There are days when grading essays doesn't seem so bad. I enjoy what my kids are writing. I am impressed by their insightfulness. I love to see how their minds work. I am blown away by how far they have come in such a short amount of time. BUT, let's be real...those moments are few and far between.
It is more likely that I am circling the same "problem" in their essay for the fifth time and debating if it is even necessary to leave the exact same comment yet again. I am rolling my eyes because no matter how many times I have begged my AP JUNIORS not to say things "in my opinion" or "I think" in their rhetorical analysis essay, I have read it exactly ten times in the last hour and only once was it actually beneficial to the essay.
So, each year I try to find a balance between writing (which, let's face it...is the point of my course) and alternative assessment methods that can give my learners a chance to practice the same skills but in a different way...an alternative assessment of skills. The best part of this approach is that I can give my learners a chance to find a topic that is of interest to them or a method for showcasing their skills that goes beyond the "traditional" and into their individual strengths.
At the start of the year I spend so much time and energy helping the learners grasp the rhetorical situation and how rhetorical choices are dictated by this situation. Some of the first pieces we read together as a class are the Declaration of Independence, an excerpt from Common Sense, and Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention. These pieces are great because the learners have the necessary context to really delve into the rhetorical situation, plus, the purpose and rhetorical choices are fairly simple to identify. Once we have studied the pieces together, we ask the kids to locate additional sources with similar messages and then to choose the zeitgeist of the time. For more about zeitgeist and to see some examples made by Google, click here.
Here's where the voice and choice come in: We simply ask the learners to create a product which represents the zeitgeist of the founding of our country. They choose the word they want to represent. They choose the research and documents they use to support their ideas. They choose the method of their presentation.
We do ask the kids to write a one page essay that explains their thought process for choosing their zeitgeist and of creating their product. But beyond that, no writing is necessary. We simply look at their chosen documents from the time and their product and ask ourself if they understood the rhetorical situation of the time. Bada bing bada boom, we got some pretty cool stuff. Check out some student work below:
Ashley and Maddie
Zeitgeist: Sovereignty
Video Product: YouTube
Jarrad
Zeitgeist: Rebirth
Digital Image:
Iliana and Dayana
Zeitgeist: Debt
Hand Drawn Image:
Kaylee and Deborah
Zeitgeist: Metamorphosis
Product:
