Mini-Break!

I have been feverishly working on migrating my portfolios from PLT's (Priority Learning Targets) to Common Core (CCSS) and it has been a lot of WORK!

I grade via portfolio which means that my students get their work graded as usual, on a scale of 1-5 (Does Not Meet, Meets, Exceeds) with the option to resubmit if necessary, and then they choose one of their assignments that they feel best meets the CCSS. The only problem with Common Core is that there are A LOT of standards, which means I had to figure out which ones I use every quarter and which ones were specific to a quarter. Students also reflect on their assignment and tell me why they feel it best meets the CCSS and what grade they would give themselves and why. This helps show me that they are reflecting and using metacognition, and helps them to be more introspective. I plan to show how this all works in the next couple of weeks once I have it completely down. I have used portfolios for the past two years with success, but I'm changing it up a bit this year!

Anyway, I am going on a mini-vacation with my best friend since middle school to Galena, Illinois, so I probably won't be blogging multiple times a day like I usually do. :) I will, however, update if I find anything fabulous for the classroom in Galena!