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