Writing with Images
Probably one of the most common ways of assessing students is by having them write. Writing has the students clarify, organize and express what they have learned (Bower, 2004:56). I want my students to write at a level which requires them to use the higher level thinking skills as they make connections, analyze and synthesize the information. In formal writing assignments, like an essay or DBQ, my students use a thesis statement which I explain is an argument. I then stress that they need evidence or specific factual information (SFI) to support their position. We look at examples of opposing viewpoints with strong supporting arguments for each side. Because many of them are anxious about being wrong, I explain the argument is not the key to the validity of statement. The key is the SFI. Because the writing is their thoughts and their reasons the students take ownership of it (Bower, 2004:58). This is not always the case when they are assigned to answer the questions at the end of a textbook section.
Writing also allows for differentiation. I define writing in a broad sense. Writing requires them to put their thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. on paper. It might include the formal assignments mentioned above. We write in other ways as well. The less formal situations tend to allow the students to be more creative. My lower level students and out of the box thinkers usually like these experiences more than the upper level and grade conscious ones.
Sensory Figures
This is a simple way for the students to demonstrate their mastery of concepts connected to a historical person or groups of people. It shows thoughts, feelings, and experiences (Bower, 2004:61). I may provide my students with paper that has a drawing representing the person or group, or I will ask them to make a sketch of the representation. Doodlers really enjoy this. They draw lines from appropriate body parts to connect to various statements that they finish. I use phrases like: "My eyes see. . .," "My ears hear. . .." "My heart feels. . .," "My hands touch. . ..," and "My head knows. . .." The students can add others, but I do stress they must be appropriate. Imagine what they could write based on a Cherokee figure during the Trail of Tears. An advantage for them sketching their own figures is that it will increase the perspectives because they will draw male/female and young/old. When I provide the figures, they are the same for each student. Depending on the person or group, it may better to use the past tense for the verbs.
Dialogues
In this type of writing assignment the students work in pairs. Each represents an opposing viewpoint (Bower, 2004:61). They write a script of a discussion that might have occurred between the two sides. They could represent actual historical figures or fictional characters. They are required to the write the conversation making valid and historically accurate points. What would a Buffalo Soldier say to an Arapahoe in 1868? If time permits some of the students model their dialogues.
Letters to the Editor
As the name implies, in this form of writing the students write a mock letter to the editor of the local paper. The topic has to be controversial. I usually provide them with the slant of the letter. The slant generally forces them to look at an issue from a position they would not normally hold. After we discuss how the U.S. Government established an assimilation policy towards Native Americans and established boarding schools for Native American children, most of my students agree that this was a bad thing to do. Their assignment is to write the Editor and explain why the boarding schools were a positive experience for the children. They have to support this position with SFI and explain each bit of supporting evidence. Depending on the class/student, I might specify that they need two or three supporting reasons. This assignment puts them in a particular moment in history.
Journal/Diary
Journals and diaries are good ways to demonstrate change over time. The student is once again placed in the historical moment. Rather than examining just one moment from a persona's perspective, the student follows that same persona through a series of events. Each entry needs to be properly dated, provide a detailed account of observations, thoughts and feelings (Bower, 2004:62). I also demand that they be as historically accurate as possible with the details. They cannot leave for the gold fields of California one day and arrive the next. I have discovered that the more guidelines I provide then the better the product is. The guidelines might specify the number of entries or give the dates of the entries. They might indicate required topics for certain entries.
Visual Simile-Metaphor
This is one of my favorite assignments! It involves writing and drawing. I usually assign paired groups to do these. The assignment stresses that there are various sides to arguments and each side has reasons for their positions. The components are two versions of the same statement, two drawings, and two "Because" sections with three reasons each (Bower, 2004:78). The students are given unlined paper that they fold in half width-wise. At the top of one side they write, "From the perspective of settlers, Manifest Destiny was like. . ." and they finish the statement with a simile. Under the simile they illustrate their statement. This means the simile has to be visual. Under the illustration they write "Because" and provide three reasons to support the simile. On the other half of the sheet the top statement reads, "From the perspective of Native Americans, Manifest Destiny was like. . ." The same steps are followed. This is an open ended assignment that has them consider points of view from multiple perspectives (Bower, 2004:78). It is also an assignment that can easily be broken down. I could have them write similes without the drawings. I could have them do just the drawings which often make a good political cartoon.
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