How I use One-Pagers in my Social Studies Classes
I'm a little behind. I only recently discovered "One-Pagers" after joining a middle school teacher Facebook group. It seemed everybody was talking about them- how they use them, when they use them, etc. The photos of student-produced work is what hooked me. I was impressed!
This year I started teaching a new course- Geography and World Cultures. I am one of two teachers in my middle school who teach this course. It is a challenge to cover SO MUCH MATERIAL in such a short period of time. We both are committed to DEPTH over BREADTH. We also believe it is imperative that we provide our students with meaningful, interesting, and engaging lessons. After learning about One-Pagers, I was excited about implementing them into my Geography class. I shared my idea with my fellow Geo teacher and he was on board!
We sat together during our planning period one afternoon and discussed how to cover our unit on Southwest Asia. Our textbook covers each region of the world by focusing on the five themes of Social Studies (Geography, History, Government, Economics, Culture). I suggested a jigsaw approach where each group would focus on one theme for all of the counties in the region. Each group would be required to compile a Google Slide presentation containing information relating to their theme. I created "instruction cards" for each group listing the information they were required to include in their Google Slide presentation. I also provided students with links to resources they would need to help satisfy all the assignment requirements. (Our textbook was also a useful resource.) Once each group was finished with their Google Slide presentations, they shared them with me and I compiled them into a "class Google slide presentation." I shared the class presentation in our Google Classroom.
As a culminating activity/assessment, my students were required to choose one country and create a "One-Pager" using information from the class Google Slide presentation. Students were required to include examples from each of the 5 Themes of Social Studies.
I allowed two-days in class for students to work on their group Google Slide presentations and one day in class to work on the One-Pager. Everything not finished in class was homework.
To say I was impressed with my students' work is an understatement! My students genuinely enjoyed creating their One-Pagers. I also got positive feedback from the Alternative Education and Special Education staff about this project. They loved it because it allowed for creativity and choice. I plan to use this activity again next year! (I'm currently working on a lesson in my U.S. History course which will incorporate One-Pagers as well!)
I would love to hear from other teachers. How do you use One-Pagers in your classroom?
This year I started teaching a new course- Geography and World Cultures. I am one of two teachers in my middle school who teach this course. It is a challenge to cover SO MUCH MATERIAL in such a short period of time. We both are committed to DEPTH over BREADTH. We also believe it is imperative that we provide our students with meaningful, interesting, and engaging lessons. After learning about One-Pagers, I was excited about implementing them into my Geography class. I shared my idea with my fellow Geo teacher and he was on board!
We sat together during our planning period one afternoon and discussed how to cover our unit on Southwest Asia. Our textbook covers each region of the world by focusing on the five themes of Social Studies (Geography, History, Government, Economics, Culture). I suggested a jigsaw approach where each group would focus on one theme for all of the counties in the region. Each group would be required to compile a Google Slide presentation containing information relating to their theme. I created "instruction cards" for each group listing the information they were required to include in their Google Slide presentation. I also provided students with links to resources they would need to help satisfy all the assignment requirements. (Our textbook was also a useful resource.) Once each group was finished with their Google Slide presentations, they shared them with me and I compiled them into a "class Google slide presentation." I shared the class presentation in our Google Classroom.
As a culminating activity/assessment, my students were required to choose one country and create a "One-Pager" using information from the class Google Slide presentation. Students were required to include examples from each of the 5 Themes of Social Studies.
I allowed two-days in class for students to work on their group Google Slide presentations and one day in class to work on the One-Pager. Everything not finished in class was homework.
To say I was impressed with my students' work is an understatement! My students genuinely enjoyed creating their One-Pagers. I also got positive feedback from the Alternative Education and Special Education staff about this project. They loved it because it allowed for creativity and choice. I plan to use this activity again next year! (I'm currently working on a lesson in my U.S. History course which will incorporate One-Pagers as well!)
I would love to hear from other teachers. How do you use One-Pagers in your classroom?
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