Final Writing Portfolio Please note that the writing portfolio is due
in the beginning of June.
INTRODUCTION: (FOR PARENTS)
The purpose and goals for the Final Writing Portfolio are many. Ultimately,
it is a way for students to showcase what they have learned and accomplished
throughout the course of Ninth Grade English. In that sense it is an “Exit
Portfolio.” It is also a “Student Centered Portfolio” The focus is on the
students and their learning rather than solely on teacher mandates and
requirements.
However, there are additional and equally significant goals for this
project. Too often, what we do in English 9 is geared toward test
preparation and the critical analysis of teacher selected texts – books,
short stories, essays and poems. There are several flaws in this scheme.
For one, the NY State ELA Standards require a great deal more than test
preparation, and while critical analysis is one of the required standards we
are to meet, there are three additional standards that need to be addressed.
The Portfolio addresses these other standards. Also, most of what we do in
the classroom is determined by the established core curriculum and/or the
teacher. There is little room for student choice. This Portfolio also
addresses that issue. There is a great deal of room for students’ choice in
this scheme of assessment – in terms of content, form, and which
assignments will be included. This puts the student, in large part, in
control of not only his/her learning, but also in control of the grade s/he
will receive. In the Portfolio scheme, the student owns his/her learning:
the pieces s/he creates, elects to do, and elects to include, are all a
matter of student choice. There are teacher established parameters, but the
student makes the final decisions.
In this scheme, not only is the student responsible for choosing what s/he
will include to establish that learning has occurred, but the student in this
scheme is fully accountable for that learning.
(FOR STUDENTS)
This Portfolio is a way for you to show what you have learned this year by
showcasing the different sorts of work you have done that illustrate that
learning. You will choose what you believe are the best and most meaningful
and significant major assignments you have completed this year, and you will
include them in your Final Portfolio. This means that you will have to do
the work if you intend to show that you actually have learned something! So
YES, it will involve work.
Portfolio Contents and Specifications
REQUIRED ELEMENTS
Welcome Letter (see directions below and in Portfolio Worksheets icon
Table of Contents
Teacher Created Tasks: These are tasks/projects the teacher has assigned
everyone in class to do.
ONE Analytical Essay
ONE Genre Essay (Honors only)
ONE Independent Reading Project
ONE Research Project (Fully documented using current/correct MLA format)
ONE PowerPoint presentation (print-out of slides and “script) of the
student’s choice
(Must be in color)
OR
ONE Oral Presentation of any sort (Written evidence of this presentation will
be submitted according to teacher specifications)
ONE Creative Writing Task
NOTE: Students will select which of the Teacher Created tasks s/he will
include in this section. So even though the tasks are “teacher created” the
student chooses which tasks to be evaluated as part of the portfolio
Student Selected Tasks: These are a combination of things the teacher has
assigned everyone AND things you have created and/or refined.
ONE Polished “Free Writes” – Informal Expository Essays/Personal Narratives
from in-class Writing Folder Tasks
ONE Creative Writing Samples - either Teacher created tasks OR Student
created tasks
Reflections: Your own thoughts about your work
“Welcome Page” – Your initial Reflection: An Introduction or Preface that
lets us get to know you, and tells us what your goals are in presenting this
Portfolio
“Baseline” Student Assessment of Writing – Your opinion of yourself as a
writer at the beginning of 9th grade (This may be included in your “Welcome
Page”
Reflection on each section: WHY you chose to include each piece: what you
like about it, what it shows that you have learned/are learning to do.
Final Reflection – What you believe you learned from completing the Portfolio
Comment/Acknowledgement Page(s) (Optional)
Appropriate Illustrations
Reading Log (Optional)
Rubric
SPECIFICATIONS
All materials will be enclosed in a securely bound binder (paper covers only)
The portfolio will have an attractive and appropriate cover design which
reflects the purpose of the portfolio, the student’s selected “theme” and
his/her personality
Students should implement a creative and appropriate way of organizing
his/her work
All included pieces MUST BE
TYPED in 12 point font
Times New Roman OR Arial PRINT – NOT SCRIPT
Black Ink
STUDENTS MAY CHOOSE A DIFFERENT FONT IF IT IS APPROPRIATE AND EFFECTIVE IN
PRESENTING A PARTICULAR PIECE, SUBJECT TO TEACHER APPROVAL
On 8 ½ by 11 standard typing paper
Each selected piece must include evidence of the entire writing process:
prewriting, rough draft, revisions, graded paper, AND a clean, typed copy
with no revision/grading marks
Students may “mount” selected pieces on colored stock paper or heavy
construction paper
Students may decorate the pages in an aesthetically pleasing and thematically
appropriate fashion.
This Portfolio will count for ½ of the student’s Final Exam Grade
Please E-mail me with any questions or concerns, or if you need another copy
of these instructions. Thank you, Ms. Ash
