Photo Composition on Paper: Thirds, Framing and Leading Lines

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Arts · Graphic Design / Photography
SP-GRAPH-005 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Photo Composition on Paper: Thirds, Framing
and Leading Lines
Arts · Graphic Design / Photography · Grades 8-11 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Optionally draw a 3 × 3 grid on the board.
Technology
None. No cameras or phones are needed.
Student
independence
High. Individual work with sketching.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Erasers, Rulers (optional), Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will define five photo composition techniques, identify each in a written scene, and apply
them by sketching framed pictures on paper.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ On the board, draw a large rectangle and divide it with two vertical and two horizontal lines into nine equal
boxes. Put a dot where each pair of lines crosses (four dots).
☐ Optional: put rulers on a front table for students who want straight lines.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. No photography knowledge is needed.
Say this to start
Today you will practice taking photos without a camera. Photographers plan where things go inside the picture, and
you can practice that by sketching. The board shows a grid that many photographers imagine on top of every shot. You
will learn five techniques, spot them in written scenes, and sketch a few of your own.

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Arts · Graphic Design / Photography
SP-GRAPH-005 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Point to the grid
on the board and say, “Photographers imagine this grid
over a picture. The four dots are strong places to put the
main subject.”
Look at the board and take out a pencil.
5–12
Ask students to read the passage silently.
Read and underline the five technique
names.
12–20
Tell students to complete the matching (questions 1–5).
Match each technique to its meaning.
20–30
Tell students to complete the fill-in scenes (6–9) using the
word bank, then the true/false items (10–12).
Decide which technique each scene uses.
30–44
Tell students to do the two sketches (13 and 14) and write
question 15. Remind them rectangles and simple shapes
are fine.
Sketch two framed pictures and describe
one more.
44–50
Read answers 1–12 from the key. Collect worksheets and
stack them.
Check their work and hand it in.
If things go wrong
• If students say they cannot draw, remind them simple shapes and labels are all that is needed. Composition is
about where things go, not about detail.
• If a student has a phone out, remind them the lesson is paper-based and the camera is not needed.
• If students ask how to make the grid, tell them to draw a rectangle, then two vertical lines and two horizontal
lines dividing it into nine equal boxes.
• If a student finishes early, use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Choose an object in the room and sketch it three ways: centered, placed on a thirds line, and framed by
something around it.
• Draw a simple landscape and place the horizon on the top third line, then redraw it with the horizon on the
bottom third line. Which is better?
Support and challenge
• Support: Provide a ruler and let students draw only the grid and one simple object in question 13.
• Challenge: Ask students to combine two techniques in one sketch, such as framing plus leading lines, and
label both.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Graphic Design / Photography
SP-GRAPH-005 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: