The E-line Archives, Vol. 2, #12

Volume 2, No. 12 24 January, 2003

[To view this newsletter on line:
http://www.emck.net/eline/03_01_24.htm.]

Portfolios!

Black History Month!

The Help Desk welcomes the latest additions to our mailing list family - the teachers of Iroquois Middle School, Jefferson County Public Schools! (Click here for information about The Help Desk., a free service of the Partnership for Kentucky Schools.)

Your students! Your Portfolio...
...is your students' success!

"Dear Reviewer..."

"As a student, I am fully aware of the importance of the portfolio process for assessment. Here I have tried to reflect my own best work, and my school's contribution to it. However, I can honestly say that the process has caused me to learn so much about portfolios in general, and the specific applications of that process in particular.

"For instance, although mathematics does not traditionally contribute to writing portfolios, there are many resources which provide for the possibility of written reflection on the mathematical process, making such exercises perfect portfolio pieces. I have found that all of the core content professional associations support the writing process, and the websites of those organizations are good primary sources for writing prompts and portfolio lesson ideas. I found that through researching, analyzing, and writing about those resources, my understanding of this process has increased a great deal.

"I submit this contribution as my writing portfolio..."

Jeffrey L. Jones - Editor, The Help Desk.

p.s. Don't miss our contributions to Black History Month - below!

General Portfolio Resources

Middle School Writing Resources - Kentucky Department of Education

In case you hadn't noticed - KDE has completely redesigned their website! It is much better organized, but technical decisions have made traditional URL references pretty long. Click here to go to KDE's resource page for middle school writing. Included are documents on assessing the letter to the reviewer, the portfolio analysis process, and other documents in support of writing and portfolios.

Resources from the National Content Area Associations

Mathematics	*Illuminations i-Pubs (click image at left)* This page, part of the Illuminations website offered by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, with support from Marco Polo (reviewed in The Help Desk of May 24, 2002) has ideas and exercises from many of NCTM's publications. Those marked "i-Pub" are free for download and use. Most are multi-day problem-solving exercises appropriate for write-up and portfolio inclusion.
Reading and Writing	*Read Write Think - 6-8 Lesson Prompts (click image at left)* The Read-Write-Think initiative of the National Council of Teachers of English, and the International Reading Association, with support from Marco Polo (reviewed in The Help Desk of October 25, 2002), has this incredible collection of middle school lesson plans with writing prompts. Many include downloadable handouts, and all are tied to NCTE standards.
Science	*NSTA - Creative Writing and the Water Cycle (click image at left)* The National Science Teachers Association has many lesson plans available from their site, with Google-driven search capability. As an example, the lesson linked above specifically highlights the writing process.
Social Studies	*Citizenship Central (click image at left)* Unlike the other core content resources linked above, this link is to the home page of a new initiative from the National Council for the Social Studies, still under construction. There is a searchable database of lesson plans and activities, as well as a variety of other resources in support of social studies education. Watch as this resource grows!

Black History Month

Celebrating Black History Month

Black History Month celebrates its 25th anniversary! Below are links to several online information and teacher's resources for Black History Month. (Thanks to Amy Johns, Fayette County Technology Resource Teacher, for her contributions to these links.)

The Faces of Science - http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/faces.html - This site, offered by Princeton University mathematics and physics librarian Mitchell C. Brown, gives a list with links of African Americans who have contributed to science and engineering. From this list The Help Desk gleaned the site of Phillip Emeagwali, one of the "fathers of the Internet."

Authors - http://authors.aalbc.com/ - From the African American Literature Book Club comes this collection of links to authors on the black experience. From the site: "Not all authors on AALBC.com are African-American. However, all of the authors whose work appears on AALBC.com have been deemed significant to the African-American community."

Black Military Heroes - http://encarta.msn.com/list/BlackMilitaryHeroes.asp - From Encarta comes this article with links about African American military and war heroes.

The Afro-American Almanac - http://www.toptags.com/aama/ - A good information source on the history of African Americans, including a collection of biographical shorts on Black historical figures.

Education World - Celebrate Black History - http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/black_history_2001.shtml - Included are links to lesson plans appropriate for Black History Month, and other information resources, from Education World.

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