Making a brochure is a summative exercise where students, through the use of advertising, write about a concept or work they have studied, but instead of taking a test, they show what they’ve learned by being creative. Like the brochures seen in a hotel or restaurant, students are given the task to use text and graphics to explain what they have recently learned. It gives creative students a chance to spread their wings instead of the task always being a formula or just a writing assignment. It is a great way for students to do more than regurgitate what they learn as they must create something new and make sure they are writing from the correct perspective.
I love student art work. I had a couple students that were on the path to being great artists, and a whole bunch that really enjoyed scribbling on my desks. I may not make the brochure an assignment, but I have a project test where students gain so many points for each task they do. The brochure might be a great addition to this to go along with the comic strip portion. It would be great to pair up a student that likes to draw with one that might be a better writer, and have them create this final product. Since I’m generally pretty scared of taking students to the computer lab, I would more than likely do the analog, hand drawn versions, but as I grow more confident I may include some technology.
It sounds like you want to think about how to set up classroom management in your class at the beginning of the year so that you can do thing like 4 corners and the computer lab. Set up expectations and be consistent so that students can learn. If you do this in the first few weeks, most of the time they will stick with it.
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