Create a Literacy Practices Portfolio
If you are taking this workshop for credit, continue constructing your portfolio of instructional practices. Your portfolio for this workshop will include the following :
- current practices in place in your classroom
- changes you would like to make
- a description of one change you have implemented
- evidence of student learning
1. Current practices
Include your Fluency and Word Study Chart from What Do You Do? Then, think about your present literacy instruction. Write the answers to these questions.
- Fluency
- How do you assess your students' fluency?
- How do you help students develop greater fluency?
- Word Analysis
- What kind of word analysis instruction do you provide?
- In what classroom context(s) do you provide this?
- Vocabulary
- How do you determine your students' vocabulary strengths and needs?
- How do you decide which vocabulary words to teach?
- Describe your instructional cycle. How many vocabulary words do you teach and how many days/activities do you provide to ensure deep learning? Describe the activities you provide for students each cycle.
- How do you provide practice in correct usage of vocabulary previously taught?
- How do you assess long-term use of the words taught?
2. Changes you would like to make
Include your written response from What Did You Learn?
3. One change you have implemented
a. Make a change
Choose one instructional change that you described in What Did You Learn? to implement now. What is your thinking behind making this change? Describe the change in detail and explain how it will be implemented (e.g., an instructional practice, a lesson plan, a plan for modeling a strategy, etc.). What are the expected outcomes for student learning? Design a lesson plan and implement this change.
b. Reflect on the change
Write a brief reflection about what worked when you implemented this change and what you will change the next time you teach this lesson. (If you are taking this workshop during the summer, describe the learning goals and expected outcomes of this change.)
4. Evidence of student learning
In this section of your portfolio, you will submit evidence documenting student learning. Select one student and describe his/her performance in fluency, word analysis, or vocabulary. What did you do to scaffold instruction for this student? Include two to three performance samples and documentation of the support provided for each. How will you continue to scaffold this student's fluency or word study? Listed below are possible pieces of evidence:
- a tape recording of oral reading before and after practice
- timed running records of oral reading
- an analysis of running record (evidence of strategies to chunk words into meaningful parts)
- anecdotal record of targeted vocabulary used in an oral discussion
- student performance samples using targeted vocabulary words
Session 2: Printouts | Assignments | Resources

