One-pagers, Not Just for ELA Anymore

New ways to engage your science students

You may have heard of a one-pager but aren’t really sure of what it is. A one-pager is a project that is typically given out in an English language arts class. Students have one page to respond to different criteria to show their knowledge of the book. A one-pager should include both visual and written information. Does a one-pager really need only to be used in ELA, or could it be used as a fun science project? That was a question I had. I knew there would be a way for me to implement this into my science classroom, so I tried it out.

Can One-pagers be used in science class?

I have been hearing a lot about one-pagers recently and have seen examples of some truly stunning work. If you follow me on Instagram or my store, then you will know that I am an advocate for having students color, draw, and illustrate their work even in the middle grades, especially in science, so when I came across the one-pager activity, I knew it was something that I had to include in my curriculum. Check out my blog post on five reasons why students should color in middle school.

I tried it out with my kids after reading the novel, A Long Walk to Water. Students were given a sheet of guidelines of what should be included in their one-pager and a rubric to see how it would be assessed. Their results were stunning. If you would like this resource for free, check out my blog post on A Long Walk to Water.

After using it in ELA, I decided that this could also be used in science. The assignment is basically showing what you comprehended differently than students were accustomed to. So, while working on my acids and bases unit, I put together an assignment for the students to complete as a graded homework assignment.

Tips for Using One-Pagers as a Science Project

Again, students were given the guidelines and rubric to help them understand what they would be doing. At this time, I had examples from the A Long Walk to Water assignment to show them. I felt it was helpful to show them an example of one unrelated to the subject matter that they were working on. I made the mistake of not doing this with my other unit and regretted it because the low-level learners just made a replica of what they were shown instead of using their creativity. Doing it allows them to see what you are looking for but still allows them to be creative in what they work on.

My students had a fun time with this assignment. They truly enjoyed it, and I enjoyed assessing the different learning styles in the classroom.

How Can I Use One-pagers in Science?

It’s really not difficult. A one-pager is a way for a student to respond to something. In science, you can have them respond to a topic. To do this, I had a bulleted list of things that I wanted my students to complete to demonstrate their understanding. This could include but is not limited to:

Characteristics
Definitions
Examples
Explanations of important concepts
Compare and contrast different scientific theories.
Illustrations of items related to the topics
Short biographies of famous scientists

You might be nervous to start this out on your own. Don’t be. If you still are, I have you covered. Click below to sign up to be part of my science squad. In return, you will receive an EDITABLE one-pager and rubric to use in your classroom TODAY!

👉 Get the free editable one-pager and rubric