Rationale

 

A portfolio is a collection of materials that reflects the talents, growth, and accomplishments of a person by displaying his/her accumulated work and, in our case, thinking and learning.  Portfolios are used by a wide variety of people ranging from stock investors to artists to college bound students; they are required by some universities for admission and by many employers as a part of the interview process. For our purposes, the portfolio serves as a reminder of who we are as writers, students, and people, a way to track our improvement and weaknesses, and a showcase for our best work.  Think of it as not only and English assignment but also as an autobiography of your school year both as a student and as a person.

 

Objectives and Grading Criteria

 

Through the ongoing creation of a portfolio, the student will:

 

develop strong skills in responsibility, self-reliance, and organization by maintaining a complete collection and record of all her work in a logical order.

 

be able to express how that record reflects her development as a writer, student, reader, and person and use that understanding to inform future learning and growth.

 

take action based on that record by pursuing enrichment activities and additional help in areas of weakness or talent.

 

demonstrate pride in own work through a well-maintained portfolio, which is professional in presentation.

 

Formats and Processes

 

All Portfolios will have the following at their fronts: A table of contents and a learning essay.  These will be constructed throughout the school year. After those materials, the portfolio will include sections divided by standard section dividers.  Below are suggestions for the section titles and contents, but the student may elect to organize in other ways so long as the table of contents is clear and complete.

 

You will use a three ring binder and section dividers for the Classroom Notebook component of your portfolio as follows:

 

SECTION ONE: Mastery Work – Put your final copies here, along with your drafts if you like.  Some of this work may be projects or presentations: include the written portions here and pictures of your projects/performance

 

SECTION TWO: Practice Work – Here is where you keep all homework, exercises, quizzes, etc... You may elect to put drafts here, or you may choose to put those with the final copies in the previous section..

 

SECTION THREE: Vocabulary

 

SECTION FOUR: Notes and Handouts

 

SECTION FIVE: Personal Goals and Thoughts – You will create your own goals for our class and track your progress here.  Other materials here will include Student Vitae, Reading and Writing Logs, great journals and reflections, assignment logs, pictures of your friends and freshman year – you name it

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YOUR PORTFOLIO MAY BE GRADED AT ANY TIME! MAINTAIN IT REGULARLY.