V.T311

Improving the School through Sign Design

Students will plan a proposal for a new sign for the school that will enhance the functioning of the school for teachers and students. Using sketching materials, colored pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and black ultra-fine-point markers, students will design the new sign for the school. The design should be similar to simple street signs for automobiles, using simple shapes, colors, symbols, and words. The final design concept will be mounted on a black presentation sheet to add professional quality to the design proposal.

Each student will identify the problem that he or she wants to address. The problem can be real, and the student can offer significant improvements, enhancements, or additions to the school experience for students and/or teachers. The students may include humorous or fanciful ideas. The focus of this assessment item is on developing and producing preliminaries, possibilities, and drafts of ideas.

Students will make quick planning sketches and develop them into a final design proposal that shows their intended color schemes. Finally, students will write a short explanation of why they chose the shapes and colors they used. Use the website provided for students to research the best uses of shapes and colors for signs.

This item has been voluntarily field-tested by Michigan teachers with a non-representative sample of students.

Teacher Booklet

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Student Booklet

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These are analytic rubrics. The column on the left shows the dimension that is being measured in the student’s performance. The levels across the top row indicate the performance level in the dimensions. Occasionally all dimensions and performance levels are exemplified by multiple students in a single recording.

TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC

  • Dimension

  • Number and Diversity of Preliminary Rough Sketches

  • Final Draft—Color Design

  • Creative Problem Solving

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Student creates one sketch of a sign idea.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student creates two sketches of significantly different sign ideas or designs.

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  • Student creates three sketches of significantly different sign ideas or designs.

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  • Student creates more than three sketches of significantly different sign ideas or designs.

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  • Final design is minimal, with one or more elements of color, symbol, and/or lettering absent from final design.

    N/A at this time.

  • Final design lacks significant development of colors, symbols, and/or lettering and is not mounted for presentation.

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  • Final design is less than complete—all aspects are not fully developed and/or the design is not mounted for presentation.

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    View Exemplars

  • Final design is complete, with all aspects shown, in full color and based on a sketch and neatly mounted for presentation.

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  • Final design fails to address an authentic, school-based function and/or the reflection does not explain logical reasons for the colors, shapes, words, and/or symbols used.

    N/A at this time.

  • Final design addresses an authentic, school-based function. The reflection explains logical reasons for some of the colors, shapes, words, and/or symbols used.

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  • Final design addresses an authentic, school-based function. The reflection explains logical reasons for most of the colors, shapes, words, and/or symbols used.

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  • Final design addresses an authentic, school-based function. The reflection explains logical reasons for all of the colors, shapes, words, and/or symbols used.

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TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC

  • Dimension

  • Description and Purpose

  • Design Intention

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Student does not identify his or her choice of sign.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student chose a sign, but the statement of its purpose is incorrect or unclear.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student chose a sign but wrote brief, incomplete statements about its purpose.

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  • Student chose a sign and wrote clear, complete statements about its purpose.

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  • Student gave one clear reason for the design elements of shape, color, words, or symbols.

    N/A at this time.

  • Student gave two clear reasons for the design elements of shape, color, image, words, or symbols.

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  • Student gave three clear reasons for the design elements of shape, color, image, words, or symbols.

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  • Student gave four clear reasons for the design elements of shape, color, image, words, or symbols.

    View Exemplar
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