I am always searching for ways to get my students reflecting on their learning. After each large assignment, group activity, and/or essay, I am begging my students to actually put some depth of thought into said reflection – thought that might actually help them grow as learners. I had the traditional reflection questionnaire worksheet that I handed out after each activity. The grumbles I heard sounded like earthquakes tearing open the floor beneath my feet. They hated it. So, I began to hate it. I questioned whether this was a valuable use of class time.
Then, one student changed it all. This young man changed my approach to education. Diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia, he struggled in my class. He hated reading and writing. We, of course, made modifications to support his learning, but I could feel his struggle. I ached to help him more, but I didn’t know how. It was the end of our literature circle unit and I, of course, asked my students to reflect on the text, their participation, and their learning. I handed him the worksheet where I expected him to write his responses. A modification in place for this student was the ability to type his responses on the computer, but he wanted the paper copy to not bring attention to this modification. Usually, he would open his computer to get access to the document I shared with him personally. This time, he didn’t. He picked up his pencil and got to work. I went about the class hour as usual, collecting these reflections as students walked out the door. This student slid his paper on the stack avoiding eye contact as he rushed out the door. I looked down in disbelief. He had drawn out his reflection. His pencil drawings could rival that of any published/famous artist. It contained depth and complexity of thought displayed beautifully in his drawings. It was the end of the day, and I literally sat down, in place, on the floor.
Have you ever had that experience, where a student makes you question everything about your methods? As an English teacher, I wanted to get my students reading and writing. Reading and writing. Reading and writing. Nothing else mattered. Art was not my job; why would I worry about this skill? Why would I ask my students to express themselves in that way? Then, BOOM.
It was on this day that I vowed to bring in a variety of methods for my students to express themselves. We would still read and write. We would still do that a lot. But where I could- I would bring in other mediums of expression. Hence, the Reflect ‘N’ Sketch Reflection One Pager. I asked the same essential questions but now allowed for a variety of expression methods. I asked students to combine both visuals and words to express themselves. Engagement skyrocketed. Students dug through my colored pencil bin like first graders drawing a picture. Table groups began discussing how they could represent ‘collaborating’ or ‘distractions’ in visual form. They put more thought and effort into that reflection than any reflection I had previously assigned. My artistic students were in heaven, relishing in the ability to show their skill and talent in a subject area that often doesn’t allow for this. My non-artistic students laughed about their stick figures and wrote more than they drew. What mattered was not the quality of their drawings but in the depth of their reflections.
Check out this Reflect ‘N’ Sketch one pager lesson!
Looking for more One Pager assignments? Check out the #oneword Goal Setting One Pager.
I have also created a Tone and Mood Show What You Know Choice Board that allows for more creative summative assessment options for my artistically inclined students. This freebie is below if you are interested!