Case Book Two

Mr. Truk is working with his class. In the earlier grades, student portfolios have been developed, but mainly by the teachers, who selected student work that was kept to show growth. Students were not actively involved in much of the process until now. During this year, students learn about portfolios and how to think about things that go into them.

MR. TRUK: Those of you who were in first and second grade at this school know that you have your "best work" pack. The pack has work that shows what you learned at different times. Those packs are in a special place in the school office, it is called the portfolio office. This morning I went and got one of those packs. I am not going to tell you whose pack it is, but instead show you some of the items. For instance, here is a sample of someone start of first grade work that tells others about a favorite animal at the zoo. The work has information about the animal and a picture of the animal. Look at the printing, and the words. They are simple, first grade words. Now, here is a sample from the end of second grade. The work is about animals, and compares the needs of two different animals. Look at the printing, and the words. See how much better the printing is. See, how some of it is cursive. Look at the words. They are much bigger. There is a lot more written. Look at the picture. The picture has much more information in it, more detail.

At the start of this school year, or when you joined our class, each of you was given a large folder, and you have been putting some of your work in there. Now, we are going to sort and organize that work. We are going to put a table of contents on it. That means, we are going to list what is inside. We need to do this. Adults who care about you will be coming to see your work in a couple of days. We need to have this done so that they can learn how much you have learned.

This is a big project. We will work on it in parts today. I have a sheet for you to read as you work through this. I want you to work in your partner-pairs groups. Only work with that one other person, and make sure that you keep your work separated from each other. I will come around and work with you as you do this, make sure it is going okay, and interrupt with more directions from time to time. Get into your partner pairs, pick a spot to work, and then come and get your folders.

Teacher Notes:

• Many teachers worry about what items ought to appear in a student portfolio, and how to include things that were done in collaboration with other students. If you are in this situation, it is important to develop a priority list of items that are needed in the portfolio to verify student learning, especially of various standards. This also helps the students understand what learning is valuable, and how to think about what assessments best show that learning occurred.