This year I am having my students create “One Sheets” for each chapter.  Ideally, this one sheet is one piece of paper with everything they need to know (and don’t want to forget) about the chapter.  Basically, they are creating their own concise study guide for this assessment and future assessments.  My plan is for them to create a one sheet at the end of each chapter, while they know the material best.  Then, they can use them to study for all cumulative tests that I give in the future.  I do not let them use the one-sheets on their assessments.

However, this did not start out as smoothly as I had hoped for some students.  When doing some review work from our first chapter, sequences, earlier this week I noticed that several students were struggling, even though I had them get out their Chapter 1 One Sheets.  The problem, inadequate one sheets.  They had something for every topic, but many students did not have nearly enough.

In our math department meeting this week a couple of the teachers mentioned doing brain dumps on concepts.  Writing on whiteboards, students brainstorm all they can about the topic, then check their notes to find more, then share their board.  Their homework this weekend is to make a one sheet after the in-class brain dump.  I allowed them to take pictures of others students boards, and now I am going to post all of the boards that I got pictures of.  Hopefully they will all look at the other boards on this post and make a FANTASTIC one sheet to share on Monday, and study from for this test and all future tests in my class.

Last chapter they worked on the one sheet individually, then shared them the next day with the rest of the class.  I still want to do this on Monday, but I would love for them to get more out of it. I hope that the brain dump helped.  I believe I am going to have them try to find one thing on another student’s sheet that is NOT on their one-sheet, and add it to the back.

Below are their fantastic whiteboards on functions.  I will share their one sheets next week!