Orange High School

LESSON NUMBER 1
Lesson Title Pre-Lesson Artist Examples
Length of Class Period Outside of class
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 20
Grade Level or Couse title Photo 2 & Up
Beginning Date for this Lesson Outside of class
Ending Date for this Lesson November 8th

CONTENT STATEMENT – PERCEIVING/KNOWING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

(HS. Intermediate)
2PE. Describe sources visual artists use to generate ideas for artworks.
5PE. Explore the application of technology to the production of visual artworks.

CONTENT STATEMENT – PRODUCING/PERFORMING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

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N/A

CONTENT STATEMENT – RESPONDING/REFLECTING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

1RE. Apply methods of art criticism when discussing selected works of art.

Performance-based Assessment Objectives

1. Students will become familiar with some artists that create work that relates to the
images they will be creating in class.

Performance-based Assessment Strategies

(attach assessment documents if applicable)
1. Students will make notes of the artists and/or images that they are interested in /
inspired by so that they can think about them more once they are introduced to the
project.

Academic Language
Vocabulary (define each)
N/A

Additional Language Demands (specific communication task)

The students have a short writing assignment to complete with this lesson that they will bring
with them to class on Monday. There are two prompts to answer in response to the slideshow
they looked at.

Accommodations for Special Populations

Art/Visual Culture Examples (list all artists, artwork or media used)

Brooke Shaden
- hung out to dry
- skyward
- reflection: revolution
- reflection: departed
Laura Zalenga
- Thylacine
Joel Robinson
- Behind The Sky
- A New World
- flutter away
- Swept Up In The Sea
- Invisibilitea
Luisa Azevedo
- 4 images from Instagram

Preparations

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Materials/Resources for Teacher
- PowerPoint

Materials for Students

- PowerPoint

Safety Procedures
N/A

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Getting the Classroom Environment Ready
N/A

Procedures for the Teaching/Learning Structure (indicate approximate time for each step)
The PowerPoint will be available for the students to look at before we start our main lesson so
that they can be introduced to some artists who create work similar to what we will be doing in
class.
The students will be expected to complete the short writing assignment before they come into
class on Monday.

Clean-up Procedures (Room, Materials & Work Storage)

N/A

Closure, Review & Anticipation (what’s next?)

N/A

Supplemental Activity
N/A

Teacher reflection focused on the lesson after it has been taught

Lesson 1 Teaching & Learning materials

Include attachments of any resources, slide shows, teacher samples, and/or

assessments related to this lesson.

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 LESSON PLAN

Teacher Candidate Margaret Derrig

School Olentangy Orange High School

LESSON NUMBER 2
Lesson Title Photoshop Portals
Length of Class Period 50 min
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 20
Grade Level or Course Title Photo 2 & Up
Beginning Date for this Lesson November 8th
Ending Date for this Lesson November 15th

CONTENT STATEMENT – PERCEIVING/KNOWING

2PE. Describe sources visual artists use to generate ideas for artworks.
5PE. Explore the application of technology to the production of visual artworks.

CONTENT STATEMENT – PRODUCING/PERFORMING

2PR. Make informed choices in the selection of materials and techniques as they relate to
solving a visual problem.
5PR. Understand and demonstrate how to access available digital tools and innovative
technologies to create and manipulate artwork.

CONTENT STATEMENT – RESPONDING/REFLECTING

1RE. Apply methods of art criticism when discussing selected works of art.
5RE. Compare and contrast various theories of aesthetics and visual culture.
6RE. Identify the challenges various venues present to the creation of works of art.

Performance-based Assessment Objectives

1. Students will take a variety of photographs in different locations, so they have a large
bank of photographs to choose from for the project.
2. Students will use photoshop to create their portal photographs inspired by
photographs we looked at in class.
3. Students will demonstrate creative thinking by coming up with multiple ideas for their
final image.
Performance-based Assessment Strategies
(attach assessment documents if applicable)
1. Students will take at least ten photographs in at least four different locations.
2. Students will use photoshop to manipulate at least two photographs to create images
inspired by the portal photographs we looked at in class.
3. Students will write plans for at least three different portal photographs in their
sketchbook.

Academic Language
Vocabulary

Additional Language Demands (specific communication task)

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For the critique, the students will have to respond to two students’ images with one thing they
like and think works well, and one thing they think could be improved or a question they have.
Then we will have group discussions in class about the pieces and the project.

Accommodations for Special Populations

Art/Visual Culture Examples

- Artists and images from lesson 1 PowerPoint
- Images from Pinterest board for lesson
- Teacher examples

Preparations
Materials/Resources for Teacher
- PowerPoint
- Projector, Computer
- Photoshop
- Images to use for demo

Materials for Students

- Camera equipment:
- Camera body
- Lens
- Tripod (optional, but recommended)
- Frames (optional, but recommended) *will have to share in groups
- Photoshop, Computers

Safety Procedures
Students will be expected to act appropriately and responsibly while going around the school
to take photos for the project.
Students are expected to handle the camera equipment with care and to be appropriate and
responsible while using it.

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Getting the Classroom Environment Ready
- I’m going to have my PowerPoint, Photoshop, and my images for my demo pulled up
on the computer before the class starts
- I’ll bring in my frames

Procedures for the Teaching/Learning Structure (indicate approximate time for each step)

Day 1: [Monday, November 8th]

Introduction and Taking Photos

Duration Activities Resources Notes

5 min School Morning Announcement Projector, Computer
23 min Introduction: PowerPoint,
- Introduce myself Projector, Computer

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 - Introduce and explain the project
Timeline-
-Mon. Introduction and taking photos
-Tues. Photoshop Demo and practice
-Wed. Work time, check-in
-Fri. Work time, check-in, should be
wrapping up
-Mon. Critique (print photos)
Standards / Objectives-
- Briefly go over, these show that
what my goals are for you to learn
and do in this project
Homework-
- Quickly go over the slides and talk
about what they wrote for the
homework
Project Requirements/Guidelines-
- Four locations, ten photos at each
- Think about Perspective, Mood
- Photos should be good quality, no
setting requirements, any specific
settings should be intentional
- Three ideas for final images, only
one they have to turn in
- Combines at least two photos
- *can use found images as long as
you also use photos you took
yourself
20 min Students go out and take photos Camera equipment
- Students are encouraged to try Frames
using the frames while taking
photos, should be going to multiple
locations and trying different things
so they have options
2 min Wrap-up Class
Students will come back to the classroom
before class ends so they can put all of
the equipment back in its home before
leaving

Day 2: [Tuesday, November 9th]

Photoshop Demo

Duration Activities Resources Notes

5 min School Morning Announcement Projector, Computer
2 min Introduction: PowerPoint,
- Today I’ll show a demo of how the Projector, Computer
students can edit their photos to
create their final images

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 - Students will then start practicing
in photoshop with sample images I
provide or with their own photos
10 min Photoshop Demo: Photoshop
- Walk the students through their Projector, Computer
photoshop demo of ways that they
can go about editing their photos
together to create their final
images
30 min Student Work Time Camera equipment,
- Students will get the rest of class Computers,
time after the demo to work on Photoshop
their images
- I will walk around the classroom
and check in on students while
they work, offering help if students
get stuck and give feedback on
their progress
3 min Wrap-up Class Projector, Computer
- Tomorrow is a workday, they’ll
have most of class to continue
working on their images
- If you want to shoot more at the
start of class you can, however I
expect that everyone will at least
start editing their final image by
the end of class

Day 3: [Wednesday, November 10th]

Work Time

Duration Activities Resources Notes

5 min School Morning Announcement Projector, Computer
2 min Introduction: PowerPoint,
- Students will have most of class Projector, Computer
today to continue working
What they can be doing:
- Taking more photos
- Writing out their ideas/plans (will
need to write out three ideas by
the end of the project)
- Editing their photos
I’ll be walking around to check on
everyone and see how things are going,
see if anyone needs help, ask about their
ideas, etc
40 min Student work time Photoshop
- Students will use the rest of class Computers
time to work on their projects Camera equipment

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 - Everyone should be working on
the final image by the end of class
- I’ll walk around to see how
everyone is doing and help as
needed
3 min Wrap-up Class
- Should be making good progress
with their final images
- Everyone should be started on
their final image by now, if you
haven’t started on it yet you should
at least have a plan/ideas
- Friday is the last day to work on it
in class, work outside of class if
you need to
- Monday is the critique and
everyone needs to print their final
image so we can put them up for
the critique

Day 4: [Friday, November 12th]

Work Time

Duration Activities Resources Notes

5 min School Morning Announcement Projector, Computer
2 min Introduction: PowerPoint,
- Today is the last chance for work Projector, Computer
time in class
- Everyone should have started on
their final image by now
- We’ll be printing for the critique so
you should try to get to that point
by the end of class
- **if you aren’t done by the end of
class, you should have a plan of
how/when you’re going to finish it
(coming in during a
lunch/studyhall, working at home?)
40 min Student work time Photoshop
- Students will use the rest of class Computers
time to work on their projects
- Everyone should be started on
editing their final image, should be
finishing it up by the end of class
(or have a plan for how they’ll
finish it)
- I’ll walk around to see how
everyone is doing and help as
needed
3 min Wrap-up Class

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 - Monday is the critique; everyone
will need to have at least one
printed final image to put up for it
- My supervisor will be coming in on
Monday too to observe me, so I
want everyone to be ready to
participate and be engaged during
- We’ll be having a friendly
competition at the end and we’ll
vote on our favorite images

Day 5: [Monday, November 15th]

Critique

Duration Activities Resources Notes

5 min School Morning Announcement Projector, Computer
40 min Introduction: Printed final
- Today is our group critique for the photographs,
project Sketchbooks,
Format for critique: something to write
- All the images are posted on the with
wall and labeled with a number
- To start, the students will take a
few minutes to look at all of the
photos up close and from their
seats
- Each student will pick two images
to respond to in their sketchbook,
and they will write down:
- One thing they think is
strong in the image,
something that is done well
- One thing they think isn’t
working as well, or could
use more work; this could
also be a question they
have about the image
- After everyone has had time to
write down their thoughts, we’ll go
through each of the photos and I’ll
ask for at least one person to
share their thoughts on the image
we’re looking at
- After we talk about each of the
photos, everyone will come up to
the board and vote for their two
favorite photos, then I’ll count all
the votes to see which ones were
the class favorites

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 **Students will upload a picture of
their notes in their sketchbook to
the project folder so that I can look
over what they said about the
pieces their peers made
5 min Wrap-up Class:
- I’ll end the critique by
congratulating all of the students
on the pieces they made and
remind them that they should all
be proud of the work they did on
this project. I’ll ask the students if
they have any last questions,
comments, concerns about the
project and then I’ll start taking
down the photos

Clean-up Procedures (Room, Materials & Work Storage)

Students are responsible for making sure all camera equipment they used is put back in its
correct location at the end of class. Students will logout of their computers at the end of class
once they are done using them.

Closure, Review & Anticipation (what’s next?)

We’ll close the project with a group critique and then if there is time at the end of the last
class I can briefly introduce the next lesson so that the students can start thinking about it.

Supplemental Activity

Teacher reflection focused on the lesson after it has been taught

Lesson 2 Teaching & Learning materials

Include attachments of any resources, slide shows, teacher samples, and/or

assessments related to this lesson.

Be sure to attach to the full instructional unit

Teacher Example
Bibliography in APA format
Any printed material that relates to the unit and/or the lessons

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