eady to take the guesswork out of teaching Photoshop?

This complete Photoshop curriculum is designed specifically for Career & Technical Education (CTE), photography, graphic design, and media arts classrooms. Built with backwards planning and aligned with National Media Arts Standards, this curriculum walks students from beginner tools to advanced compositing and design techniques using a scaffolded, standards-based approach.

Students will learn the foundations of Photoshop through creative, real-world projects that reinforce essential digital imaging skills. From understanding the interface and non-destructive workflows to developing portfolio-ready composites and visual storytelling projects, this curriculum builds the technical and creative confidence students need to succeed in today’s visual media field

Please note: This curriculum is being built and are being uploaded as they are completed. Realistically, unit 1 can easily take the majority of the first semester if you are teaching photography and half the semester if you are teaching graphic design concurrently.

The curriculum unit plans are updated to match the units and are published as the units are completed. Changes may be made as I build out the products and determine some items are missing or some are unnecessary.

Key Features: (When the curriculum is complete)

• 4 full units with 45+ Products including 25+ classroom-ready projects and skill-building activities
• Aligned with Media Arts standards using clearly written rubrics and "I Can" statements
• Standards-Based Grading friendly with growth-focused rubrics for every skill
• Scaffolds from foundational skills (layers, masking, selections) to advanced creative editing (blending modes, composites, storytelling.
• Engaging activities include coloring pages, double exposure portraits, levitation projects, portfolio development, visual critiques, and more
• Built-in differentiation, extension opportunities, and printable planning tools
• Includes student worksheets, planning guides, assessment tools, and project examples

What’s Covered:

• Photoshop interface, tools, and shortcuts
• Layer masks, smart objects, and non-destructive editing
• Selection tools and blending modes
• Color theory and image composition
• File types, naming conventions, and export workflows
• Photo composites, storytelling, and visual communication
• Ethics in media use and copyright
• Portfolio development and presentation

Who It’s For:

This curriculum is ideal for:

• High school CTE teachers
• Media arts, digital photography, or graphic design educators
• Educators preparing students for Adobe Photoshop certification
• Teachers seeking project-based learning with real-world relevance

Unit 1 Includes:
1 - Interface Identification
2 - Tool Flashcards & Mnemonic
3 - Destructive vs Non-Destructive
4 - Color Harmonies
5 - Motivational Coloring Pages
6 - History Panel
7 - Organizing Layers
8 - File Types
9 - Autumn Coloring Pages
10 - Hamburger Layers
11 - Calaveras Coloring Pages
12 - All About Me Collage
13 - Double Exposure
14 - Levitation or Magic Trick
15 - Multiple Me

Unit 2 Includes:

1 - Two Handed Shortcuts Drill
2 - The Crop
3 - Actions Overview
4 - Juxtaposition Diptychs
5 - Content Aware Fill
6 - Color Modes & Hex Codes

7 - Winter Coloring Pages

8 - Spot the Difference Challenge

9 - Ethics in Editing
10 - Sharpening and Blurs
11 - Retouching Tools and Color Corrections Posters & Vocab
12 - Selective Color
13 - Vintage Color
14 - Cyanotype Negatives
15 - Recolor the Past
16 - Skin Retouching
17 - Headshot Retouch

Unit 3 Includes:

1 - Opening Presets Exploration

2 - Type Tool Experimentation

3 - Typography Personalities - Matching Fonts to Portraits

4 - Typography Personalities: Matching Fonts to Products

5 - Letter Art

6 - Anatomy of Typography

7- Typography Poster Design</a>

8 - Watermarks

9 - Grid Design

10 - Senior Portrait Grad Card

11 - Event Poster Design

12 - Recipe Card Design

13 - Magazine, Album or Book Cover Design

14 - PSA Poster

15 - Travel Postcard

Unit 4 May Include:

1 - Culling Exercises

2 - Portfolio Planning Packet

3 - Special Effects Challenge

4 - Photoshop Ethics and Fails (Liquify)

5 - How to Critique Handbook

6 - Custom Brushes + Texture Experiment

7- Digital Scratch Art
8 - Caricature Fun Edit & Face Swapping

09 - Pixel Stretch

10 - Digital Art Mandala

11 - Printing Basics

12 - Digital Portfolio Magazine

13 - Photoshop Certification Prep

14 - Bonus: Dino Valentine's Day Coloring Pages

15 - Bonus: Easter / Spring Coloring Pages