Assessment Method: One Pagers

Yesterday I was on Facebook and my "memories" popped up from a couple years ago, reminding me of a project-based assessment I had done with my 10th graders for a past unit. And even though I don't teach that unit anymore, I still wanted to share the idea because it's one that can be applied to almost anything you teach. Introducing... the one pager!

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you probably picked up on my philosophy of teaching by now... which is that I don't really believe in traditional "tests" in my classroom, especially in the ELA world. Tests, especially multiple choice, tend to be super surface level... assessing only content heard and rote memorization of material rather than assessing the skill of students. For this reason, I resort to a lot of writing and project-based assessments in my classes.

When I was teaching Mississippi Trial: 1955 with my sophomores (and also when I taught The Crucible) I tried to think of a way to assess my students' ability to analyze the text that still allowed them some freedom in doing so. This specific class was not one that would be overjoyed about writing an essay (and writing standards were not what I was assessing, anyway), and I had a lot of reluctant readers in the class as well... so I began considering assessments that would reach students who had interests outside of ELA... and I settled on the one pager.

One pagers allow students to focus on the specific skills/areas being assessed, and you, as the teacher, can make the requirements what you want! Prior to assigning it, I would ask myself what it is I want my students to gain from the unit, and make my rubric accordingly. For this specific unit, we focused on theme, character development, and citing text evidence.

What I noticed while students were working was that even my reluctant readers were excited about the project. It allowed students to discuss the text and concepts as they worked, and they were able to add their own personality to their work and show off their abilities!

Here are some examples of what I got as a result (swipes to see!):

One Pagers are quick to grade because it easily shows you what you are looking for and whether or not students understand the concepts and skills. I hope you give them a shot in your class!

Until next time,

Paige