Portfolio Work

The 2Ds have been creating good products for their portfolios. The next time I would definitely not tell them which products were mandatory. I might change my tune about the portfolios when I actually have to collect them all! Formative feedback has been very helpful to most students. The 20s/30s Shows look promising at this point. We'll see if they actually pull it together.

Learning Portfolio

Over the course of the 20s/30s unit the students have been compiling a Learning Portfolio, which is basically a collection of performance tasks that focus on specific areas of the Achievement Chart (e.g. knowledge/understanding). There are at least 2 activities per area and at the end of the unit, if the kids have completed every one of the activities, they earn the chance to submit the tasks which they believe best represent their abilities in the given area. I took the idea from Garfield Newman's texts. Many students appreciate the chance to choose the work that they submit for marks. The portfolio is set up to match with Gardner's multiple intelligences (more or less). So far, students have been: creating a glossary, drawing "window pane" images, writing poetry, and creating report cards for R.B. Bennett and Mackenzie King. This week they will create concept maps, write news reports, write historical fiction, construct art, then create a graphic time line that illustrates 3 major steps in Canada's growing up during this period. The unit finishes with students performing episodes of "That 20s/30s Show," an extension of "That 20s Show" from years past. Only tried the portfolio thing once before but we'll see how it goes.

New Activity

We were going to be studying the political responses to the Depression and I am in the midst of this activity:

1. Use the Jot Thoughts thinking structure first. Have the kids cut a piece of notepaper into 16 equal rectangles (I walked them through some simple folding to give them guidelines). Once all of them have their pile of paper, tell them that you are going to give them a concept and they will have exactly a minute to write down the first 16 things that come to mind (many won't be able to get 16). They cannot discuss or look at their team's answers (they are in teams of 3 or 4 by the way but this can work for pairs). After the minute is up, they lay out their cards. For the next 4 minutes, the team must sort their ideas into piles/categories. Make sure everyone places their own cards into the piles. I had some kids give their cards to others to sort. At the end of the four minutes, teams must be ready to identify how many categories and to name the categories. Use numbered heads to increase individual accountability when selecting reporters. I gave them the concept of "political parties" for this one. Results were excellent without exception.
2. Students are given the fourth learning portfolio activity of the unit: Creating a report card to evaluate King and Bennett.
3. To prepare them for the portfolio activity, students are given the team challenge to create a political party that is able to solve the problems of the Depression. They must complete a worksheet first to get some background knowledge. The activitiy will take 2 classes and the learning portfolio activity is due next week.

The Dangers of CL

My class just after lunch made me realize that using cooperative groups can pose difficulties as well as benefits (sounds obvious but I often overlook the negatives). The problem was excessive socializing when students and I were supposed to have the floor. I gave a blanket warning to the class and then, when the problem continued, I had them turn their desks to rows to complete the activity alone instead of with help from their teammates. I had them write on their reflection pages about whether they would prefer rows or teams. About 6 students of the 22 said rows while the others prefer groups. My plan is to mix things up a bit more and have some rows, pair work, and larger groups.

Thankfully, my last period class (same course) unruined my day and worked incredibly well together.

I think I will create a group work contract for the kids to sign and will post the guidelines on chart paper in the room.