Kelly Lynn Mulvey's MAT Portfolio
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Student Work
The following is a collection of samples of student work from Standard English One at Southern High School in the Fall of 2002. The class was definitely a challenge: the class had 7 IEP students, and many students taking English One for the second or third time. Additionally, many of the students entered the class reading way below grade-level (some seemed to hover at no higher than a third or fourth grade level). Many of my students entered English One with a clear lack of confidence about their writing and their ability. Throughout the term, one of the biggest challenges I encountered was simply getting these students to put forth an effort and actually complete the homework or class work. I tried to be positive and reaffirming, while still demanding that they complete the work. My students greatest fear is writing, but over the term, I saw their courage and their skill grow dramatically. Though the successes and growth these students encountered cannot be accurately conveyed through only a sampling of their work, I have chosen documents which I feel show growth and development in the work of each of the four students I have chosen. [1]
***All student work should be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader***
Student One
Student One is an incredibly hard worker. One of the first things that I noticed about his work was his desire for perfection. Often I would receive assignments early in the semester that were completely covered in whiteout, but that only included a bare minimum of work. I was uncertain of what to make of this, as Student One seemed to work so diligently in class. What I learned, is that he is a very slow worker who likes for everything on the page to be correct. Over the semester, I have seen Student One become much more courageous in his writing. He is less tied to the crutch of his whiteout, but also seems to need whiteout much less frequently. He has gone from writing pieces that get the facts or the basic argument down without tying the pieces together at all, to writing creatively and complexly. Student One’s growth is most marked in his classroom demeanor: in August he was a shy and hesitant young man, unwilling to ask for help or offer solutions, but by December he developed into a powerhouse—a student who was willing to answer questions, assist his classmates, and ask for assistance himself.
Student Work
Sample One:
This is a very early sample of this student's work. Students were asked to evaluate one character from the story "Blues Ain't No Mockingbird." Though it is not clear on this copy, the original was coated with whiteout. Additionally, the student's comprehension of the story is a bit off: the grandmother is described as "making the cakes drunk" when she makes rum cake, but this student thought that the grandmother herself was getting drunk. Additionally, though he does begin to write a descriptive paragraph, his grammar is not always correct and the piece is not a coherent whole. The student just barely understands paragraph form this early in the semester.
Sample Two:
This second sample is short story, written early in September, as the concluding writing exercise for out Short Story Unit. This student understands some of the basics about telling a short story, but has written a piece still filled with errors and without paragraphs. The student has shown significant improvement already, though. He is writing a lot more than earlier in the semester and is slowly becoming more confident (he seems to have put aside the whiteout bottle this time!).
Sample Three:
This third example is the student's To Kill a Mockingbird Test. He was fairly successful with the multiple choice questions, the true and false and the identifying quotes sections. The student is developing stronger comprehension skills by this point in the semester. Additionally, his essay makes strong points, though he has not get mastered paragraph form. Though he includes statements like "My second reason is..." he does have an introductory sentence and does understand that he needs specific points to support his thesis.
Sample Four:
Sample Four is a mid-semester writing sample. The assignment was to choose one part of Odysseus' travels and write a newspaper account of that event. This piece reflects well the type of writing this student has become capable of creating. He understood the assignment well (and even, as he explained when asked, gave his newspaper a title: The Brown Sun, and included a caption box to one side). The most significance improvement is his grammar: this piece was carefully edited and includes almost no grammatical errors. Additionally, he has told a very clear story. His piece sounded more like a newspaper account than most. This student still has a lot of room to improve (he still does not have paragraphs down well, for instance) but has shown significant improvement over the semester.
Student Two
I have had a difficult time establishing a relationship with Student Two. Though she is very intelligent, she fights against the idea of school and doing well. She is repeating English One this year, but can easily succeed with schoolwork. This student has an excellent vocabulary and a wonderful memory, but she entered the class determined not to work or succeed. Early on, she struggled through the readings and often neglected homework assignments. Her early grades reflect, more than anything, a bad attitude. As the semester progressed, though, she became authentically interested in the materials we were reading and her work began to improve significantly. I have seen the most growth in this student’s writing. She has gone from refused to write at all to write strong and interesting pieces on a regular basis.
Student Work
Sample One:
Student Two's first sample comes from mid-October. I did not include earlier samples because she neglected to complete so many of the earliest assignments. During our Novel Unit, she finally began trying to complete her work. This is a reading quiz, which reveals that though she was beginning to complete her homework (she seems to have read a few chapters, but not completed the reading), this student was still not putting her full effort into her work. Additionally, whereas most students completed this quiz in full sentences, this student did not.
Sample Two:
The second sample is the student's Unit Test for Holes. It is clear that she has read and understood a good bit of the reading. She struggles most with the quotes, and does not even attempt the essays. She did spend the entire class period working on this test, though, which shows an improvement in attitude and effort. Unfortunately, though she was offered extra time to try the essays, she asserted a number of times that she did not want to complete the essays.
Sample Three:
I was so impressed with this student's work on this sheet! This was an in-class introductory assignment to The Odyssey. She really took the assignment seriously, and shows that she fully understood the concept of a word-wed. This was one of the first times that this student proved to me that she could plan out her thoughts and recreate those thoughts in writing. This was a big step for this student.
Sample Four:
These last two documents are writing samples completed during our unit on epics. This student did a wonderful job capturing the Cyclops's voice in her first piece. Though there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors, for the most part this student has created a strong piece of writing. Her comparison piece is also strong. Though she separated the task into two pieces unnecessarily, she has analyzed a female character and compared that character to the sirens quite well. This type of writing is now the norm for a student who early on refused to write anything at all.
Student Three
Student Three is an LD student who is repeating English One for the third year. He retains information he has heard very well and succeeds with most in-class assignments. Additionally, he is very artistic and has done wonderful projects for the class. But, his reading and writing skills are really low. Though he has heard many of the stories multiple times, this student still struggles with comprehension. This becomes apparent in his quiz and test scores, most frequently. As the semester has progressed, though, Student Three has begun to practice strong decoding skills and will underline passages in his text as he reads. Additionally, as his comprehension has increased, his writing has really taken off. Early on, he would turn in writing assignments that were very short and often riddled with spelling mistakes. After offering a number of suggestions and practicing writing skills with the students time and time again, I began to see a clear improvement in this student’s work. He now writes much longer pieces, and though spelling mistakes are still present, the ideas are complex and it is clear that he is comprehending the materials we read.
Student Work
Sample One:
This is an early writing sample for Student Three. My mentor teacher and I decided early on to really work on fostering this student's writing and to encourage him to improve his writing. This piece, thus, is very short and does include grammatical errors (most noticeably, he does not realize he must capitalize the first word in each sentence), but the student understood the assignment, comprehended the form of a letter and did put significant effort into this work, therefore he received an affirming grade. This student is very uncertain about his ability at this point, and early in the semester rarely wrote more than a few sentences for any assignment.
Sample Two:
This is a copy of Student Three's Holes Test. I was quite disappointed in his performance on this test. Though he seemed to really comprehend the story, and regularly participated in class discussion, he did not perform well at all. Additionally, he only attempted one essay and his writing is still riddled with errors and difficult to follow.
Sample
Three:
Sample Three is the writing assignment that concluded our Holes Unit. The students were asked to write a letter from Stanley to his mother and from Stanley's mother back to Stanley. This student only wrote one letter, but is beginning to write more and is obviously improving his grammatical skills. He now almost always capitalize his sentences and has cleaned up most of the errors except for spelling mistakes. Finally, this student is trying much harder and asked a number of questions before he began writing this piece.
Sample Four
This last sample shows continued improvement. The student still really struggles with spelling, but is confidant enough to write a good deal more than he has in the past. Additionally, his writing reflects a through comprehension of the Cyclops episode. For someone who often struggled to understand the reading, this improvement in comprehension is quite significant. Finally, the student is using more complex language and ideas in this piece.
Student Four
Student Four is an interesting case. He, too, is repeating English One, which is probably due in part to his behavioral struggles. This student, classified as BED, came into English One this year as an antsy and unwilling student. He wanted to talk all the time and regularly played the role of class clown. As the semester has progressed, though, he has channeled his energy toward the class. Though I still have to ask him to get quiet and to try to stay focused, he will more and more willing to participate in class activities and is actually one of the best readers in the class. His self-confidence is a true asset, as he is willing to put himself on the line and really engage in activities. This student’s writing has improved the most dramatically: he has a strong sense of voice and is very creative, but his pieces early on were riddled with grammatical errors and careless mistakes. He has become not only a more careful student, but a more engaged student and will often turn in assignments that far surpass his classmates’ work in length and effort. This student has truly been a success story: he has raised his grades from failing to consistent A’s and B’s.
Student Work
Sample One:
This is the very first writing assignment the students completed. This student obviously put a good deal of effort into this piece. He typed it and wrote a good deal. Additionally, he gives multiple examples of why he would like to be an actor. On the other hand, he ignored a large part of the assignment: he was supposed to explain what education and skills he would need to become an actor. Finally, he does not yet have a strong grasp of paragraph or essay form (he neglects to include topic sentences, a strong introduction or a strong conclusion).
Sample Two:
The second example was simply an openbook notes quiz. Most students are very successful on these quizzes, as it simply requires them to prove that they have taken notes and kept them organized. This student, who early in the semester had serious organization problems, seems to have either misplaced his notes, or to not have complete notes. But, he does work from memory, and does remember key words and concepts. I am most impressed with his attempts to come up with the different points of view-- though he does not remember the full names, he does recall the two different forms of third-person.
Sample Three:
This sample shows a great improvement in writing skills. The student has written two very strong letters for his final writing assignment for Holes. He includes solid details from the work, and does very well with voice: the mother sounds different than Stanley and neither sound like the student himself. Finally, the student is beginning to grasp paragraph form and has done a great job with the letter format.
Sample Four:
This student does really well with a comparison of the Sirens. He chose to compare the Sirens in The Odysseyto Harriet Bird, a siren in the film The Natural. Though this work does still show structural errors (most notably the list at the end), the student shows a complete understanding of both characters and was able to find points of similarity in both characters. The student now regularly writes pieces which show deep comprehension of the text, and is slowly improving the grammatical and structural errors he exhibits.