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